Basic Scream: Tales of Intoxication LP

Here’s a pretty obscure LP from the Netherlands. It’s a self-released and self-produced record from a band called Basic Scream. It’s a bit surprising that this is so unknown, since it really is the type of record that goth and deathrock fans (myself included) would enjoy. It combines noisy Swans-ish guitars with deranged Lydia Lunch-style vocals. The band used guitars that almost sound like basses, and in turn their bass guitars are so low they sound like the ominous rumblings of angry monsters. The low-end-focused sound of the music lends a heaviness to the songs that perfectly couples with the creeped-out vocals and lyrics.

There are certainly some weak points on the album. Some of the songs sound a bit too similar to each other. And although the lyrics are certainly written with an avant garde poetic approach, they can tend to be goth-for-the-sake-of-goth. The song “Springtime” starts out with a plaintive wail that exclaims “Springtime / the season of decay”, and the song “Hunt” fades out with her chanting “Life is a place / that’s forbidden to live”, while the song “An Insane Queen” is entirely about the psychotic musings of its titular subject.

Still, I cannot fault the record too much. As a whole, it works very well. Standout songs like “Hunt”, with its machine-gun tribal drumming and washes and stabs of guitars, and “An Insane Queen”, with its absolutely delirious ambiance as the song builds into a tsunami of guitar effects and pure cacophony, certainly keep the album fresh. All of the songs flow from one to the next perfectly. The music will deviate from simple, repetitive guitar lines to full-on deathrock in the space of a minute, and that variety ensures that the album is listenable throughout its duration.

Basic Scream – Tales of Intoxication LP

1986, Basic Records

A1 A Dance Of Fire

A2 On The Edge II

A3 Rites

A4 Sixty-Seven Men And Women

A5 An Insane Queen

B1 The Shadow Of Man

B2 Springtime

B3 The Hunt

B4 Requiem

Click here to listen

Printed At Bismarck's Death – Via Lacrimosa LP

I never really realized how gothic the Christian Bible is until I heard this LP, the first full length from German darkwave/goth band Printed At Bismarck’s Death. These guys approached their music without any sense of irony, which is probably why the Bible has never seemed so bleak. They are not actually a Christian band (at least not that I know of), but they base almost every song on a Christian parable or traditional folk song (such as House of the Rising Sun), sing and chant in German and English, and wrap most songs in a thick blanket of electronics and atmosphere, traditional instruments and full orchestral sweeps, guitar effects and tribal drumming.

While not every song is a winner (the aforementioned House of the

Rising Sun does sound a bit silly, especially since most of us are more familiar with the Animals’ version of it; and a couple songs on side B veer into avant-jazz meanderings) most tracks are about as true to the gothic aesthetic as possible – earnest and layered with impenetrable darkness. And don’t be put off by the late release date - songs like the largely orchestra “Drapa”, the symphonic and experimental “Meet Moshe Dayan In A Russian Bunker”, and the simplistic but effective dark dance of “Pseudo Philon” make this an LP to seek out.

Printed At Bismarck's Death – Via Lacrimosa LP

1991, T 42 Records

A1 Prélude Morbide

A2 Premières Communions

A3 Meet Moshe Dayan In A Russian Bunker

A4 House Of The Rising Sun

A5 Le Juif Errant

A6 Pseudo-Philon

B1 Drapa

B2 The Cold Earth

B3 Three Victims Of Bloody March

B4 Jesus Goes Golgotha

B5 Embryo

B6 Tutuguri (Rite Of The Black Sun)

Click here to listen

GLOBAL INFANTILISTS: Selftitled LP

Global INtantilists were a goth/new wave band from Sweden that only released two records in their brief life. This selftitled album is their debut. One of the primary members was Mare Kandre, a writer who ultimately decided to dissolve this band in 1984 to concentrate on her literary craft. At 22, she released her first book, I ett annat land, which resulted in her being hailed as a genius; she would release several more books, many influenced by gothic fiction. Sadly, she died at age 43; it is largely believed to be suicide.
This group is where Kandre honed her writing - the lyrics are dark and gloomy, and the vocals are full of melodramatic shrieks and cries, sounding like Siouxsie Sioux if she was a drama geek. Apparently the band's second album is more straight-ahead synthpop, but this album is the perfect mix of doom and gloom and guitars and artiness and synths. This is the UK Abstract Records release, which had an extra track that the original issue did not have.

Global Infantalists: Selftitled LP
1983, Abstract Records
A1 This Music
A2 Passing
A3 Leaving
A4 Remain Untouched
B1 Crystal Ship
B2 An Inch Of Nothing
B3 The Flight
B4 The Garden

Click here to download this album!

THE LOCAL MOON: An Experience 7"

Well, here is the band with the laziest lyricist ever. The Local Moon released only one record, and the lyrics to all three songs were poems by the late American beat poet Bob Kaufman. And since they misspelled his name on the credits, I suppose that maybe it's for the best that they didn't try writing anything of their own.
Of course, since the band didn't spend time writing lyrics, they had plenty of time to write the music, and they did one hell of a job. The standard guitar and drums are accompanied by oboe, clarinet, ethno brass, and more. And while that sounds like it would be bad world music, it is actually incredibly gloomy, experimental, and atmospheric darkwave, especially the incredible "An Experience".
Apparently only a few hundred copies were pressed, and they were bundled with an underground magazine from Berlin called Verwendung - Heft4. I wish I had that magazine, but alas, I'll take what I can find. This is very recommended stuff!

The Local Moon: An Experience
Record Partner Hamburg, 1988
A1 A Experience
B1 Dolorous Echo
B2 Response
(please note: I ripped side B as one song since they flow into each other)

Download this 7" here!

Ego Loop: Nothingness LP

Sometimes I wonder if any of the songs from any of the records I post become peoples' "new favorite songs". I love sharing music with people, and am always happy for positive feedback on the music (although any feedback is good). I am curious if people will love this record as much as I do. This New Jersey electronic band only released this record (I believe) and then disappeared. I'm surprised I don't commonly see this on wantlists. It's got a few duds, but songs like "Becoming a Shadow", "It Follows", and "The Feelings Return" are dark, gloomy minimal synth masterpieces. I hear elements of Flue, Mecano, Twilight Ritual, and more in these songs. I think that if you enjoy the Windtorn EP from Juju that I popsted last year you should appreciate this too. I can't guarantee that it will be a new favorite, though. However for what it's worth, I've listened to "The Feelings Return" about 10 times in a row now, and all I can say is "WOW. 

Ego Loop: Notingness LP

1988, Gris Records.

A1 Neon

A2 Painless Nothing

A3 Down

A4 Extract the Cork

A5 Fruit of the Null

A6 Becoming a SHadow

B1 It Follows

B2 The Seeds of Art

B3 The Feelings Return

B4 Eos

Click here to download this record!

The Stills: Chorus of Blows EP

Here is a 12" EP from a band called The Stills. This is not the current band The Stills; this band was from the UK and the EP was released back in 1982. I can't find too much info on these guys. The drummer, Pol Burton, was later the drummer for Tranvision Vamp, but I can't find much info beyond that. This is good solid post-punk influenced by Joy Division and early New Order.  

The Stills: Chorus of Blows EP 

1982 Open Door Music.

Tracks:

1. CHorus of Blows

2. Sould Survivor

3. Clinical

CLick here to download this 12"!

Astaron: Das Grauen Aus Dem All tape

First of all, a HUGE thanks to Stephane who provided me with these tracks. Second of all, I have re-uploaded the Astaron LP and EP.
Get them both here.
Here is the extremely rare tape from Astaron called Das Grauen Aus Dem All (Aka, "The Horror From Outer Space". Unlike their tape "The Slurring", which is pretty much the exact same thing as their selftitled LP, this tape is full of exclusive songs. And this is pure and beautiful, raw, minimal, dark, dirgelike, synthy, gloomy, gothic perfection. I'm not even going to say much more. You're probably not reading this, are you? You probably saw that there's more Astaron stuff to be downloaded and you said "holy crap, screw what this guy is saying, I gots ta download me some o' that!" And you were right to do so. Because if you did read the above paragraph, you just wasted precious seconds you should have spent clicking the download link.
Oh, but if anyone has the song titles, that would be great. I kinda don't have them.

Astaron: Das Grauen Aus Dem All.
1985, self-released
16 tracks (Track 9 is skipped... oops)

Click here to download this cassette.

South of No North: Fell Frozen LP

I was a bit hesitant to share this album, because I think the album was reissued on CD. But I can find no official information on a rerelease, except that only 680 copies were pressed. I don't know if it's still available, or where, so if it is indeed still sold commercially I can take this post down. But anyway, on to the album:
This is one of the best darkwave records ever, hands down. The band was from Greece, and they released this album in 1985 on Creep Records. There isn't too much else that needs to be said.
This is yet another record I found in Vienna.
A note to anyone who will be visiting that fine city who wants to go record shopping: go to Teuchtler Schallplatten, found on Windmuhlgasse 10, (1060 or "6" section of town). Also check out the store right around the corner from it. Between the two, I found this, the Astaron LP, the Sing As We Go compilation, the first Bisca LP, the Desert Corbusier EP, and a load more, all for about 5-10 euro each.

Tracks:
1. She's Only a Song
2. Fell Frozen
3. Creeping
4. Annabelle Lee
5. Melancholy Bells
6. Behiund the Eternal Tree
7. Fairy Tale

Get the album here!

Astaron: Selftitled LP & Lance the Ensemble EP

Here are the only two vinyl releases from Vienna, Austria cult band Astaron. When I was in Vienna a few months ago, I found the LP for a couple euro. It looked interesting, but unfortunately the record store did not have a record player (or I didn't know how to ask in German if they had one... I forget) so I had to buy it and hope it was good. I had to wait 10 days before I would get home and listen to it, and the anticipation mounted each day. I bought almost 60 records in Austria, but this one above all others piqued my curiosity. It looked so ... promising; I would be disappointed if it was anything less than gloomy gothic perfection.
When I finally got situated at home, laid in bed, and heard the first crackles of the record give way to synths and organs and chants and hauntingly ethereal vocals, I knew that this would instantly become one of my all-time favorites. I've listened to it dozens of times now, and have not ceased to be entranced by its melancholy beauty. I loved it enough to order the EP, which I just received today and have decided to share with others.
The music ranges from dirgelike chants to ethereal darkwave to haunting ballads. The EP is a bit more cold/darkwave sounding, with danceable beats on all songs; the LP is all doom and gloom, especially from the song "In an Absence" on to the end. Elements of groups like Vyllies, Cocteau Twins, I'm So Hollow, Malaria, Kas Product, and early Danse Society can be heard throughout these releases. Many songs (especially on the EP) also remind me of stuff by more recent darkwave bands, especially The Vanishing and Autonervous.
As for this duo, it contains two girls, who are never named. I do know, through some research, that one of the members was Angie Morth, aka Angie Modepunk, one of the members of seminal minimal electronic/post punk band Viele Bunte Autos (whose entire catalog has been reissued on cd, and who can be heard on their myspace page: http://www.myspace.com/vielebunteautosmusik
Apparently Astaron also released at least one cassette, called Sarg Tape. If anyone can provide mp3s from this or anything else Astaron released, I would be forever happy. I simply cannot overstate how much I love the music this band produced.

Astaron: Selftitled LP
Ton Um Ton Records, 1987 (?)

A1		Black Galley (2:58)
A2		Finale - The Burning (3:38)
A3		Little Girl Crying (2:16)
A4		St. John's Fire (2:34)
A5		As Time Joins In (4:13)
A6		Torch-Light Procession (5:20)
B1		In An Absence (4:57)
B2		Sea-Blue Ladies (4:44)
B3		Collecting Bones (5:14)
B4		The Slurring (3:50)
B5		Untitled (1:01)

(please note that the last two songs are saved as one song)


Astaron: Lance the Ensemble EP
Bugel Records, 1988

A1		The Lance Ensemble (5:47)
A2		The Icequeen (4:21)
B1		Golden Carriage (5:27)
B2		It (4:50)

Download both records here! - Link updated with NEW rips from mint records 1/16/12!

Sad Is Fiction: Zum Wohle Der Menschheit 12"

This time I have a mysterious 12" EP from a Swiss band called Sad is Fiction. They self-released this EP in 1991, and that's really all I know. I have no idea if they released anything else, if the members (who only go by their first names on the jacket) went on to any other bands or what... I do know that I really like this EP. It's femele-fronted goth that's oddly dynamic, almost... I don't know, mathy? Math-goth? Would that be "Moth"? "Gothematics"? "Agothmetic"? There are loads of tempo changes, the songs build from repetitive doom-sounding basslines to angry shrieks and abruptly change to repeated chanting. It's definitely worth checking out if you're a goth or deathrock fan.

The tracks are:
Lied 13
Lied 7
Darling (Live)


Click here to download it!