2013 - Split II

It's been awhile since I've done one of these split articles. Honestly, I've been busy trying to keep up with everything else I plan on covering and this article has sort of been pushed to the wayside but I promised to cover one of these so I needed to at least do one of these. Aside from that I just haven't come across as many splits that I want to cover this year. But here's a couple for you to check out here. Once again, rated between 1-8.

2013 - Splits I

That's right, I'm bringing back the split reviews! I got a pretty good response from this last year so I've been collecting, and receiving, some nice splits over the months since the year started and have finally started getting enough ones that I want to cover to start this section again. As always, these splits are reviewed from 1-8.

2012 - Splits X

Here are some of the last splits for this year, hopefully you might find something in here interesting. As always reviewed from 1-10.

2012: Splits IX

It's been a little while since I've done a split review, and I've stored up a couple so I thought I'd bring it back and share some of them with you guys and girls. As always, reviewed from 1-8.

2012 - Splits VIII

That's right, an entire split collection devoted to new releases from Illinois' darling experimentalist darlings. As always, reviewed from 1-8.

2012 - Splits VII

Yes, another split compilation, but this one's focused on noise. These three are a few pretty cool noise releases that I can only hope you wind up checking out. Reviewed from 1-8.

2012 - Splits VI

Yep, another split collection. This one focuses on doom metal (of various degress). As always, reviewed from 1-8.

2012: Splits V

Part 5 of the split series, you know the drill by now. Reviewed from 1-8.

2012 - Splits IV

You know the rules by now, the fourth edition of this split based series. Focusing on some interesting black metal releases for this one. All reviewed from 1-8.

2012 - Splits III

As the title above says, part three of this series for splits. I don't know if you could consider the first one to be a split, but both were packaged together so I'm going to reference it in here. (All three reviewed from 1-8)

2012 - Splits: Part II

I actually hadn't heard material from any of these groups except EUS before listening to these splits before. (Remember that splits are graded from 1-8)

2012 - Splits: Part I

This is going to be the first in a series of reviews dedicated to split albums that are coming out. I have unwittingly come upon quite a few splits this year that are quite interesting and instead of posting individual reviews which would probably end up sounding repititive if I did one for each album, I'm just going to compile three albums at a time and talk about them here. Hope you enjoy! (Remember that splits are graded from 1-8)

At The Head of The Woods/Blood of The Black Owl - Split (2011)

Band: At The Head of The Woods/Blood of The Black Owl
Country: Portland, Oregon/Seattle, Washington
Style: Post-Rock/Dark Ambient
Label: Handmade Birds

Within the underground black metal community the two artists on this split are held in quite a high regard. Though I am not all that familiar with At The Head of The Woods' album, I know that it is thought of very highly, and I am a fan of Blood of The Black Owl and I am aware that it is a project that has garnered quite a notable amount of acclaim for their last few releases. This collaboration has been planned for a little while as far as I know and the always great Handmade Birds was able to get their hands on it to release it.
Since there are only two tracks on here, it should be obvious that each project contributed a single song, so starting the album off is James Woodhead's At The Head of The Woods. This track, the shorter of the two by about a minute, is the first new material, I believe, he's released since the project's debut in 2008. The track itself is very solemn and contemplative but instead coming off as more ritualistic piece of doomy post-rock. Like post-rock, the track builds, but it's more of a subtle build that steadily climaxes and falls throughout the course of its twenty-four minutes. I won't deny the influence and inclusion of drone and ambient music in the track though, as the track contains large portions of relative minimalism within it. What probably caught me most off guard about the track was the almost Led Zeppelin-esque guitar sound that was used throughout the second half of the track. I'll admit that it might just be me, but it really did bring to mind Zeppelin for me and I found that entire second half of the track to just come alive in part because of that guitar sound and how it was played. I really enjoyed the track even though it was pretty different from what I was expecting it to sound like.
By comparison, Chet Scott's Blood of The Black Owl track is far more solemn and meditative than Woodhead's track. If you've heard 2010's The Banishing Ritual, the project's latest full-length (though the new one was supposed to be released last year), it becomes clear that this track was definitely recorded during the same session. It contains similar ideas while not being as "heavy" as that album was, but definitely retains the cold and dark atmosphere from that album. Despite the project's beginnings in funeral doom and black metal, and various combinations of those genres and sub-genres, the project's most recent outputs (once again, haven't heard their supposed 2011 album yet) has been dwelling much more within the realms of ritualistic ambient music, dark ambient drones, and the occasional heavy doom part, but metal has been left, for the most part, behind with the recordings from at least this session. While most of the track is, honestly, pretty monotonous, there were a couple of things that did catch my attention and perk up my ears when I heard them, including the sparse acoustic guitar, organ, theremin, and flute lines that littered the track.
I do like this release, overall, though I definitely see that it can be a bit lengthy and a bit of a tiring listen if you're not all that into slow moving, rather quiet music. Despite it's good intentions and interesting ideas, it will likely be more of a fan-favorite sort of release, and most likely won't end up being a huge mark in either project's discography. It's certainly not a release for everyone, but if you can appreciate what I think can be termed as "ritualistic ambient" music, or my own term "shamanistic doom", than I think you'll definitely find something in either, or both, tracks to appreciate.
Overall Score: 7.5
Highlights: Here I Stand

Sadness Saturn/Golden Raven - Split (2011)

Band: Sadness Saturn/Golden Raven
Country: New York, New York/Humboldt, California
Style: Ambient Black Metal/Psychedelic Drone
Label: Handmade Birds

This one is for all those people who wonder what the two guys in Servile Sect do on their days off. Between their work in the fantastic Servile Sect, the experimental noise of ITHI, or atmospheric black metal in Ash Borer, both members, Nate and Luke, have solo projects. As far as I know, both projects are still very unknown, and I believe it's actually Golden Raven's first release (please correct me if that is not the case), and Sadness Saturn's first release in a couple of years.
I guess the most natural place to start is with Sadness Saturn, Luke's project. Of the two projects on here, it is easily the most aggressive and harsh. The two tracks that comprise Sadness Saturn's material is a pretty far cry from the work that Luke has helped to produce in Servile Sect, it's far more lo-fi and cold sounding, recalling a bit of that great sound that comes from groups such as Trist (Ger) or Lunar Aurora in its atmospheric qualities. Though it's hard to say these songs are really black metal per se, they certainly have more of a black metal mindset. While Impermanence In Chains is a rather quality piece of black metal for the most part, the use of an almost doom-esque breakdown near it's end does draw attention than perhaps any other point during that track, while The Dark River of Self-Destruction retains a more droning noise quality. The entire A Side of the tape which houses these two tracks does an excellent job at presenting them as a single unit, of sorts, that does allow the two tracks to feel rather destructive when listened to from start to finish.
Golden Raven is a far more abstract affair in comparison though. Removing pretty much any sense of black metal, or metal in general I should say, from his sound, the four tracks that comprise Golden Raven's side of the split are much more mysterious. Focused, more or less, on droning synthe lines and haunting ambiances that really do bring back memories of the cosmic trips that Servile Sect has explored throughout their career. Closer to the synthe odysseys of the late 70s and early 80s than anything else he's done before, Nate proves with these four tracks that he is truly a master of synthe textures and cosmic soundscapes. It's a trip through the universal ocean, ebbing and flowing, never staying in one place, and I do mean that as a compliment. Don't come into this expecting to hear tracks that are like the A Side of Servile Sect's TRVTH, as they really are different beasts, but think of this as another conquest into the unknown spacial drift.
Who among us is going to deny that even if you're not a fan of these tracks that the projects themselves are interesting and at least have a good range of ideas. I'm not sure if it's gonna be for everyone, even the diehard Servile Sect fans, but those who are into more spacey forms of ambiances in two different forms will surely get enough bang for their buck. Not quite as mind-bending as their main squeeze, if you will, but definitely a worthy addition to any abstract black metalhead's collection.
Overall Score: 7
Highlights: Impermanence In Chains, Bear Forest

Seeds In Barren Fields/Marnost - Split (2012)

Band: Seeds In Barren Fields/Marnost
Country: Göteborg, Sweden/Czech Republic
Style: Blackened Crust/Atmostpheric Black Metal
Label: Spelling Trouble/Anarchist Black Cross/Panda Banda/Carpath/Véva/Alex & Music For Liberation

Back when I was first exploring the underground metal world and I saw the word "split" next to a title I was immediately turned off. For some reason the idea of two bands releasing an album together just didn't appeal to me back then, when my mindset was more along the lines of "If a band can release some new material with another band, why not just wait and release a new full-length later?" Obviously, my mindset has changed within the last few years, probably around the time I started this blog actually, and now I actually look forward to them. This split sees the collaboration, more or less, of two pretty underground groups who both prefer the DIY approach toward black metal.
Of the two bands on here, Seeds In Barren Fields was the one that I was actually familiar with and was the band that made me aware of the split to begin with. Their debut full-length, last year's Sounding The Siren Song In Vain was a great piece of blackened crust that really knew how to combine the two styles well and make full use of both sides of their sound. This new track, Beneath The Somber Halls, is an epic piece that, to my ears, has far more of a black metal vibe to it than a lot of their album did. Saying that however is kind of doing a disservice to the track itself, because any song that lasts for sixteen minutes, as this one does, has to have more going on than just brutal black metal assaults. Make no mistake, it is a black metal track, but the way these guys put it together makes it just fly by, with sections that are pure black metal that flow into more melodic and mid-paced parts. It still baffles me to no end how some bands feel that blasting for a number of minutes straight is interesting, let alone an entire album. I definitely applaud these guys because they know how to make a black metal song dynamic. Marnost is a far more isolated venture, with almost nothing really being known about the group. They released a single last year and from what I can assume are at least planning an album's worth of material once they can find a label. But onto their song, Svůdcové lidstva, a thirteen minute epic of raw, atmospheric black metal. Despite how visceral and raw this song comes across as, it is quite melodic and atmospheric (since I mentioned two out of those four adjectives in the last sentence), there's a fluidity to it that really helps the song feel like it's moving and not just remain static for its entire length. It's the sort of song where you'll be taken on a journey with lots of tremolo picking, bursts of feedback, unintelligible samples, and a very desolate atmosphere and none of it comes off as sounding loaded to the brim, as if they were trying to cram in as many ideas as they could I mean.
I respect both groups tremendously for not only doing their part to keep DIY black metal alive but also in creating two pretty interesting tracks. It's hard to say that either band really isn't giving it their all on their respective tracks though I'm sure there'll be plenty who prefer one to the other. In my opinion, both bands do great and admirable jobs in their respective styles. Definitely support underground black metal and check out both bands here.
Overall Score: 8
Highlights: Beneath The Somber Halls

Reclusa/Degenerate Slug - In The Throes of Seclusion/Degenerate Slug Split (2011)

Band: Reclusa/Degenerate Slug
Country: Byesville, Ohio/Kaliningrad, Russia
Style: Industrial/Doom Metal
Label: No Visible Scars

I, like most people, probably had a typical introduction to the sounds of industrial music at an early age, through the huge Nine Inch Nails. I don't think I'll ever say that industrial music will ever be my favorite genre in music, but I would say that within the last year or so I have discovered quite a few groups that have given me a new perspective on the genre. Far cries from the more sanity hatred of NIN, these two projects on this split lurk underneath the mainstream idea of industrial music and have the filth and grime that many may have forgotten about.
I'll just point out first of all that before listening to this split, I was not familiar with either of these projects. Starting off with Reclusa, who apparently started as a side project of his doom metal band Diseased Oblivion, decided to take things into a more grimy and disgusting realm of sound. While the doom element is still very pervasive within the five songs contributed, the influence of industrial music is very up front as well with the use of electronic drums, tons of effects placed on the vocals, and a very mechanical sound. It's also worth pointing out that while certainly doomy, atmospherically and occasionally in heaviness, it has a much more filthy and cold sound than a lot of doom groups do, imagine music you'd hear in a sewer, and I don't mean that in a bad way. It has that industrial grime to it that lends itself to a very mechanical, but filthy, sound that reminds me of sewage.
Degenerate Slug on the other hand is a new project and this is its first official release, but I'm just assuming that. In comparison to the industrial doom of Reclusa, this is far more abrasive and intense sounding. Each of the four songs contributed are far more noisy and unsettling pieces of industrial rock that propels itself forward while constantly evolving into some more harsh. Having said that, a song like Deranged is probably the most accessible thing on this split by far due to its more simplistic structure and rather "catchy" vocal melodies. What might come as a shock, as it did to me, was that most of these songs were actually quite immediate, there was something in all of them that I could latch onto and remember quite easily. It might not be the best thing to say this but in a sense this is like pop music, only a lot more noisy and weird, because the songs are very rhythmic and simplistic while still providing something easily to latch onto.
It's a solid piece of work for both bands that I think have the ideas to cross over from metal and into industrial and noise, or the other way around. At the very least, both bands are interesting and are worth at least listening to once. It's not gonna be the hit of the century but it's by far a lot more creative and interesting than I first gave it credit for, so I can say that it's at least a very solid piece of work.
Overall Score: 8
Highlights: Penetrate, Life From Lifelessness, Deranged

Aoi/In Human Form/Katahdin - The Black Hours (2011)

Band: Aoi/In Human Form/Katahdin
Country: Brooklyn, New York/Lowell, Massachusetts/Suffield, Connecticut
Style: Medieval Folk/Progressive Black Metal/Black Metal
Label: Independent

Recently I was fortunate enough to be sent a copy of this split of which I don't think I had found out about more than a week, at most, before, so I was quite excited to hear it. Though I had only heard of In Human Form beforehand, I was definitely excited in hearing what the other two groups sounded like in comparison. As far as I could tell, all three groups are still pretty unknown and so the split will more than likely open up fans from one band to the others, because all three bands are quite different from each other. I wouldn't be surprised if fans of one band completely disowned the others because each one is not really on a similar stylistic plane and can't really be compared to each other.
Of the three groups on this split the one I've seen the harsh reaction to from fans would be the medieval folk take from Aoi. The three songs they contribute act as an introduction and closer to the album as well as a divider between the two other groups. The sound exhibited from these three tracks is quite interesting in that when you think of folk music, at least to me anyway, this isn't the sort of sound that comes into my head. Musically, Oracon Con Piadade for example, is closer to what folk music is idealized as but, all the chanting is likely to throw some people off. Probably the biggest fault for these songs is that the production used on them is quite raw and rough around the edges and it doesn't really feel appropriate for the sound the band is going for. All in all, I don't think the material they contributed is as bad as I had heard it was, but I definitely believe it will be the most polarizing band on the split.
Like I said above, In Human Form was the only band of the three on here that I was a fan of beforehand and so I kind of had an idea of what kind of style they were adding to the split. The two tracks contributed by these guys happen to be the longest on the split as well as the longest tracks the band has released to date. When I listen back to the band's earlier EP, the material on here sounds a lot more frenetic and black metal than before. The death metal elements are still very present but the riffs tend to just explode into crazy off the wall parts rather than stick to a more straightforward kind of aggression. Songs rarely stay at the same pace for longer than a minute, often slowing down for several seconds before jumping right back into full-on hyperactivity.
The last band on here is Katahdin. Unlike the experimental and progressive black metal of In Human Form, these guys play a much more thrash influenced style of black metal where the songs are fairly short but all pretty fast paced. You'll find that the three songs they contribute to this split are probably the most accessible on here because they tend to be more riff-based songs that don't noodle around too much. Even the longest track, Gizos, which incidentally is probably the best track from their three contributed, manages to make full use of its five minutes to just give you a riff explosion that ranges from more traditional thrash ones to frenetic black metal melodies. I believe that the raw production on this split suits the material these guys contributed the best as well.
I think it's a solid piece of work, not without its flaws, but I don't see anything too wrong with this release. I understand that the idea of a pretty raw production and some material that sounds a bit out of place might not sound all that appealing, but I'm sure those who check it out will find at least one of these bands interesting. Each band is very competent and can obviously write songs that are entertaining and engaging for the most part; aside from the stylistic differences between the bands, I don't see why fans of black metal, and maybe folk, maybe, wouldn't enjoy this release.
Overall Score: 8
Highlights: Myopic Configurations, Oracon Con Piadade, Gizos

The Austrasian Goat/Neige Morte - Split (2011)

Band: The Austrasian Goat/Neige Morte
Country: Metz, France/Lyon, France
Style: Black Metal/Funeral Doom Metal
Label: Musicfearsatan

Earlier this year we got the debut from Neige Morte, a strange and very left-field black metal album unlike that of almost any other band I've heard before. So with this we get them pairing up with a project of equal ambiguous stylings and categorization. What could you ask more for if you like weird and extreme black metal?
I'll start with The Austrasian Goat's song for the split, The Gracious Fall of The Morning Lights. Now, I'm a new fan of the project's work and I will say that I haven't listened to it a whole bunch as of yet, but when it comes to this track you get something very different. The eleven minute track builds from the base of a very dark and hazy sounding folk song into something that does resemble his more metallic work. Tremolo picking and blasting drums enter the picture after a while and pretty much redefine what kind of song you're actually listening to is, which happens a couple of times actually. You could pretty easily cut this one track up into three separate songs if you wanted to, to be honest. The dark folk from the atmospheric black metal from the more ritualistic sort of folk rock.
We Who Are The Worm is Neige Morte's contribution to the split, another eleven minute song. Unlike it's partner in crime on here though, this track is not nearly as defined as clearly cut into sections. It's a steady trek upward from the very beginning of the track, opening with very distorted bass lines that slowly bring in the drums before finally bringing in the vocals and guitar. It's a very abstract song in that, a lot of what the guitars are doing aren't "traditional" black metal, though it does escalate into that before the end of the song, a lot of it is much more avant-garde.
It's a nice split that showcases some real up and coming talent from the experimental black metal scene. I hope that people do check these bands out because they are definitely worth it. If you're a fan of experimental black, doom, and sludge metal, I don't see any reason why you wouldn't be able to find something in here you would like.
Overall Score: 7.5
Highlights: The Gracious Fall of The Morning Lights

Junius/Rosetta - Split (2011)

Band: Junius
Country: Boston, Massachusetts
Style: Alternative Rock/Post-Metal
Label: Prosthetic

Yesterday I covered the most recent full-length from Junius, but what we have here is short split with two songs from both Junius and Rosetta. Both bands have elements of post-rock in their sound, but are predominantly different from each other. Both bands have garnered attention for the unique style, though both come from different scenes, the split was a pairing that I'm sure many could see working.
The two songs that Junius contribute to this split feature two different sides of their sound. Unlike their recent full-length, the first song on here, A Dark Day With Night, features a much clearer post-rock core. Sure, the alternative Deftones vibe still remains, but you notice a longer instrumental break into a very clear post-rock guitar climax that was not present on the full-length. On the other hand, Fire Head is much more of a traditional song. It still retains a higher lever of post-rock in it's performance, but it's indubitably a much more accessible song than the other song they contributed. Now, like I said in my review of their newest full-length, I enjoy their Deftones-esque vibe, but I think I actually would have preferred it if they had done a bit more with the post-rock sounds on here on that record, because they're really well done.
Band: Rosetta
Country: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Style: Post-Metal
Label: Translation Loss

Now we get to one of the most original bands to recently emerge from the post-metal scene since it's inception. Rosetta have been known for their take on the genre which had the melding of noise, ambient, and space rock qualities blurring the lines of their post-metal tag. The two tracks they contribute to this split definitely don't expand their bubble as much as their full-lengths, but certainly work well with when they've been doing recently. TMA-3 is an epic piece of post-metal with loads of low-end rumble with excellent drum work just pounding throughout. The second track is a cover of Soundgarden's 4th of July. Rosetta turn the song from it's already slow and sludgy self and make it even slower.
This is one of those splits that is likely to appeal to the fans of the bands more than anyone else, if only because as far as I know, in the world of post-metal, these are two names that don't really get name-dropped that often. This is just one of those releases that makes you feel good you listened to because it has two great bands working together for a common goal. I definitely recommend you look into this if you like post-metal/rock because it'll hopefully turn you onto two really good bands.
Overall Score: 8
Highlights: A Dark Day With Night, TMA-3

Vestiges/Ghaust - Split (2011)

Band: Vestiges/Ghaust
Country: Washington/Jakarta, Indonesia
Style: Post-Black Metal/Post-Metal
Label: Replenish

Last year Vestiges released their debut full-length to much acclaim from underground press. On the other side of the world we have Ghaust, a band I had never heard of before receiving this split, so I was pretty fresh coming into their side. This is, from what I understand, the first of three splits that Vestiges have coming out.
Vestiges bring an epic ten-minute track to the split, effectively making it hard for Ghaust to really top it. This is, basically, a post-metal song that makes use of everything from their debut, the post-rock, the screamo, the black metal, and the hardcore. In essence, I don't think it's really anything new for the band, but it certainly has a great amount of variety and energy in it that keeps it from getting dull, constantly shifting around. It's one of those songs that maintains the ability to sound post-rock while, except for the beginning, never really adhering to that sound strictly.
Now onto Ghaust's side of the split, which houses two songs. Now, what you're getting from both tracks is a weird sort of post-metal sound, I say weird because it's constructed and sounds different than the multitude of bands emerging from Europe and America doing this style. At times the band go into a near thrash sort of assault and it really made me do a double-take to make sure I was really listening to the right band and make sure the track didn't skip. It's a bit odd, because between the two tracks, you get an amalgamation of post-rock, thrash, crust punk, shoegaze, and post-punk, it shouldn't go together but it surprisingly works. There are moments where it's really melodic, which isn't all that surprising, but it's when it goes a little spastic and dissonant during Sleep and Release that I seriously was surprised, it sounded like something out of a mathcore record.
It's a nice little split with good solid songs from both bands. Personally, while I don't think Vestiges really did anything new with this track, and having never heard Ghaust before, I think it's three pretty good songs. I don't think it's really anything to write home about, but if you're a fan of either of the bands, I think it's definitely worth looking into.
Overall Score: 7.5
Highlights: VI, Sleep and Release