Archive for August, 2011

Album of the day: Ash Borer – Ash Borer (LP)

Posted on Monday, August 15th, 2011

Praise for Ash Borer‘ S/T from San Francisco’s aQuarius Records: What is it with bands not naming records? We’re all for the ‘self titled’ record, but when they’re ALL self titled, it gets a little confusing. By record number two or three at least start numbering ‘em, fer chrissakes. Anyway, another rad reissue of a tape from this West Coast avant black metal horde, that was so limited on its initial release, we never managed to even see a single copy.

Originally put out in a run of 150 copies on Psychic Violence, this is our, and quite possibly your, first exposure to this monumental chunk of progressive blackness. Opening with a lumbery dirgey doom, that pounds and creeps, beneath anguished wails, before exploding into some of the most intense and emotional black metal we’ve heard. Due in some part we would imagine to the structure and the melody, unlikely for most black metal, in fact, it almost sounds like post rock sped way up and blackened, soaring and hauntingly melodic, majestic and moody, these blasts are separated by still more emotional sonic stretches, midtempo sprawls of soaring guitar trills, and angular math rock riffs, all wreathed in black beneath grim howled vokills, before closing with a blast of frenzied riffage and a final movement of dirgey weirdly melodic doomic plod.

The B side starts off all shimmery synths and smoldering angular guitar melodies, before launching into another stretch of frantic blasting buzz, here alternating between furious blackness, blissed out reverbed psychedelia and churning mathy doom. The record epic and constantly shifting, but woven together into a single epic movement, the final part of which might be the best bit on the record. A slow build blackened post rock, that eventually explodes into a totally epic blowout of blackened Godspeed-style majesty.

LIMITED TO 777 COPIES, pressed on 160 gram red vinyl, housed in super swank matte black gatefold sleeves, printed on the front and back in red metallic foil.

At 40 years old, Aquarius is the oldest independent record store in San Francisco. We try to only carry music we love, and we’re always searching for more new, cool, weird and wonderful music. All of which we then share with you, our loyal customers.

Tags: Album of the day, Aquarius Records, Ash Borer, black metal, Pesanta Urfolk
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Monday Song: Saviours – Cavern of Mind

Posted on Monday, August 15th, 2011

Every Monday morning we’ll post a kick-ass song to get your week going. Here’s one we discovered in the vaults. An amazing video by Dante Della Maggiore.

Album of the day: Noothgrush – Failing Early, Failing Often

Posted on Sunday, August 14th, 2011

Praise for Noothgrush‘s Failing Early, Failing Often from San Francisco’s aQuarius Records: Available again, this killer compilation of early material from legendary Bay area slo-mo sludge / doom crushers Noothgrush, who recently reformed and are about to play a show with the also together-again East Coast doomlords Winter. Back in the ...read more

Album of the day: Today Is The Day – Pain Is A Warning

Posted on Saturday, August 13th, 2011

Lovingly pinched from Metal Underground.com: There’s Prog – ironically, a developed subgenre with its own set of conventions and clichés – and then there’s truly progressive. Few bands deserve that tag more than Today Is The Day, whose relatively unassuming name deceptively masks the twisted, psychotic musical violence found within ...read more

Album of the day: Pikacyu*Makoto – OM Sweet Home – We Are Shining Stars From Darkside

Posted on Friday, August 12th, 2011

Lovingly pinched from The Sleeping Shaman: We’re not sure where to begin with this one so let’s start from the outside and work our way in to the contents of the CD. Firstly, this is a side project of Kawabata Makoto, the illusive leader of Japanese pysch-rock lunatics Acid Mothers ...read more