Noise Pollution #84

Noise Inside and Out of My Head

It has not been good around here lately, which I’ll do my first non-music related post for shortly, but I did want to highlight a few releases that have been coming out lately as well as two crucial reissues (soon to be three) done by The Devil’s Elixirs and produced by Nuclear War Now!

It’s no secret that Ildjarn is an important band to myself and many of you, and while there is some legal bullshit allowing ASRAR to do their usual less-than-scrupulous represses of some of the catalog, The Devil’s Elixirs has been, somewhat rapidly thanks to Helios-the pressing plant owned by NWN!, reissuing titles. So far they’ve done the self-titled, the split with Hate Forest (which knocked a big want off my list) and, within the last month, have done “Strength and Anger” and “Forest Poetry”, both of which are still available in their limited colors at the NWN! online shop. This coming week will see a repress of the Sort Vokter “Folkloric Necrometal”, the project of Ildjarn, Nidhogg and two others that did one album in the mid 90s and went silent.

So far, these have all had their original artwork instead of the art used for the Seasons of Mist, and -from what I’ve seen, are all high quality. Between these and the reissues Eisenwald did three years ago it shouldn’t take too long for the catalog to be back in print without the collectors price attached (for now, anyway).

I first heard of Ildjarn when “Forest Poetry” was reviewed in Terrorizer and given a “0”, the first (and maybe only time) I saw that happen. The description, as I remember it, basically said it was unlistenable. This was around the time I was recording the Imperial demos and within a few weeks of obtaining the CD I made flyers for a project that was supposed to be a “homage” to Ildjarn called Whiteforest Reign, which I had a shitty logo for but never manifested any recordings, which when I look back: good. I had a lot of unfulfilled side projects, with some actually making it to the recording stage that have never been publicly leaked. I’m thankful every day for that.

One regret I have is when the tribute to Ildjarn was being put together Krieg was asked but I declined. One of the dumber moves in an era of some really dumb moves.

Anyway, here’s Sort Vokter:

If you’ve been following along, The Devil’s Elixirs has been reissuing a lot of classic records the last few years and always do them justice, which makes these Ildjarn releases very nice for those who have holes in the “i” section of their collection.

In between Kommodus recordings we’re treated to a new Forest Temple, Lepidus’ dungeon synth project. “Yolk of Blue Memory” is a bit different from the previous releases, this time veering into Keller synth territory as well as sounds from the 8-16bit eras. It’s an engaging listen because there’s so much to take in. What I appreciate the most is how adventurous the whole thing feels. It’s not a terribly dark atmosphere but the idea of calling it “comfy synth” turns my stomach, no matter how adjacent it may be. It’s just a weird, enjoyable listen that strays from convention-which makes sense when you consider contemporary countrymen like Quest Master and Brimstone. This is the first mandatory synth release of the year for me.

While we’re talking about synth that strays from convention, there’s two new Catshark tracks. You may remember me talking about this project in my year end list, it being the Sega worshipping synth project from Matt Slime. This time he’s recruited guests for a full length that will eventually be released in it’s entirety but for now there’s some teasers up. This one features Matt Harvey, who Slime did time with in Exhumed (and whose solo electronic project is also fucking great-listen here) who adds some Vai-esque guitar to the mix. Again, if you thought something like the Mega Man X soundtrack was terrific (which it is) then here’s a project to fully sink your teeth in.

Finishing up our round of new releases, “Parousia” is the newest from New England noise shaman, The Oracle. I had the pleasure of this project performing with us for Krieg’s return gig in NYC in 2023 which I greatly enjoyed and have tried to stay up to date with the project since. This new record brings to mind In Slaughter Natives and other acts who’ve created similar ambient/industrial soundscapes-the sort that isn’t mindless noise but also isn’t dancy. I suppose I mean it’s not “fun” industrial you go to a club to move your body to, but there is a pulse to it that causes reaction in your nervous system. A truly great one, I think possibly his best so far. Keep in mind, as pedigree he’s also been involved with Revenant Marquis and several other important (to me) projects.

And that’s it. As I said, life has taken a lot of really bad turns lately and I’m in the process of writing why as well as preparing a Gofundme, which is my last resort but considering what my family is facing, a neccessary one. I’ll have everything sorted for that in a bit.