Ivan Tibos.

The multiverse of Aesthetic Death has no boundaries whatsoever. Except for some ABBA-compilation or a tribute to George Michael, I guess this label sort of investigates all angles within the sonic spectrum. I firstly wanted to mention ‘within the musical spectrum’, yet as from this specific release on… I’ll come back to this album immediately. The label houses bands and projects in many aural areas, especially Metal-oriented (Doom, Black, Funeral Doom, Sludge) and within spheres of Dark Ambient, Power Electronics, Esoteric Drone and Ritual.

[another short one, yet once again one that needs / deserves some (any) additional support by undersigned, despite being released – or better: re-released – a year and a half ago]

I know that Mister (bleak) did release some new material in the meantime, but I just feel to write down my thoughts on this digital EP, because… Well, does it matter? I just wanna do so…

God Body Disconnect does it again: creating a soundtrack around confusing questions about mortality and anxiety, about the unpredictability of the consciousness, about the limitations of our being and of our grip on reality and existence. I’m lost. I can’t find who I am anymore. The threshold of sanity has been crossed so many times, I don’t know if I’ll ever make it back. […] I’ve been there before, and I don’t ever want to go back. But, the wolves of hell have been sent to devour me, and there’s no calling them off.

This release is something I just needed to write down my thoughts about. It has two reasons: the concept and the aural result.

First, to avoid any consternation or confusion: ½ Southern North needs to be pronounced as ‘half southern north’. This said…

A gathering of two, well, how would I call it, eh, ‘different’ or ‘unusual’ entities…

Never mind; why should I search for certainty or familiarity, seen from the aural spectrum behind / beyond this ‘musical’ void anyway. Opposites do attract each other, yet so do creatures that are different -and therefor related- from ‘acceptance’ or ‘admission’, sharing a mutual identity for audible divergence and sonic aberration. …which easily takes me to this remarkable split, nicely called Shaping Fatal Principles.

Just like the tides ebb and flow, the fire will die, and all will be cold, the sun will be gray, dim, and low…

It is like a present for their fifteenth anniversary, for The Howling Void finished their eighth (full) length only recently. Thank you, Ryan!

Harpag Karnik is a very young musician from Iran, who originated from Tehran, if I am not mistaken. Despite his young age (he was born in Autumn 1997 [which makes me feel old once more, haha]), Harpag is behind almost two hands full of very interesting projects, both solo or in partnership. These ones are gathered under the Ardawahisht Kollective, which he founded in 2018 or so (also including the solo and mutual outfits by Earthen Shade).

Even-though Inferna Profundus Records (which is, for what it’s worth, one of my mostly preferred labels lately!) did release two hands full of great new (and older, re-released) material in the meantime (reviews will follow soon!), I couldn’t just ignore this older recording by Canadian act Nocturnal Prayer. I know that it is a personal opinion, but I did deeply adore this project’s former stuff passionately (cf.: see below for a couple of links on former reviews for this Arctic horde).