Since 2013’s Immunity, Jon Hopkins has been busy. Not in terms of a torrent of creative outpourings, the resistance of which (despite our apparently insatiable appetite for cultural consumption) can often be a good thing – over saturation does more harm than good in my book. No, instead he has been busy preparing himself physically, mentally, and emotionally for existence. Freezing baths, desert treks, and controlled breathing exercises have all been enlisted to help rejuvenate his weary frame a

Thirty years is a long time in the music industry. For, Dylan Carlson it’s just about the right duration to release his first record under his own name. Since the late 1980s, Carlson has produced and influenced some of the most vital music to burst from the shores of the United States. From creating sound collages with his roommate Kurt Cobain, to inspiring Stephen O’Malley and Greg Anderson to form Sunn O))), his clout can be sensed any time a musician summons waves of thick drones from a shaking amplifier.

Taking its cue from the 1966 Ingmar Bergman film of the same name, Persona explores an electronic landscape of impatience, impermanence, and, much like the aforementioned Swedish masterpiece, themes of duality, self, and fractured realities.

Following on from a split with St Louis-based doom mongers Fister, Chrch signed to Neurosis’s Neurot Recordings and set to work on their sophomore effort – Light Will Consume Us All. A title that seems to recall the 2008 documentary on Norwegian black metal, Until The Light Takes Us. And, for the most part, the music here is less face rending than that infamous genre although there are similarities in terms of vocal performance and an undeniable shared tone of cacophonous despair. The last track

Since putting out $uccessor at the back end of 2016,has been through a number of shifts both geographically and metaphysically. Moving away from Dominick Fernow’s Hospital Productions label, on which both American Zen and the aforementioned $uccessor were released, Dedekind Cut (real name) opted for Chicago-based, home to the likes of, and prominent within experimental ambient circles.

Daniel W. J. Mackenzie, a fellow Brighton resident, has been concocting music under various monikers for the past decade. His improvisational work with Plurals has led to collaborations with artists such as Timothy C Holehouse, and tours with the likes of Nadja, Sly & The Family Drone, and Master Musicians of Bukkake. Under his own name, his piano work has been exhibited in Helsinki. But it is as Ekca Liena that Mackenzie has been at his most prolific and highly acclaimed. Slow Music For Rapid E

Their name brings to mind clashing ideas of groaned apathy, writhing sadness, and unendurable ecstasy. All of which help to inform the post-punk soundscape of these Sub Pop debutants. Their music sounds like the endless summer twinkle of Los Angeles brushing up against those dark Mulholland nights.

Brighter Wounds begins with the sounds of an ailing record player, squeaking and dipping in speed. This metaphorical struggle and determination to carry on mirrors that of the past couple of years for Son Lux’s Ryan Lott. Since 2015’s Bones, Lott has had to work through the emotional toil of a close personal friend dying, a son being born in need of immediate CPR, and the harsh realities of the world into which his son will grow. Unsurprisingly the tone of this album is more overtly sorrowful th

In January 1909, FT Marinetti debuted his manifesto on Futurism. The 7th article of this pronounced that: “There is no longer any beauty except the struggle. Any work of art that lacks a sense of aggression can never be a masterpiece. Poetry must be thought of as a violent assault upon the forces of the unknown with the intention of making them prostrate themselves at the feet of mankind”

Wolves and Vibrancy Records, who recently released Hundred Year Old Man’s latest EP, contacted Worriedaboutsatan about putting out some new music but, alas, the pair had already locked in the release of a new album (due later this year). Seeing as they had spent the past year holed up in a studio writing and recording this, rather than take a break, they opted to put something together for the German label and promptly did so in one short six hour session. The resulting sonic slice is Shift.

Supergroup SUMAC, who are already comprised of members of such hallowed groups as Botch and Russian Circles (Brian Cook), Mamiffer, Isis, and Old Man Gloom (Aaron Turner), Baptists (Nick Yacyshyn), and, occasionally live, Earth, Melvins, and Thrones (Joe Preston), have opted to join forces with shades-sporting, psychedelic and improvisational noise virtuoso, Keiji Haino for their third full length recording.

Hookworms first record in three years is likely to be perceived as somewhat of a departure for those that have been onboard since 2013’s Pearl Mystic. Gone are the reverb-sodden, wild man shrieks from singer/guitarist MJ. He now appears more introspective and measured with his heartfelt vocal melodies. The guitars are taking a bit more of a backseat too and, instead, at the forefront are synthesisers and looped samples.

Twenty years after the first ever performance by Prurient, Rainbow Mirror has been unleashed upon a largely unprepared world. It is a sprawling 3 hour compendium of improvised industrial ambience created as a three piece for the first time since that formative show. Joining Dominick Fernow (main instigator of Prurient, Vatican Shadow, and Rainforest Spiritual Enslavement among countless others) are Matt Folden (Dual Action), Jim Mroz (Lussuria), and, on mixing and production duties, the UK Techn

Back in 2013 Domenic “Nicky” Palermo and Kyle Kimball of Nothing joined forces with Whirr bassist, Nick Bassett, and keyboardist Cecilia Liu to form Death of Lovers. The EP that they released the following year – Buried Under A World Of Roses – was an eerie slice of Gothic-tinged post punk that combined neck breaking nods to Georges Bataille with the oppressive timbre and driving rhythms of Joy Division. Suffice to say, it was more than a bit ace. Since then there has been further turbulence in

Tatty Seaside Town, AKA Papa C, AKA Colin Wakefield has been at the heart of the Brighton DIY music scene for well over a decade. Two decades if you count his sterling work running the alternative treasure trove that is Edgeworld Records (which has now taken on a nomadic life, roaming up and down the country in pop up form). This, his second all-dayer of the year, has been entitled ‘Friends & Favourites’ and it’s easy to see why. Regulars, familiar faces, and leading lights of the British underg

Like the 9 separate coloured shapes which adorn the album’s cover, the tracks on All Together Again are an assembled collage of musical pieces compiled from various projects and requests. These range from soundtracks for films, installations, and fashion shows to ferry rides, weddings, and anniversaries. Despite this, seemingly disparate, approach to the curation of this record, a coherence and narrative journey can still be felt throughout. This is entirely due to the captivating character and

This gargantuan collection spans 36 tracks, more than 2 hours, and is harvested from recordings stretching back to 2004. Moloch (not to be confused with the Ukrainian black metal act, nor the UK sludge band, who all share this moniker) has opted to amalgamate his previous two full length releases, Withering Hopes & Onoskelis, along with the Yog-Sothoth EP, into one almighty journey through the dark dungeons of his mind. Despite this seemingly arbitrary method of collation, The Vatican Cellars i

“My heart is quite calm now. I will go back” A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man – James Joyce 2017 marks the ten year anniversary of Erased Tapes. A record label famed for not allowing modern classical music to slip into a fetid wasteland where it is considered too pop for the classical crowd and too classical for pop audiences. Ten years ago they also released the debut album from a sprightly, twenty years young, composer named Ólafur Arnalds. Here we are, a decade hence, with a thirty y

Experimental / Dark ambient / Doom metal / Noise It is unusual, after years of traipsing through the dark and blackened world of experimental music, to find instances that contain the power to shock, surprise, or terrify. The occasions that this has happened for me are few and far between: With headphones on, Mekigah’s opening track – Total Cessation of One – elicited a similar chilling response. With its obfuscated whispers and dense cinematic swells undercut by sinister chords, spines cannot

Non-’s track titles talk of the past and mistakes made. Things that cannot be undone. And, indeed, this is echoed in the various contemplative moments on this self-titled record. Guitars saturated in longing and grief divide up break-neck blast beats. Boston’s Jack Whelan has an ear for the grand and epic, particularly when it comes to vocal performances. On Absent, the terrifying wailing often associated with The Body is brought to mind. There is also something of Envy’s Tetsuya Fukagawa in Whe