breakcore

Heptaedium – A M E N

a1822716383_10Heptaedium is best known for mixing metal, djent, breakcore, game music and French madness. 2018 saw a pure Djent album in The Great Herald of Misery, it is only logical there’s a pure breakcore album too! I’m much more of a breakcore fan than of Djent, best of all A M E N is name your price/free download in Bandcamp.

A M E N is basically Venetian Snares worship without the neoclassical influences, darker beats, a pinch of metal and a few below the belt jokes. Very close to Detrimentalist (2008) era. It is bursting with short experiments of different electronic genres, most of them very successfully and imaginatively executed.

A M E N is at its best when its not trying to be funny and is satisfyingly complex. The too much repeating clips of  S i s l o v e m e  and  L o g i s t i c  get tiresome but in  A c i d ‘ n’ S e x  one could expect the porn movie clips to be funny, but they are not. The composition is so frigging dark and horror-like the clips come across as disturbing, awesome.  S i s l o v e m e  is really imaginative and has one of the strongest breaks of the album.

L e a v e  is like Heptaedium’s version of Kétsarkú Mozgalom (Venetian Snares – Rossz Csillag Alatt Született, 2005), with a sad melodramatic female narrator. The beats of the first half of  L e a v e  are so frigging strong. It even has some Gabber destruction, extremely violent beats. The end of  B o u l e m a g i q u e  has another particularly good short experiment, groovy outro that resembles of driving music breakbeat/synthwave or something!

Aaron Funk might have gotten bored of this sound on his newest record but I sure haven’t. Good shit!

8+/10

Free download in bandcamp:
https://heptaedium.bandcamp.com/album/a-m-e-n

Lauren Bousfield – Fire Songs – Music Quickies of sorts

a4189338573_10Nero’s Day At Disneyland’s breakcore/gamemusic mesh developed into more artistic and feminine, even electronic indie-pop flirting Lauren Bousfield. BUT the 2017 EP Fire Songs takes a step back towards Nero’s sprained breakcore instrumental music, the electronic indie-pop is largely gone. Is IDM (intelligent dance music) the correct term? What a douche genre name that is by the way. 19 minutes long Fire Songs EP seems like easily the best Lauren Bousfield release. It is a quick starter too, I was really digging it immediately on the first listen. There’s way too little love for EP’s in the world…

Little Half Dead Fire Exits Hi and Piles of Black Dresses… are A-fucking class melody spectaculars with heaviness on beats too. Little Half Dead Fire Exists Hi is almost a melancholic piece, remember the time you got badly burned and were forced to crowdfund your medical bill? Those were the days…

No One3 and CirlGocks (with Omiinindustries, collaboration?) are a step into more atmospheric electro. Girlcocks, i mean Cirlgocks, even does rave beats. The beginning of the album is a strange deja vu “I know this melody from somewhere on her releases, is it a remix?”. Creative continuity of sorts, I dig that. It’s kinda fresh to hear familiar parts in a new context after a long pause from Lauren Bousfield’s music. Here I am on the 4th listen of Fire Songs, 3rd in a row and the album developed into really fucking good. The glitching is gradually getting more pronounced on Lauren’s releases, there’s really a lot of that and it works wonderfully.

Personal crisis often makes musicians give the best out of themselves and it seems this fire certainly did that with Lauren Bousfield. Can we get more good musicians burnt up a bit? Anyone? Please? I’ll pay for the gas.

Best of all, Fire Songs is on Fire Sales! The release is pay what you want in bandcamp! Free download if you so wish:
https://laurenbousfieldanyev3r.bandcamp.com/album/fire-songs

Venetian Snares Modern Classical Breakcore collection

Venetian Snares is Canadian Breakcore artist Aaron Funk who has released quite a few albums. This collection is based on the best bits of his modern classical works. At 53 minutes I had to leave a couple of songs out but I feel shorter length serves this kind of orchestral electronic clattering better.

Unlike many albums this collection does not go all in in the beginning, but is meant to collect steam along the way and in my opinion the last 4 tracks Room 379, Integraation, Senki Dala and Miss Balaton conclude as one of the strongest endings in the history of electronic music. I am humble, I know; but in actuality the strongness of the two whole tracks Integraation and Miss Balaton is to blame. That is not to say the beginning is weak,  I love Frictional Nevada but its end chaos is a bit annoying.

What really brought Venetian Snares into my regular playing cycle is these tracks; the way he mixes complex electronic music with organic sounding classical orchestrations. Among his other albums Venetian Snares has released two full modern classical electronic breakcore albums Rossz Csillag Alatt Született (2005) and My Downfall (Original Soundtrack) (2007). This collection is based around those two albums which have many of his best works.

After these albums Aaron Funk incorporated modern classical as a more subtle part of his style, a track may not necessarily be a modern classical track or something else. One can only stand so much classical violin squeaking which is why bunch of tracks having other elements along with the classical have been included in this collection (from albums Hospitality (2006), Detrimentalist (2008), My-so-called-life (2010), My Love Is A Bulldozer (2014)).

I wanted to include Hajnal and Kétsarkú Mozgalom from Rossz Csillag Alatt Született too but for the sake of big picture, I had to turn them off.

MonuMental Progressive Collection I – from Progressive Rock to Black Metal to Breakcore

The first MonuMental Progressive Collection playlist starts with suitably uncommercial Finnish Progressive rock, advances to black metal and finally ends with modern breakcore classics. It’s idea is to progress naturally from genre to genre and also ramp up the quality track-after-track. It is a challenging ride, but when you are in contact with masterpieces, that’s what you bound to get.

1. For someone whose mother tongue is not Finnish the first track Kuha. – Tohtori Krabolan Telekineettinen testilaboratorio (From Telekineettinen Testilaboratorio, 2005) might seem like an odd bit. To be honest it was a slow starter for me as well. But from that Kuha. emerged as the best pure progressive rock band in Finland since Kingston Wall.

2. Dillinger Escape Plan‘s best instrumental, always surprising When Acting as a Wave (From Ire Works, 2007) serves as a small bridge to Chapter I: Introverting Dimensions by The Fall of Troy (From Phantom On The Horizon, 2008).

3. I know what you are thinking here, what is that half-emo band doing on a metal playlist. But that’s the thing, they are only half-emo, the other half is firmly rooted in Progressive rock, and most so on their EP Phantom On The Horizon. Give it a listen and you will see. Thomas Erak’s guitar playing is truly mesmerizing. At some point you may get mixed up and think you are listening to bastard cousin of The Mars Volta instead of an emo band.

4. A Prophet For a Pound of Flesh by Forest of Stars (From A Shadowplay for Yesterdays, 2012) is the first step to metal. On of the many bands who builds their flavour from black metal but has grown a vast amount of tentacles since their first efforts.

5. The Fecal Rebellion is by Mirrorthrone (From Gangrene, 2008) which is one of many Vladimir Cochet’s project. This one man powerhouse has such an amount of talent it is ridiculous. All his projects have only a few albums which I must take as the main reason of the fact that he has only advanced to cult classic status so far. If you mix modern classic music with complex black metal this is something you may get. Plus there’s harpsichord!

Waters of Ain by Watain (From Lawless Darkness, 2010) is a track that leaves me speechless every time. For me, this is the ultimate black metal track, mixing elements of black metal, progressive rock, Celtic frost and heavy metal perfectly. It is everything.

6. The only way to top Waters of Ain is to abandon metal completely with Venetian Snares – Integraation (From My Downfall (Original Soundtrack), 2007). Integraation is from Aaron Funk’s neoclassical releases where he mixes complex electronic beats with classical music elements. Also at best Integraation is actually as heavy as any metal track.

7. Venetian Snares – Miss Balaton (Bonus track) (From Detrimentalist, 2008). I know you aren’t supposed to put two songs of the same artist into a compilation. Whateva I do what I want. In truth I could not exclude Miss Balaton as it is even better than Integraation and fits perfectly after it. I won’t even start describing the goosebumps.

P.S. The playlist originally had Kuha.’s 25 minute Kalifi Myy Mustaa Valoa as a starter but it is not in Spotify.

266576-1449435327You can also find all playlists from playlists.net
http://playlists.net/epic-progressive-collection

Lauren Bousfield – Locked Into Phantasy // NMMREM XVII

One of the releases I’ve been most anticipating this year is here, Lauren Bousfield’s Locked Into Phantasy, actually released in 2012. I expected it to come with the name Nero’s Day At Disneyland, thus the delay. Peculiarly former Mr. Brock Bousfield of Nero’s Day At Disneyland seems to have, err. found something within and is now Lauren Bousfield.

Taking away that Lauren is a multisex name, Locked Into Phantasy still sounds very feminine. It also sounds more “artistic” than Bousfields’ previous releases and features a lot of female vocals. Last.fm user CupOfSquirrels put it best in last.fm “it (Nero’s Day At Disneyland) ultimately felt like a guy pissing about on a synth”. I usually try to stay as far as possible from Urolagnia, but I personally loved the way Nero’s Day At Disneyland “pisses about on a synth”.

Bousfield has moved on to a logical direction and further lessened the breakcore elements on this album. “Locked Into Phantasy” is mainly just odd electronic indie pop. Melodies are similar to old releases of Nero, but where is the beat! I do not feel the kick I get from Nero’s Day at Disneyland, lots of the fun is missing, even the slight melancholia is often lackluster. The release feels more plastic. I reckon it is still alright, if you happen to like indie pop. I usually don’t.

Putting my listen count above 10 I finally grasped the wood from the trees. Most tracks have about half of material that I like and half that I do not, which takes the mat under the whole track. Good example being Pulling Down Never. The intro vocals take badly on my nerves, then all the sudden we get a mindblowing chorus. It develops to a bridge, that seems to lack a bit of beat but is still solid. Then back to nervewrenching wailing. Sum up: fucking annoying verse; all the rest great.

The record is definitely not without goodness. The title track is just wonderful; and it does sound exactly like Nero’s Day at Disneyland. Also thumbs up also to Seraphim Sliding Backwards that really is a simple track with some melodic goodness. Still took over 5 times to open up for me. It contains only mildly annoying elements.

I would enjoy this release a lot more without the vocals. It is a similar situation than with Nero’s Day At Disneyland’s first album “Attention Shoppers”. It contains mostly terrible vocals but its overall craziness makes the bad vocals up a lot better than the artistic tinge on “Locked Into Phantasy”.

I hope 10 years from now this EP is thought as a misstep or an experiment which wasn’t complete yet, but helped to fruition a new style for Bousfield. I appreciate that it was released under a different pseudonym, the pieces are very familiar, but they form a new sound.

6+/10

The artist shared a mediafire link to freely download the release on his facebook page! http://www.facebook.com/laurenbousfieldanyever/posts/348796375218823

If you feel like paying it is also available in bandcamp for rather cheap 7$ price: http://laurenbousfieldanyev3r.bandcamp.com/album/locked-into-phantasy

I would recommend that you rather grab his earlier release, one of my all time electronic music favourites, 7 $ is a steal: http://laurenbousfieldanyev3r.bandcamp.com/album/from-rotting-fantasylands

Track-by-track:

1. The Ropes Our Nights Were Laid Across, Pulled Taut

Good intro, its already evident that the percussions are in a smaller role than with Nero. Still solid.

8-/10

2. Seraphim Sliding Backwards

I do not understand how it took me over 5 listens to realize it is a great track. The female/child vocals are a lot less annoying here than in other tracks. The 0.31 starting melody is one of the top points of the album.

8½/10

3. Pulling Down Never

Here the downfall begins, the intro vocals take on my nerves then all the sudden we get a mindblowing chorus bridge, that seems to lack a bit of beat but still solid. Then back to nervewrenching wailing. Sum up: fucking annoying verse; all the rest great.

6/10

4. That Was Everything That I Owned

Glad you do not own it anymore, now kill it before it rises. I am glad that the abomination that laments in the intro does not resurface and the vocals develop near the best that this album has. Still, they are sub-par, and the track balances on the edge of skippable. Piano melody is unarguably good.

4½/10

5. Locked Into Phantasy

Among the very best Bousfield tracks of all time. Only Lauren Bousfield track I plan to regularly play to my friends (among with big bunch of Nero’s tracks). Probably Bousfield’s most accessible and catchy track together with “Child Protective Service Theme Song”.

10/10

6. A Tiny Streak Of Daylight (with Judy Balmin)

Only track I skip instantly. Makes me want to murder hipsters.

1/10

7. Two Swans Duct Taped To The Side Of The Coke Machine

First 40 seconds promises we may have a great one coming up, then on comes this backwards childvoice. I can’t stand it.

6/10

8. Blown Blooms

Extremely memorable intro, alright bridge. Then another wailing chorus; unfortunately this disappointing turn of events is continued furthermore on a large portion of the track. The glitchy piano outro would surely be lovely if my mind wasn’t still dampened by the chorus.

6/10

The Amoeba / Boris Clitoris

This triple issue deals with three free download EP’S. The Amoeba – Gayest Shits (2009), Boris Clitoris Swastikat – Swastikore (2010), Boris Clitoris – Boris

Clitoris (2012). Even with two different artist names the releases are in fact from the same artist and with the same style.

All of these albums are free downloads and good ones too. In total the three EP’s combined clock just under 24 very entertaining minutes. A summary of the genres in the albums could be melodic breakcore comic metal lounge mashup. It’s probably easier to just compare it straight out to Nero’s Day At Disneyland but with some metal and psychedelic comics thrown in.

The first EP, Gayest shits feels like more effort was given to it than the latter ones. It sounds to have the biggest number of layers and versatility. It is also heaviest of the three, Boris Clitoris has seemingly developed its sound towards more melodic and minimalistic output. Funnily, even though the music sounds more minimalistic, on the newest release the melodies are possibly more complicated than before. Just take the bass line of Difficult Listening or the god-knows what instrument driven melodics of Hyena Clitoris from the S/T EP.

What separates Boris Clitoris from many electronic artists is the sheer quality and variety of
melodies. There are for example 8-bit melodies (super nerd, Comic Sans), heavy melodic riffs (evil satan!, I’m An Alligator), odd distorted melodies (Swastikat, Mooie Man), some sort of progressive lounge (?) (Hyena clitoris, Difficult Listening), overly happy melodies with sound clips (Yellow is the color of the sun, Organ Grinder). Each song has a vibe of being an unique successful experiment, though every EP has the sort of trademark heavy tracks and overly melodic tracks. But the tracks are full of surprises, the heavy as shit riff may be suddenly entwined with a melody straight out of kindergarden, and as well the child’s play may have a distorted ear-bleeding-beat. Or even the occasional noisewall. You never know whats in store, and that makes the experience immensely entertaining.
If I have to nitpick on something it would be the volume levels, through all albums the tracks have different volume levels, meaning the listener has to keep adjusting the volumes. Given the versatility of tracks it is no wonder that there are glitches like this. Also, maybe its the nostalgia-syndrome, but the output of Amoeba / Boris Clitoris has goon slightly downhill with every new release. While i’d rank Gayest shits near 10, Swastikat Swastikore is probably just under 9 and the self-titled a solid 8.

If you are into Venetian Snares or Nero’s Day At Disneyland The Amoeba / Boris Clitoris is for you. And if you happen to like metal as well, all the better.

I could say all of the above all just summarize all in Boris Clitoris’s words “Fucked up, epileptic, retarded, spastic, childish, bedroom produced, free to download music.”

Free Downloads:

Boris Clitors – Boris Clitoris (free download when you name your price to 0, I didn’t)

Music Video of Mevrouw van Iersel: