KARATE Pockets (Southern) cd 14.98
Sounds like the Karate kids have been listening to lots of '70s AOR soft rock and R&B. The first song seems deeply inspired by Santana's song "Spooky" -- indeed, the first few songs do seem to be Karate's 'Meditations on Santana' or something to that effect. It's all smooth and mellow, easy listening guitars, but with sensitive, spoken-sung boyish vocals over top. From there they revert back to their former more familiar long-standing post-rock selves for a couple of songs with plenty of loud/quiet Slint-isms, and then sort of vacillate back and forth noncommitally between their old and new selves for the remainder of the album. It's all well executed, but somewhat confusing to say the least. An added treat: Chris Brokaw (Codeine, Come) pops in mid-album to contribute some guitars licks to one song "Cacaphony".
MPEG Stream: "With Age"
MPEG Stream: "The State I'm In "

KARATE Some Boots (Southern) cd 14.98
Nine overwrought, self-serious, and longwinded (only one is shorter than 4 minutes, four exceed 7 minutes), jazzy postrock numbers (including one bonus cd-only track). This is just as bad as if not worse than their disapointing Cancel/Sing EP released earlier this year. Santana and the Grateful Dead these guys are definitely not, although they often sound like that's what they're aspiring to be. Good musicians does not equal good music. Snooze. Sorry, Karate fans...
RealAudio clip: "First Release"
RealAudio clip: "Ice Or Ground?"

KARATE Unsolved (Southern) cd 14.98

KARIE, KAHIMI K.K.K.K.K. (Le Grand Magistery) cd 12.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Kahimi's ultra-sweet baby doll vocals twit and twitter around a Gainesbourg/Bacharach-sque melodious stew. Much like a super amped up Pizzicato Five. Lots of Momus here (words, music, production, etc), but Add 'N' to (X), Stereo-Total, and Buffalo Daughter also put in their two bits worth. Soaring pop on a grand scale. Warning: may induce sugar shock.

KARIE, KAHIMI s/t (Minty Fresh) cd 14.98
Super saccharinely sweet female vocals from this woman who has been called a female Cornelius. He guests on this record, as does Momus.

KARJALAN SISSIT Tanssit On Loppu Nyt (Cyclic Law) cd 15.98

MPEG Stream: "Taa On Katastroofi, Saatana"
MPEG Stream: "Kiitan Puolestani"
MPEG Stream: "Nagon Vacker Dag Far Du Smaka Pa Finn Yxan Javla Rip-Off Gubbe"

KARK The Hermit (HP Cycle) lp 15.98
We had never heard of Kark before, but boy is this a serious slab of free sonic exploration! Kark are a revolving ensemble of over 50 musicians, and it sounds like it. Featuring various Louisville luminaries who also do time in Sapat, Valley of Ashes, Virgin Eye Blood Brothers, Son of Earth, Taiwan Death and others, The Hermit begins with some barely there glitch and crumble, a mumbled murky soundscape, which just sets the listener up to be knocked the fuck out when the group explodes into a furious blast of some sort of demonic big band jazz, a dizzying angular atonal jazz dirge, like Sun Ra possessed by the spirit of Merzbow, splattery drums and bleating horns, a cacophonous percussive chaos, free jazz gone haywire, but always, at least tenuously, linked to some shadow of traditional jazz. Some tracks seriously swing, albeit in a seriously unhinged manner, others sound like free jazz filtered through Masonna, like an orchestra being hurled down a thousand flights of stairs. Pretty amazing, probably too much for run of the mill jazz-niks, but the for the jazz-noise inclined this just might be pure heaven. Packaged in a full color sleeve with a full color, and of course information-less, insert.

KARKI, BHARAT & PARTY International Music (EM Records) cd 17.98
It's on kick ass Japanese reissue label EM. It's a cd reissue of a 1978 Indian private press lp of far out and freaky Indian psychedelic funk. And it RULES! Really what else do you need to know?
One of our favorite EM releases in a while, every time we play this people flip out and need to figure out what the heck it is. And what it is, is a fantastical, dizzying collection of wild percussion, fluttery flutes, reverbed guitar jangle, chaotic drumming, heavy fuzzy bass, sexy grooves, wheezing organs, surf guitar twang, skronky horns, awesomely twisted Moogs, all wound up into totally off the hook seventies Indian party music, lots of influences from the US, from the Middle East, from Latin America, Eastern melodies wind around more traditional rock and pop, Indian folk music gets tweaked and twisted, old fashioned Indian pop gets a Joe Meek style kitchen sink makeover, guitars are distorted, processed, reverbed, melodies are playful and sunshiney one second, murky and mysterious the next, the sounds are festive and funky and so fun, definitely reminiscent of Dengue Fever's Cambodian pop, of some of the Sublime Frequencies collections, but somehow, more freaky and far out and psychedelic. We seriously can't stop listening to this. One of our favorite reissues this year so far...
MPEG Stream: "A Trip To Kathmandu"
MPEG Stream: "International Peace"
MPEG Stream: "Calcutta Calcutta"

KARKOWSKI, ZBIGNIEW Attuning / Attending (Musica Genera) cd 16.98
For all of the sonic force that Zbigniew Karkowski has inflicted on the world over the past two and half decades, it can be easy to forget that Karkowski had studied under Iannis Xenakis, the architect who turned to avant-garde composition by way of mathematics. Karkowski's signature performances of toxic orchestrations and polluted noise can be downright brutal. So when it comes to a restrained piece of electronic minimalism, as in the utterly compelling Attuning / Attending, it's much easier to hear the connections in Karkowski's composed sound to the Apollonian facets of Xenakis' work. On this hard-to-find Polish import, Karkowski presents an extended set of flickering vibrations and electrical tones which modulate and mutate against undercurrents of sinewaves and clouds of static. Occasional subharmonic rumblings, shadowy drones, and metallic, flanging rasps of grey noise allude to Karkowski's ill-tempered noise constructs; but they are always kept in check within looped, repetitive structures. All of this shares more than a passing glance at Xenakis' Concret PH, the seminal electro-acoustic piece composed from the crackle of burning coals. Karkowski's sources seem to be wholly digital in nature, but they are tempered with a granular tactility reflective of Xenakis' embers. Quite a nice surprise!
MPEG Stream: "[excerpt 1]"
MPEG Stream: "[excerpt 2]"

KARKOWSKI, ZBIGNIEW Choice of Points for the Application of Force (Ytterbium) cd 12.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Zbigniew Karkowski has been generating physically impressive sound collages for the past 2 decades, with a number of solo projects as well as in collaboration with Merzbow, the Hafler Trio, John Duncan, Sensorband, Aube, and others. Karkowski, like Duncan, approaches sound as a pure energy that has the potential to overwhelm and control the listener with an almost totalitarian force. While his sounds resemble the pure sine waves of Ryoji Ikeda or Noto, he contextualizes such sounds not as theatrical abstractions of '60s minimalism, but as violent rips in time & space.
"Choice of Points for The Application of Force" begins with a noxious low end rumble that fills any space with huge standing waves that resonate through the body. Slowly, gritty chunks of digitized noise explode against the low frequencies, building up to mid-range static buzzing and black-hole energy. An excellent addition to any catalogue of digital clickery, with a definite emphasis on the darkside.

KARKOWSKI, ZBIGNIEW Consciously Unconscious, Unconsciously Conscious (Metamkine) 3"cd 8.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Contributing to the ongoing "Cinema pour l'oreille" series of 3" CDs from Metamkine, the uncompromising electronic composer Zbigniew Karkowski offers another noxious slab of low frequency sound that ripples as massive standing waves and chugging fluctuations. As the short 19 minute program continues, Karkowski intermittently inverts the low frequencies to painfully high ones modulated with all sorts of ray-gun effects and the psycho-acoustic play between slightly detuned stereo channels (i.e. Ryoji Ikeda, Alvin Lucier, etc). Karkowski has claimed that "he is not interested in traditional definitions of what is music; in his opinion, all theory and systems of music as cultural concepts have to be destroyed." Yet, contarian that he is, Karkowski continues by stating his work is an allegory (a very common linguistic / narrative device) concerned with "realizing drama with sound [as] electronic and acoustic walls with scores based on architectures of ruins." Of course, Karkowski would claim little allegiance to the realm of language preferring to build his own monuments dedicated to himself and his self-deterministic free-will through the sheer power of sound. A Fitzcarraldo-like testament to the glory of hubris.
RealAudio clip: "Consiously Unconscious, Unconsciously Conscious"

KARKOWSKI, ZBIGNIEW Elasticity Of Time (Raw Special Effects) cd 14.98

KARKOWSKI, ZBIGNIEW It (Mego) 3"cd 9.98
The uncompromising Zbnigniew Karkowski has recently been screwing around with the sound of raw data as it streams across the internet, resulting in a number of experiments that produced little in the way of interesting sounds. Fortunately, his first release for Mego is a return to the sound of his great collaborations with the Hafler Trio in the early 90s. "It" is a blistering collage of mutilated sine waves and gut churning bass tones sounding like a grittier / more organic version of Ryoji Ikeda phase patterns. Excellent work!

KARKOWSKI, ZBIGNIEW One And Many (Sub Rosa) cd 14.98

KARKOWSKI, ZBIGNIEW & ANTIMATTER kHz (Auscultare) cd 12.98
kHz is the second collaboration between the globe trotting sonic bruitist Zbigniew Karkowski and Asphodel's inhouse engineer par excellence Xopher Davidson (aka Antimatter). Where so many Karkowski records push noise to the extremes of volume, pressure, density, and masculine expressivity, kHz follows Function Generator -- the 2001 collaboration with Antimatter -- in setting forth a composition of relatively soft, low-end rumblings from sinewave generators and analogue electronics (another detour for the increasingly digitally dependent Karkowski). Karkowski and Davidson coax a surprisingly gentle purr out of those machines; but never fear, the two eventually build up to a psychoacoustically antagonistic crescendo of noxious frequency pulses and white noise accumulations. Altogther, this stands as one of the most listenable Karkowski records in a very long time.
MPEG Stream: "Excerpt 1"
MPEG Stream: "Excerpt 2"

KARKOWSKI, ZBIGNIEW & HELMUT SCHAFER Disruptor (Error) cd 14.98
Karkowski (who has collaborated with the Hafler Trio, CM von Hausswolff, John Duncan, and Ulf Bilting) now finds his time shared with Helmut Schaefer for an album which draws very complimentary comparisons to Mille Plateaux's Restgeraeusch in obliterating electronica beats in a gritty digitized blast of static as if Chain Reaction records were being broadcast on a shitty AM radio. Metallic drones ala Muslimgauze and distorted beats degenerate into roaring static pulses ala Xenakis, Bohor I and ...rain... very beautiful and highly recommended.

KARKOWSKI, ZBIGNIEW & TETSUO FURUDATE World As Will III (Sub Rosa) cd 16.98

KARKOWSKI, ZBIGNIEW / FRANCISCO LOPEZ Turnoff (Noise Asia) cd 14.98
Within the condensed format of this 3" CD, Zbigniew Karkowski and Francisco Lopez get to the point very quickly. Eschewing his typical approach of incredibly slow building compositions, Lopez allows himself to be relatively active in his sound-collage. At a brief 10 minutes, "Untitled #132" ramps up through variable passages of processed white noise, some of which appear to be his cricket / locust field recordings while others might be the amplified electrical hum of a computer hard drive. Regardless of the source material, Lopez steadily brings the volume up on his bristling sounds, then cuts the power. He has set up multiple tracks of these ramp-up-to-drop-outs to fill the entire sonic spectrum. The final terminal snap is all the more unsettling only because Karkowski's power-violence is lurking around the corner. It's possible that both artists are applying the same source material to their signature sounds. While Lopez is a little bit more dynamic than usual, Karkowski follows his brash noise approach. Every sound is as loud as possible, as distorted as possible, as misanthropic as possible, and as ugly as possible. Note: limited quanity in stock, as we got 'em directly from Mr. Karkowski when he dropped by the store the other day, and we don't expect to get more.
MPEG Stream: FRANCISCO LOPEZ "Untitled 132"
MPEG Stream: ZBIGNIEW KARKOWSKI "Wave Terrain"

KARKOWSKI, ZBIGNIEW / XOPHER DAVIDSON Function Generator (SIRR.ecords) cd 14.98
Polish-born, Japanese-dwelling experimental electronics artist Karkowski (well known for his solo work, as well as his many collaborations with the likes of Merzbow, the Hafler Trio and John Duncan) here teams up with one Xopher Davidson (who has previously recorded under the name Antimatter) for some explorations in the realms of extremely low frequency sounds. We're told that 100Hz is the *maximum* level found on this disc. Pulsing, droning stuff as you might expect. The deep rumble and hum of "Function Generator" seems soothing to us, rather than distressing, but your results may vary...

KARMA TO BURN Almost Heathen (Spitfire) cd 16.98
Latest and possibly greatest album by this always kinda-good-but-not-quite-there-yet-until-now-perhaps stoner rock band. What sets Karma To Burn apart from their peers is that they're a purely instrumental outfit, despite label-forced flirtations with having a vocalist. This stuff is dark and heavy and metallic and chock full o' riffs. You'd think a band like this, without singing, would fill that void either with lotsa guitar soloing, maybe some extended acid-psych jamming -- but KtB are more about riffs and grooves, and it kinda makes you want, or expect, a singer to jump in, even though they're probably better off without one...

KARP Action Chemistry (Punk In My Vitamins?) cd 12.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Before there was irony-metal (C-Average, Godheadsilo, etc...), well not really before, but definitely pre-short-pants-white-belt-devil-sign-in-the-air-in-mock-love-of-satan-and-heavy-metal, there was Karp. Three fucked-up, drug-addled, punk rock miscreants raised on cheap beer and real metal. They ruled the scene playing metal, metal that the kids just assumed was punk rock 'casue it was fast and heavy and loud and the kids didn't know any better since they hadn't listened to metal in order to rebel against their stoner older brothers. Sadly, in 1998, Karp died, and Oly-punk kids everywhere lamented the demise of this punker-than-thou, sort of more-metal-than-thou Tumwater, WA gang of hooligans. Recapture their heavy, raging bite from the '90s with this collection of assorted covers, singles, and compilation tracks.
RealAudio clip: "Rocky Mountain Rescue"

KARP Self Titled LP (K) cd 12.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Newest, loudest, nastiest?

KARP Self Titled LP (K) lp 7.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Newest, loudest, nastiest?

KARP Suplex (k) cd 14.98
Three Oly boys makin' quite an awesome racket. Heavy-duty teen riff firepower. Lick a battery, salt those wounds... all in the name of Karp.

KARP Suplex (k) lp 9.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.

KARP/RYE Split CD (Troubleman Unlimited) split cd 12.98
This cd contains the Rye debut 7", the Karp/Rye split 12" and an entire live radio performance by Karp.

KARPOV Soliloquy (self-released) cd 9.98
Karpov is a wonderful new Bay Area combo whose specialty is enchanted gypsy minstrel music. Their earthy melodies roam and reel beautifully in deep jewel tones. If you swoon to the sounds of Beirut and A Hawk And A Hacksaw, this might be your ears' next delight!
MPEG Stream: "Sorry World"
MPEG Stream: "Imperfect"

KARUNA KHYAL Alomoni 1985 (Phoenix) cd 17.98
So imagine you're a longhaired Japanese hippy freak in the mid-'70s. You've been grooving to the cosmic sounds coming out of Germany on import LPs for the past few years, as well as digging the homegrown stuff too. Taj Mahal Travellers, Foodbrain, Speed Glue & Shinki, Magical Power Mako, yeah. But now you're looking for something even MORE potent. And primitive. And peculiar. Thankfully, on a visit to the Tokyo equivalent of Aquarius Records, you discover this release by a tiny Osaka based record label called Voice. And you, the jaded Japanese hippy, once again your mind is blown!
And thankfully for those of us not lucky enough to be born Japanese hippies in the '70s, this mind-blowingness has now been reissued on cd by Phoenix, joining that label's reissue roster of other crucial Japanese '70s prog/psych like Flower Travellin' Band's Satori and The Far East Family Band's Nipponjin (reviewed here last list). This one, if you're curious, earned the 19th spot on the Top 50 list found in Julian Cope's book Japrocksampler.
It's record by a mysterious outfit known as Karuna Khyal, entitled Alomoni 1985. We're not sure why it's called that, in fact, we're not sure of much about this, not even the year it was first released ('75? '76?), except that it's freakin' far out and totally amazing. And that they're probably the same folks who recorded another awesome album under the name Brast Burn, that we assume Phoenix will also get around to reissuing (they'd both been previously put out on cd some years ago by Paradigm Disc, that's how come we're familiar with them, but those reissues are long gone).
It consists of two side-long tracks, each around 24 minutes of hard to describe insanity. The first one starts off like some sort of krautrock meets Native American pow-wow, stoned vocal chant accompanied by harmonica blowing and slide guitar, flowing into a more murky zone of Can-like groove, with relaxed, rhythmic percolations from hand percussion, caressed by free improv piping. Then about half-way through the track, it takes a plunge into proto-isolationist drones and distortion, with backwards tape manipulations and echoing FX... later still, the throbbing, nodding pulse is adorned by more mumbled Beefheartian blues babble. By the end of the track, it's a looping phantasmagoria of voice, electronics, harmonica, like a backporch Philip Jeck jam! Ok?
Then track two begins. Even further out, in a black void... a beat starts... steady... then it quickens, slows, stops and starts again amidst a sinister swooshing swirl of disembodied voices and electronic detritus. Wow. Weird. Bad trip territory! It builds and builds, with kazoo-like sounds buzzing and blapping over a repetitive martial rhythm violently strummed or drummed on some sort of distended, elastic instrument, a bass heavy chunk-chunk-chunk drilling deep like a trepanist's tool, through your skull into your soon to be free brain. Eventually it morphs into twisted harmonica-blowing jam, hypnotic and disturbed, voices hooting and mewling and laughing and mantrically chanting... The second half of this track is total bedlam, but still utterly hypnotic.
Good grief! We have to assume the Boredoms are familiar with this record. And doubtless Kawabata Makoto would give his left arm, or even his beard, to get his Acid Mothers Temple to sound this far out.
Limited edition of 1000 copies, in a cardstock "wallet" sleeve like the label's other releases.
MPEG Stream: "track 1 "
MPEG Stream: "track 2"

KASABIAN s/t (RCA) cd 12.98
Yes, Kasabian are yet another major label retro-styled buzz band, but what's different with these Brits from the recent flurry is that the sources from which they're copping their sound are much more recent. Rather than drawing from the '70s and '80s, think early '90s Happy Mondays and Pop Will Eat Itself or Primal Scream's awesome rave-rock song "Swastika Eyes" (yeesh, that was only from 2000!). However although Kasabian's music in many ways resembles that of those bands, theirs doesn't necessarily further nor better the originals. Plus their referencing of Neu and DJ Shadow does not help matters. Sure, there's plenty of Brit band high-falutin' bombast, but where's the adrenaline rush? Dare we peoclaim that the abovementioned "Swastika Eyes" lays this whole album to waste. Not to mention, their grammar is atrocious! "Trying not to make no sound"?! Uh, that is, unless they truly meant to say that they're trying not to be silent. Who knows? Anyways, if you liked the sound back then and are looking for a new party album of a similar ilk, you *might* wanna check out this glossy, remodelled -- but not necessarily upgraded -- version. Otherwise, you'll prolly be inclined to steer clear.
MPEG Stream: "Club Foot"
MPEG Stream: "Reason Is Treason"

KASHMERE STAGE BAND Texas Thunder Soul 1968-1974 (Now-Again) 2cd 21.00

KASNER, STEPHEN Works: 1993-2006 (Scapegoat Publishing) book 38.00
Most of you probably won't be familiar with the name Stephen Kasner, but most readers of the AQ list, and therefore very likely owners of many weird and obscure and heavy records, will most definitely recognize his work. A well respected visual artist, Kasner is probably best known, at least to us, as the man responsible for lots of iconic album cover art, having created covers for Sunn 0))), Khylist, Integrity, Ruhr Hunter, Himsa, Trephine, Rotting Christ, and tons more.
His art is amazing. Very striking and quite haunting. Bleak, austere, dark, and nightmarish. Mysterious figures, faces and shapes, animals and figures, signs and symbols, all suspended in fields of washed out browns and greys, blacks and off whites, strangely lit, weirdly textured, each image looking like some old parchment, recovered from the ruins of an ancient temple, the images at once hellish and horrific, lovely and utterly entrancing. Layered and textured, incredibly detailed, but subtly so, you can gaze into Kasner's paintings and feel like you're falling in, or being dragged in.
Record cover fetishists will definitely dig, but art freeks into photographers like Joel Peter Witkin, Max Aguilera-Hellweg, and visual artists like Francis Bacon Odd Nerdrum, H.R. Geiger and AQ customer Justin Bartlett (who's done many of your favorite heavy records as well).
It's a gorgeous cloth covered hardback book, 10.5"x10.5", 160 pgs, beautifully laid out, includes text from Dwid of Integrity, Seldon Hunt and more...
ps: Coming soon: a new series of releases on Utech, all with original Kasner artwork and featuring such aQ faves as Skullflower, Aluk Todolo, Vulture Club and more. Can't wait!

KATAKLYSM Epic (The Poetry of War) (Nuclear Blast) cd 14.98
After a completely baffling stumble into sort of industrial punk nu-metal (complete with a record cover depicting a homeless crusty punk girl and her skateboard?!?!?), Kataklysm get back to basics and spit out a MONSTROUS record of brutally blackened death metal. Complete with pounding blast beats, inhuman shrieks, crushing riffs, gut churning low end, and even some almost-catchy, NWOBHM-style parts.
RealAudio clip: "Il Diavolo In Me"
RealAudio clip: "Damnation Is Here"

KATASTROFIALUE Tuskatakuu 1994-1996 (Crucial Blast) cd 13.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
How can so much amazing rock come from such a small country?! It never ceases to amaze us! I of course am talking about Finland. Home of Circle, Keukhot, Aavikko, Ajattara, Haikara, Finntroll, Mieskuoro Huutajaat, Pan Sonic, Shape Of Despair, etc. This time it's the mighty Katastrofialue rearing their ugly head and showing us what we've been missing. And what we've been missing is some furious thrash/metal/hardcore ala Discharge, Sore Throat, Seige, Amebix, etc. Formed in 1992 and disbanded in 1999 after the tragic death of their guitarist, these crusty punks whipped up a frenzy of buzzing guitars, pounding drums, and raw-throated howls, short blasts of violent fury, with intense lyrics all sung in their native Finnish. Seriously old school kick ass thrash. Another -ahem- crucial blast from the all-hit-and-no-miss Crucial Blast label. Packaged beautifully (as are all their releases), this time in a DVD style case, with a big book, with cool liner notes and all the lyrics (with the English translations too!).
RealAudio clip: "Veriset Piikit"
RealAudio clip: "Bosnian Kevat"
RealAudio clip: "Oksettavat Ideologiat"

KATATONIA Brave Yester Days (Century Media) 2cd 16.98
Excellent collection for the Katatonia newbie, with some rarities for fans... though the fans here already had most of the rare tracks. Recommended for those not yet acquainted with this Swedish band's gloomy doom-pop (kinda like a metal Cure).
MPEG Stream: "Murder"
MPEG Stream: "Rainroom"

KATATONIA Discouraged Ones (Century Media) cd 12.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Brilliant melancholy not-even-really-metal-anymore music from this boundary-pushing Swedish outfit. Originally inspired by British melodic doom-death act Paradise Lost, Katatonia on Discouraged Ones is equally influenced by the likes of The Cure, Pink Floyd and the Red House Painters!

KATATONIA Last Fair Deal Gone Down (Peaceville) cd 16.98
After making the recent domestic release of their "Tonight's Decision" opus our "record of the week" on the last AQ-L, we are now very happy to present this BRAND NEW album from these Swedish gods of melancholy. Genius heavy downer pop that will appeal to everyone from Katatonia's core audience of doom-death metal freaks to Jeff Buckley fans to goths to alt. rockers with a clue. Like its predecessor, "Last Fair Deal Gone Down" continues their trademark sound of hypnotically-catchy, psychedelic, melancholic rock, still reminding us of Pink Floyd, Red House Painters, The Cure, and, of course, Katatonia's ever-heavy doom/death metal roots. There's no Jeff Buckley cover (or covers of anybody else) this time, but this new album does seem more varied than "Tonight's Decision", and perhaps more daring and dangerous. There's the inimitable Katatonia brand gloom-pop of "Teargas", the trip-hop/electronica beats that surface on "We Must Bury You", the delicacy of "Sweet Nurse" and the somewhat Tool-like vocal/guitar parts of "Clean Today". Katatonia's mastery of the mixture of melody and heaviness is worthy of fellow AQ-faves Opeth and Agents of Oblivion. This import (no word yet on any domestic release) comes packaged in a handsome, four-way folding digipak. The sticker on the front goes so far as to say "Probably the best Peaceville album -- ever!!" and while we'd have to say that Darkthrone and Pentagram might have some arguments with that, the statement is not idle hyperbole. Recommended! If you dug "TD" you know you're going to want this!
RealAudio clip: "Teargas"
RealAudio clip: "I Transpire"
RealAudio clip: "Passing Bird"

KATATONIA Night Is The New Day (Peaceville) cd 16.98
Nobody does heartbreaking heaviness like Sweden's Katatonia. Nobody. Every record is just the perfect blend of dour gloom pop, and crushing massive metal crush, and Night Is The New Day is no different. It's tempting to say this is the best Katatonia yet, but we really can't because they're ALL great, all practically perfect. If you have all the other ones you're obviously gonna need this one too, odds are you've been dying for it since you first found out a new one was coming. For the rest of you, if you've somehow gone this long without ever hearing Katatonia, it's definitely time to fix that.
This is Katatonia's 8th full length in a little over 15 years, originally these guys were something way more metal, but even back then, they sounded more Cure than My Dying Bride, the gloom and miserablism already seeping into their music. But once the focus shifted, their sound was perfect, and has remain virtually unchanged ever since. Dark brooding metal ballads, we've described them in the past as a doom metal Cure, or a metallized Depeche Mode, but they've become so much more. The covered a Jeff Buckley on a past record, and suddenly it wasn't that difficult to imagine what might have happened had Buckley played with a metal backup band.
Katatonia manage the impossible, balancing delicate, hushed classic rock balladry, with epic modern doom, the guitars massive, the drums pounding, the vocals lush, lots of harmonies, no screeching, it's more like Alice In Chains in the vocal department, but it suits their chugging doom ballads. This is one of those bands who are really difficult to describe, their sound definitely borrows from all over the place, but manages to be totally original, it seems like it would be too wussy for most metalheads, yet, rare is the metalhead who doesn't LOVE Katatonia, and we MEAN LOOOOOVE. Must be tied in to that weird phenomenon of most metalheads digging the Cure and Depeche Mode, and in that case, Katatonia makes way more sense, cuz while they do sound a lot like those two bands, they are also HEAVY, when they want to be. Not sure what else to say, check the sound samples, if "Forsaker" doesn't convince you, then another couple hundred words probably won't either. Deep, dark, melodic, doomy, heavy and heartfelt, and just so goddamn good.
Some of us around here have been waiting for this record for months, maybe even years actually, and we were NOT disappointed, a record of the year contender for sure.
MPEG Stream: "Forsaker"
MPEG Stream: "The Longest Year"
MPEG Stream: "Idle Blood"
MPEG Stream: "Onward Into Battle"

KATATONIA The Great Cold Distance (Peaceville) cd 16.98
We've said it before but it bears repeating, whenever we hear metal bands cover their teenage influences, especially Depeche Mode or the Cure (why do all metal bands LOVE those two bands?), we always secretly wish there would be a band who just actually sounded like that. Not a metal band being ironic or retro, but a heavy heavy band who made incredibly dark and depressing emotional music. Ultra personal and epically miserable. Thus we are massive fans of Katatonia.
Imagine a doom metal Cure, or a metallized Depeche Mode. Katatonia may have started life as a serious doom/death metal band, channeling Paradise Lost, with thick downtuned grinding buzzing guitars, and harsh black metal vocals, but with the release of their classic Discouraged Ones record, they switched to clean vocals and the sound of the band followed suit. A massive, gloomy and dreamy doompop. Exactly what we had been wishing for. Catchy as heck, heavy as hell, but totally morose and melancholy. Since then the band has continued to polish and hone their epic commercial doom, with each record finding them moving closer and closer to MTV rock, but without losing their edge, managing to stay creepy and heavy. But shit, their songs are so good and so catchy, and intense and emotional, it was only a matter of time before these guys blew up. It hasn't happened yet, but listening to The Great Cold Distance, it can't be long now. Lots of moody expanses of bass and drum groove, sprinkled with minor key guitar jangle, bookended by massive chugging metallic choruses, hooks everywhere, gorgeous crooned vocals, dark depressing lyrics, really moody and evocative and so so heavy. There is no reason these guys shouldn't be up there with Tool and the Deftones. They definitely travel the same sonic path, although Katatonia definitely display more of a true doom heritage. But c'mon, all that moody heavy rock that the oh-so-depressed generation Z lap up like Prozac, how have they not discovered Katatonia? If we were 15 again, and hated school and just broke up with our girlfriend, and were always fighting with our parents, we can guarantee you we'd be dressed all in black, wandering around our neighborhood late at night, after everyone was asleep, with The Great Cold Distance blasting in our headphones. And pretty much every track on here would sure as hell make it on all the mix tapes we ever made. But since we're not, we'll just have to make do, luxuriating in these lush depressive epics, wallowing in each glorious wash of miserable metallic doom pop!
Very recommended!!
MPEG Stream: "Leaders"
MPEG Stream: "Deliberation"
MPEG Stream: "My Twin"

KATATONIA The Great Cold Distance (Peaceville) lp 25.00
NOW ON VINYL!!
We've said it before but it bears repeating, whenever we hear metal bands cover their teenage influences, especially Depeche Mode or the Cure (why do all metal bands LOVE those two bands?), we always secretly wish there would be a band who just actually sounded like that. Not a metal band being ironic or retro, but a heavy heavy band who made incredibly dark and depressing emotional music. Ultra personal and epically miserable. Thus we are massive fans of Katatonia.
Imagine a doom metal Cure, or a metallized Depeche Mode. Katatonia may have started life as a serious doom/death metal band, channeling Paradise Lost, with thick downtuned grinding buzzing guitars, and harsh black metal vocals, but with the release of their classic Discouraged Ones record, they switched to clean vocals and the sound of the band followed suit. A massive, gloomy and dreamy doompop. Exactly what we had been wishing for. Catchy as heck, heavy as hell, but totally morose and melancholy. Since then the band has continued to polish and hone their epic commercial doom, with each record finding them moving closer and closer to MTV rock, but without losing their edge, managing to stay creepy and heavy. But shit, their songs are so good and so catchy, and intense and emotional, it was only a matter of time before these guys blew up. It hasn't happened yet, but listening to The Great Cold Distance, it can't be long now. Lots of moody expanses of bass and drum groove, sprinkled with minor key guitar jangle, bookended by massive chugging metallic choruses, hooks everywhere, gorgeous crooned vocals, dark depressing lyrics, really moody and evocative and so so heavy. There is no reason these guys shouldn't be up there with Tool and the Deftones. They definitely travel the same sonic path, although Katatonia definitely display more of a true doom heritage. But c'mon, all that moody heavy rock that the oh-so-depressed generation Z lap up like Prozac, how have they not discovered Katatonia? If we were 15 again, and hated school and just broke up with our girlfriend, and were always fighting with our parents, we can guarantee you we'd be dressed all in black, wandering around our neighborhood late at night, after everyone was asleep, with The Great Cold Distance blasting in our headphones. And pretty much every track on here would sure as hell make it on all the mix tapes we ever made. But since we're not, we'll just have to make do, luxuriating in these lush depressive epics, wallowing in each glorious wash of miserable metallic doom pop!
Very recommended!!
MPEG Stream: "Leaders"
MPEG Stream: "Deliberation"
MPEG Stream: "My Twin"

KATATONIA Tonight's Decision (Peaceville) cd 13.98
We listed this before when it was only available as a super-expensive, hard to get import. And even then we were like, you gotta get this, it's amazing! Now, at long last it's been issued domestically, at reasonable price -- and it's even been repackaged in a slipcase (jewelbox inside), with two previously unreleased bonus tracks! So now there's nothing to keep us from making it record of the week, which Tonight's Decision so totally deserves. It's the follow-up to 1998's Discouraged Ones, a record that threw everyone for a loop, with clean singing and an hypnotic, almost Cure-like (but ultra-heavy) sound, refining their earlier and harsher black metalish doom-death style. This time around, these Swedes are even more mellow and depressed. They even do a great Jeff Buckley cover (better than the original we think)! In fact, the more we listen to it, the harder it is to understand why they're not huge. They should be huge, but they're ghettoized as a European metal band on a metal label. Don't take this the wrong way, but if Katatonia could somehow get into heavy rotation on MTV or your local alternative rock radio station, they'd be SO popular. But never fear, it's still metal. Just artful, gloomy, doomy, post-death metal with enough melody and emotion and atmosphere to make you cry. Really, one of the best metal records of the year. Yet, one that supposed non-metal fans could easily love as well, for its gloom-pop brilliance. Highly Recommended to all!!
They actually have a new album as well, Last Fair Deal Gone Down, coming out sometime later this year (maybe even later than that in the U.S.) and we can't wait!
RealAudio clip: "Nightmares By The Sea (Jeff Buckley)"
RealAudio clip: "Black Session"

KATATONIA Viva Emptiness (Peaceville) cd 13.98
Swedish doom metal / doom pop band Katatonia are established by now as big AQ faves. Their signature sound -- morose metallic heaviness that's utterly melodic and catchy, like some unholy marriage of The Cure and Opeth, or Tool and My Dying Bride -- is in full force on this, the follow-up to their last three brilliant albums (Last Fair Deal Gone Down, its Aquarius Record Of The Week predecessor Tonight's Decision, and stateside breakthrough Discouraged Ones). Fans of those albums won't be disappointed with "Viva Emptiness", indeed, this may be a case of sticking a little too close to the formula, but heck that's how they're perfecting it. We're not complaining. And we can say that perhaps this rocks a bit more, and faster, overall than some of those others, though the harder metallic assault still leaves plenty of room for quieter piano dirge ballads... Definitely sheer ear candy for those of us who like suicidal heaviness that's also totally radio-ready. Not that we can imagine actually hearing this on the radio, but you know what we mean. If you haven't gotten addicted to Katatonia yet, go ahead and check this one out. And if you have, then you're gonna have to get it!
Some further commentary from AQ-customer John Botz: As usual with Katatonia, great cold gray November day music. As an aside, these guys may do more with the "F" word than perhaps any other white band in history, i.e. "He went too far, that fucker," cracks me up. Also, this is probably their heaviest and fastest album since Brave Murder Day, leaving no doubt as to whether it's actually metal.
MPEG Stream: "Ghost Of The Sun"
MPEG Stream: "Wealth"

KATAXU Hunger of Elements (Conquistador / Supernal Music) cd 15.98

KATE MOSH (AKA PANACEA) Dynamo (Killer Pimp) cd 14.98
Panacea, our favorite formerly-corpulent German beat terrorist returns under another pseudonym (after also going by Rich Kid, Bad Street Boy, and M2) -- Kate Mosh. The music is trademark Panacea -- crushingly heavy beats and super doom-laden atmospheres, staccato highs and scattered static-laden vocal samples. It's very fun, very aggro and heavy. Everyone from fans of Atari Teenage Riot to Techno Animal will like this. On the new label Killer Pimp started by the fine folks at brainwashed.com.
RealAudio clip: "Across the Universe"

KATHAARIA The Complex Void Of Negativity (End All Life) cd 15.98

KATHARSIS 666 (Norma Evangelium Diaboli) cd 17.98
If there is a black metal label these days that truly defines elite and kult and grim it's for sure gotta be Norma Evangelium Diaboli. So far they've released the utterly amazing Funeral Mist, the most recent Deathspell Omega, the Katharsis Kruzifixion album, and now this, a reissue of Katharsis' first album the appropriately titled 666. We loved Kruzifixion but were informed by Wrest from Leviathan that 666 was way better. And while it's maybe not WAY better, it is pretty fucking great and a lot weirder. Just the first song alone lets you know what sort of hellish ride you're in for, obviously there's the requisite buzzing riffs, chaotic blastbeats, demonic vocals, but there's something about it that sounds truly posessed and just a bit fucked. The vocals occasionally slip into freaky falsetto screams, the whole thing is drenched in reverb so it sounds like you're witnessing some sort of black metal ritual in a cave you stumbled upon at the base of a huge dark mountain. By the end of the track the vocals and the riffs get all tangled up and become a slowly devolving swirl of black metal chaos, splattered drums and howls of "666, 666, 666, 666" drift up from the abyss as the whole track slowly slips into some subterranean netherworld. And it goes on and on like that, brittle buzzsaw riffs are repeated mantra like over pounding thrashing drums and squiggly alien sounding leads and creepy black ambience all swaddled in massive amounts of delay. But unlike a lot of black metal, 666 is full of actual songs, catchy songs too, not just a series of BM riffs strung together. No, like Satyricon or Immortal or more appropriately in this case, Darkthrone, these are the sort of black metal invocations that actually get stuck in your head. Nothing quite like humming some little melody while you're walking down the street only to realize it's "Raped By Demons" by German "Kommando Metal" outfit Katharsis. Fuck yeah. And if somehow you forget that you are listening to transmissions from the darkest pits of BM hell, the liner notes not only advise that you "Listen in darkness and at maximum volume" but also to "burn your local church!"...
MPEG Stream: "666 (Hohelied Der Wiedererweckung)"
MPEG Stream: "Thy Horror"

KATHARSIS Fourth Reich (Norma Evangelium Diaboli) cd 13.98
The 2009 return of Germany's completely unhinged Katharsis has proven to be one of the year's best and most evil surprises. The awesome recent split with Antaeus had metalheads wondering what Katharsis had been up to since their essential VVorld VVithout End album from 2006, but like the return of the similarly amazing Funeral Mist with Maranatha, folks everywhere were getting ready to shit all over Fourth Reich based on some vague initial responses from people who obviously have no clue what they are talking about. The big griping point seems to be that Fourth Reich is not as frantic and universe destroying as its predecessor, and there's no denying that the boys from Saxony had their work cut out for them. But after two spins of Fourth Reich it is clear that what we have here is one of the best metal records of the year, no question. Perhaps it is *slightly* less insane than VVorld, but more than anything it seems like the logical extension of that unruly beast, sounding exactly like what you would expect from something recorded at "Rape of Harmonies".
Three of the five songs here clock in at over 10 minutes, giving Katharsis plenty of time to sear your face off with their furious, unrelenting attack. Things kick off as out of control as you could ever hope for in a record with "So Nail The Hearts". In classic Katharsis fashion, the song is blazingly fast and like a tornado taking in everything in its path. And then of course there are those vocals... Try to imagine the general approximation of a demon clawing its way out of Hell, punctuated by moments that sound like a hysterical witch being tortured with some sharpened medieval object. Lyrically, the song tells a tale of blasphemous, Satanic destruction with choice couplets like "Our throats becometh an open grayve; vve'll use our sperm to deceive/the venom of asps is to be under our lipps; vve'll be armed vvith lyonne teethe." Woah. There is a brutal midtempo part halfway in, but even as the band slows for a brief moment, the super windy ambience of the recording keeps you firmly aware of Katharsis' cosmically blackened powers. Most unexpected with this song are the female vocals towards the end. STOP: we already know what you're thinking, and just be aware that this is nothing like what you generally find screwing up lots of black metal. Instead, the presence of the undeniably beautiful voice does ABSOLUTELY NOTHING to change the vile tone of this number, in fact, as Katharsis buzzes their way to the song's conclusion, it almost seems like the female vocals are simply there as some sort of religious mockery. Which, you know, is totally fucking awesome.
Next up we have "Eucharistick Funereall", beginning with a punkish riff and more unbelievable shrieking. It's so rad, and impossible to ignore, as we observed with customers desperately trying to focus on which record to buy as this beast buzzed all around them. The guitars are like napalm, and things eventually lead into a super thrashy groove with an uber-heavy D-beat brutalizing your skull. There is a gloomy breakdown with surprisingly melodic guitar melodies wrapped in the non-stop riffing before an awesome rock n' roll ending.
"Reckoning" is pretty much the sound of the black metal holocaust, an unwavering, hypnotic buzz of psychedelic proportions followed by the unexpected synthscape of "Emeralde Graves". Strangely majestic, but also ominous as hell and just plain creepy, this piece is quite cinematic and plausible enough reason to believe that the dudes in Katharsis may own a Goblin record or two. It serves as a cool segue before the final song, "Sinn Koronation", a perfect closer that is slower, dirgier, and maybe even heavier than anything else on the record. Of course, things do reach lightspeed eventually with a very METAL guitar solo, but after a few minutes, Katharsis go back into their hateful lurch. Interestingly, their slower moments are incredibly powerful, not only on their own, but especially in contrast to the majority of the record. When Katharsis get all doomy toward the end of the song, it's like they've decided to just leave your mangled body in the wreckage they created, and then synths take over for a beautiful ending to an ugly, ugly record.
You get the impression that this band is unstoppable. They certainly sound like it. When one thinks about how reactionary parents have responded to metal over the past four decades, it usually turns out to be a whole lot of concern over nothing; Katharsis is exactly what they *thought* you were listening to all these years. So basically, we're giving this one our highest possible recommendation.
MPEG Stream: "So Nail The Hearts"
MPEG Stream: "Eucharistick Funereall"

KATHARSIS Fourth Reich (Norma Evangelium Diaboli) lp 23.00
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
The 2009 return of Germany's completely unhinged Katharsis has proven to be one of the year's best and most evil surprises. The awesome recent split with Antaeus had metalheads wondering what Katharsis had been up to since their essential VVorld VVithout End album from 2006, but like the return of the similarly amazing Funeral Mist with Maranatha, folks everywhere were getting ready to shit all over Fourth Reich based on some vague initial responses from people who obviously have no clue what they are talking about. The big griping point seems to be that Fourth Reich is not as frantic and universe destroying as its predecessor, and there's no denying that the boys from Saxony had their work cut out for them. But after two spins of Fourth Reich it is clear that what we have here is one of the best metal records of the year, no question. Perhaps it is *slightly* less insane than VVorld, but more than anything it seems like the logical extension of that unruly beast, sounding exactly like what you would expect from something recorded at "Rape of Harmonies".
Three of the five songs here clock in at over 10 minutes, giving Katharsis plenty of time to sear your face off with their furious, unrelenting attack. Things kick off as out of control as you could ever hope for in a record with "So Nail The Hearts". In classic Katharsis fashion, the song is blazingly fast and like a tornado taking in everything in its path. And then of course there are those vocals... Try to imagine the general approximation of a demon clawing its way out of Hell, punctuated by moments that sound like a hysterical witch being tortured with some sharpened medieval object. Lyrically, the song tells a tale of blasphemous, Satanic destruction with choice couplets like "Our throats becometh an open grayve; vve'll use our sperm to deceive/the venom of asps is to be under our lipps; vve'll be armed vvith lyonne teethe." Woah. There is a brutal midtempo part halfway in, but even as the band slows for a brief moment, the super windy ambience of the recording keeps you firmly aware of Katharsis' cosmically blackened powers. Most unexpected with this song are the female vocals towards the end. STOP: we already know what you're thinking, and just be aware that this is nothing like what you generally find screwing up lots of black metal. Instead, the presence of the undeniably beautiful voice does ABSOLUTELY NOTHING to change the vile tone of this number, in fact, as Katharsis buzzes their way to the song's conclusion, it almost seems like the female vocals are simply there as some sort of religious mockery. Which, you know, is totally fucking awesome.
Next up we have "Eucharistick Funereall", beginning with a punkish riff and more unbelievable shrieking. It's so rad, and impossible to ignore, as we observed with customers desperately trying to focus on which record to buy as this beast buzzed all around them. The guitars are like napalm, and things eventually lead into a super thrashy groove with an uber-heavy D-beat brutalizing your skull. There is a gloomy breakdown with surprisingly melodic guitar melodies wrapped in the non-stop riffing before an awesome rock n' roll ending.
"Reckoning" is pretty much the sound of the black metal holocaust, an unwavering, hypnotic buzz of psychedelic proportions followed by the unexpected synthscape of "Emeralde Graves". Strangely majestic, but also ominous as hell and just plain creepy, this piece is quite cinematic and plausible enough reason to believe that the dudes in Katharsis may own a Goblin record or two. It serves as a cool segue before the final song, "Sinn Koronation", a perfect closer that is slower, dirgier, and maybe even heavier than anything else on the record. Of course, things do reach lightspeed eventually with a very METAL guitar solo, but after a few minutes, Katharsis go back into their hateful lurch. Interestingly, their slower moments are incredibly powerful, not only on their own, but especially in contrast to the majority of the record. When Katharsis get all doomy toward the end of the song, it's like they've decided to just leave your mangled body in the wreckage they created, and then synths take over for a beautiful ending to an ugly, ugly record.
You get the impression that this band is unstoppable. They certainly sound like it. When one thinks about how reactionary parents have responded to metal over the past four decades, it usually turns out to be a whole lot of concern over nothing; Katharsis is exactly what they *thought* you were listening to all these years. So basically, we're giving this one our highest possible recommendation.
MPEG Stream: "So Nail The Hearts"
MPEG Stream: "Eucharistick Funereall"

KATHARSIS Kruzifixion (Norma Evangelium Diaboli) cd 17.98
From the label that brought us the amazing Deathspell Omega that we listed a few months back, comes yet another missive from the black metal underground, this time it's the German horde Katharsis and it doesn't get much more grim than this. A buzzing blasting winter wind of thrashing riffs and furious blast beats. Primitive and lo-fi and totally brutal and ferocious. You'll be sold in the first ten seconds, with the opening scream, a terrifying glass shattering shriek, like a flock of angry ravens, over a throbbing fuzzed out riff. The whole record is a mesmerizing slab of droned out black metal riffery, all soul shredding buzz and warm subterranean buzz. Fans of ultra raw black metal will definitely be blown away. Packaged in a cool black on metallic silver sleeve with the image of a crucified black metal ghoul.
MPEG Stream: "The Chosen One"
MPEG Stream: "Luziferion"

KATHARSIS VVorld VVithout End (Norma Evangelium Diaboli) cd 17.98
Similar to the West Coast axis of US black metal, Leviathan, Xasthur, Draugar, Crebain, etc... there is another less geographically based hub, centered around French label Norma Evangelium Diaboli, a label that has managed to gather up most of the super intense, ultra progressive new wave of black metal bands: Deathspell Omega, Funeral Mist, Antaeus, Katharsis... Every record gorgeously designed, and inside each, all manner of black metal conventions twisted into uniquely hellish shapes. It's a bit surprising NED hasn't swooped in and tried to add Leviathan to their elite black brood. But while Leviathan is indeed twisted in his own way, there is definitely a distinctly European feel to the bands on NED.
Where as DSO are like a black metal Slint, with epic arrangements of black buzz and plenty of brooding post rock passages, and Funeral Mist are a grim black horde with massive production, creeped out ambience and thick swaths of impossibly pummeling brutality, Katharsis are a spastic, "Kommando Metal" blast of blackened thrashing drums and buzzing insect guitars, bizarre reverb drenched psychedelic leads and freaked out vocals that scream, howl, growl and shriek, all smeared into massive black squalls of relentless blackthrash. This German outfit are not about subtlety, their sound is intensely furious burst after harsh hellish blast of ultra intense, brittle and buzzy black metal, channelling the old school classics through their own cracked and screwed perspective.
But it's the epic album closer, the 16 minute title track "VVorld VVithout End" where the band really push the limits, and take their own peculiar black metal into totally new realms, slowing down to a buzzing Burzumic midtempo lope, slipping into a weirdly propulsive groove, when suddenly insane falsetto vocals, and keening high end lead guitars whirl into a bizarre super dramatic, super tense minor key crescendo, then returning to the same buzzy groove. This happens a few more times, before everything sort of collapses into thick swirling thrashing chaos, multiple vocals, some shrieking, some grunted and spoken, bits of hysterical laughter, tangled and convoluted buzzing riffs, angular melodies, all crashing and slamming into each other, drunkenly slipping from lightning fast blast to lugubrious crawl to midtempo lurch in a dizzying fade to black. So goddamn good.
And as with all NED releases, amazing packaging!
MPEG Stream: "Eden Belovv"
MPEG Stream: "Kross Fyre"
MPEG Stream: "Vvitchdance"

KATHARSIS VVorld VVithout End (Norma Evangelium Diaboli) lp 17.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Similar to the West Coast axis of US black metal, Leviathan, Xasthur, Draugar, Crebain, etc... there is another less geographically based hub, centered around French label Norma Evangelium Diaboli, a label that has managed to gather up most of the super intense, ultra progressive new wave of black metal bands: Deathspell Omega, Funeral Mist, Antaeus, Katharsis... Every record gorgeously designed, and inside each, all manner of black metal conventions twisted into uniquely hellish shapes. It's a bit surprising NED hasn't swooped in and tried to add Leviathan to their elite black brood. But while Leviathan is indeed twisted in his own way, there is definitely a distinctly European feel to the bands on NED.
Where as DSO are like a black metal Slint, with epic arrangements of black buzz and plenty of brooding post rock passages, and Funeral Mist are a grim black horde with massive production, creeped out ambience and thick swaths of impossibly pummeling brutality, Katharsis are a spastic, "Kommando Metal" blast of blackened thrashing drums and buzzing insect guitars, bizarre reverb drenched psychedelic leads and freaked out vocals that scream, howl, growl and shriek, all smeared into massive black squalls of relentless blackthrash. This German outfit are not about subtlety, their sound is intensely furious burst after harsh hellish blast of ultra intense, brittle and buzzy black metal, channelling the old school classics through their own cracked and screwed perspective.
But it's the epic album closer, the 16 minute title track "VVorld VVithout End" where the band really push the limits, and take their own peculiar black metal into totally new realms, slowing down to a buzzing Burzumic midtempo lope, slipping into a weirdly propulsive groove, when suddenly insane falsetto vocals, and keening high end lead guitars whirl into a bizarre super dramatic, super tense minor key crescendo, then returning to the same buzzy groove. This happens a few more times, before everything sort of collapses into thick swirling thrashing chaos, multiple vocals, some shrieking, some grunted and spoken, bits of hysterical laughter, tangled and convoluted buzzing riffs, angular melodies, all crashing and slamming into each other, drunkenly slipping from lightning fast blast to lugubrious crawl to midtempo lurch in a dizzying fade to black. So goddamn good.
And as with all NED releases, amazing packaging!
MPEG Stream: "Eden Belovv"
MPEG Stream: "Kross Fyre"
MPEG Stream: "Vvitchdance"