I really don’t know where to start with this one. Let’s start with the label description: “Eras is a highly sophisticated, wildly versatile and strikingly mysterious affair – delving much deeper into the genre-splicing and marching-to-the-beat-of-its-own drum that the band has always been revered for.” They go on to say that Apse is one of the few that can get away with claiming “a genre of their own.” I agree that many try, but few succeed, yet I also concur that Apse is one of the successes. You really just need to hear it to understand it. Imagine if Chemical Brothers, Godspeed You Black Emperor, and Coil got together to do an album. I think it would sound something like this. This album is all over the place. For example, “The Gloom” has a peaceful sort of groove that supports languid vocals. Contrast this with “Up in the Eaves” which is a spastic track that is has vocals like “I’m up in the eaves / where no one can see / when the head of the state / is getting’ it on” and “I’m back to save the universe.” This track alone was worth the price of admission. “Salt of the Earth” evokes the feeling of a very dark spaghetti western - I suppose if there was a genre of “vampire western,” this would be a great soundtrack. At other times there are tracks that seem to function more as incidental music. Yet overall, this was a fun album that really does seem to push the envelope. If you are looking for someone who really is doing something different, this is definitely one to pick up. Like all Equation Records releases, this is beautifully packaged in gatefold sleeve with lyrics and pressed on 180 gram vinyl. It’s limited to 425 copies, so you will want to pick this one up. If you just want to hear it, you can download it at Apse's website.

The label describes it thus: “Locrian's first appearance on vinyl sees the duo of Andre Foisy and Terence Hannum distilling their specific take on deconstructed metal trance music down to just over a dozen minutes of finely balanced, passive/aggressive, shimmering psychedelic drone; Includes locked-groove on B-side.”

So let’s go to the music. Side A consists of “Plague Journal,” which begins with some repetitive guitar. I have to admit that I didn’t find it terribly interesting until it began to get noisier as it went. However, it maintains the repetitive guitar throughout and ends on a lighter note. Side B consists of two tracks. “Apocryphal City” still has some repetition but this track was much more atmospheric. Static and crackles over a repetitive melody, but much more interesting than side A. It also gets progressively noisier while still maintaining the atmosphere. This track seems to have much more complexity. “Portents Fallen” is simply a locked groove that doesn’t really do much for me. This 7” comes in white vinyl packaged in a plain white sleeve. Limited to 300 copies.

I had not heard of this band from Belgium, but the press sheet that came with the disc promised “a sonic battlefield of nihilist prog-core, slanted death metal, deranged NO-WAVE and mutant grindcore revolts.” So far, so good. The disc is broken up into six “Anti-apopathodiaphulatophobicoustical Days.” On putting in the disc to Day 1, the first response is “Holy crap!” but in a good way. The disc starts off with screaming and noisy guitars and percussion. However, there is a kind of logic in the music, with rapid staccato starts and stops. Day 2 starts off a bit more mellow, but then kicks into freakout rock. There is screaming and fast moving guitar. If Sun Ra had a rock band, I imagine it would sound something like this. Day 3 is a 39 second mellow guitar solo that leads into Day 4, which follows a similar trajectory to Day 2, until it slides into a slow, mellow groove, then resumes into a spastic maelstrom of sound. Day 5 is a pleasant stripped down guitar piece which only lasts 2.19 before kicking into noisy guitars and percussion again on Day 6. The back and forth tension of harsh and mellow can work well, but in this album the mellow interludes are so short and fleeting as to seem almost out of place. The main problem with this disc is that it begins to all sound the same. The recommendations include the Flying Luttenbachers and Cephalic Carnage. I would also add Seven That Spells as a possible point of comparison.

Artworks, is the first thing you manipulate approaching this new project form Q.M., the images processed in the booklet are in the arena defined by McKean and its mysterious aria is really strange, spooky, neighborhood guys transformed in monsters next door. The world of QM, is obscure, above all for me, B/c I do not understand their language; this feature casts a shadow of mystery and occult over their work. In many sense sometimes, during the listening of this work, you can feel the same atmosphere of "The exorcist movie". Q.M. are noise, dark, symphonic artists and nothing is punk_like, or grunge, from a certain POV they are the Dead Can Dance of the Hebrew music world. But more aggressive, darkish and, another time, they use the mystery of their language like an Art Form; a question of perception, an ancient and unknown, for many people, language increase the mystery of this experience. I like so much their approach, they follow the rules of contemporary music (Cage) creating complex carpets of classical instruments but they add also the dimensions of the electronic processing, and the acid of an ambient-noise oriented ( guitar as the industrial excellence strumento ). Another time Q.M. created a Reign where old B/W pictures coming from alien asylums, occult maneuvers in darkness and sound from the ID and from the most ancient language of our
earth became the 4 kings of this "Middle Earth/Middle East" of music and dreams.

?Alos is the personal project of Stefania Pedretti, who's also one half of the OvO duo (she was also member of the Allun). RICAMATRICI (embroiderer) is her second album which has been released three years after her fist titled "Ricodi indelebili". Mixing improvisation and visual art, ?Alos (which spelled backwords means "Alone?") on RICAMATRICI explore the emotions and the thoughts of a young lady who has to face everyday's life: she dreams of becoming a diva while with her needle she puts the final touch to a coat or to a skirt. Musically ?Alos use piano and vocal improvisation (sometimes sounding influenced by Diamanda Galas or Virgin Prunes) as well as field recordings, treated sounds (like on the opening "Tulle") and violin (check the tortured atmosphere of "Ricami"). Sounding deeply personal and sincere the album is like a recorded performance: try to imagine Stefania on a deserted factory (like as reported by the booklet's photos) allowed to running free exploring the sounds of the objects trying to feel the emotions of the workers that used them.