From Corners Unknown

Plague of Carcosa was the band that pushed me to begin speaking with artists. Not just a simple exchange of messages or constant back and forth over email, but an actual conversation where we can discuss backgrounds, influences, and the passion that goes into making these musical endeavors a reality. A number of weeks ago, FCU debuted "Rats In The Walls" just one day ahead of its release and it generated some of the largest volumes of readers and listeners this site has seen since it was founded. After the dust settled somewhat post-release, I connected back with Plague of Carcosa to discuss how they sutured together such a heavy, brain battering, stoner-doom colossus.

This quick chat focuses on "Rats In The Walls"—the writing process, the recording process, all the time, frustration, and sweat that went into crafting this monolithic song. Thank you for listening.

Talsur is a one-man doom band hailing from Russia. Founded just over two years ago, he has already explored a bevy of doom metal's slimy dregs. From funeral doom to stoner doom to recent inclusions of black metal on his latest release, The Gates EP, Talsur's versatility appears boundless beyond doom paradigms. With his frequent use of symphonic elements and an interlaced vocal delivery of rasping growls against deep, soothing cleans, his songs surprise, crush, and may leave you near speechless. His lyrics are of struggling with anxiety, depression, hopelessness. And the slough of slow, cerebral smashing riffs he crafts are a way of wrangling these crippling feelings. Each song is a piece of a story culminating toward some resolution. And in these chapters, Talsur straps listeners into the boots of the hero he creates. The end result is an enthralling journey through auditory tales that engage, reward, and at times, yield catharsis.

In a first interview (and conversation) for Talsur, he discusses the origin of his musical endeavors, why he continually shifts his style of doom, how none of his friends know of his doom metal work, plans for his new full-length to drop this summer, and a great deal more. Thank you for giving Talsur your time and thank you for the continued support.

In this third episode of Voices From Corners Unknown, Connor and Ryan discuss the full-length debut of French dark ambient composer Moloch Conspiracy, the second offering of the quirky yet heavy noise rock/doom/drone two-piece Nekomata, and the solo instrumental progressive metal artist, Dishonour, from Japan.

Thank you so much for listening and your continued support. Let us know if you enjoy any or all of these records per our discussion.

Throat Breach is a Midwestern sludgy grindcore band from Kansas City, Missouri. Helmed by Ian Turpin, this band was once a solo endeavor operating under the veil of Napalm Meth. The project started in part as a joke, but it mostly served as a sonic vessel for Ian to test his capabilities as a grindcore musician. He later fleshed the band out, adding drummer Frazier to the project. They played a number of shows, just the two of them,  before recruiting Ethan, their bassist. And ever since, the tar-soaked outfit has been vomiting out track after track of completely vile grind. In their local scene where few of these bands exist, Throat Breach have carved themselves out a pound of rotting flesh. Many of their songs are so utterly malignant and drowned in layers of filth and grime, but they know how to slow it down to a churn and deliver bone mangling grooves.

In this conversation, Ian discusses the origin of Napalm Meth and how it evolved into Throat Breach, his musical background and his influences, the slough of shows the band has played thus far, how songs are written, and a great deal more. Thank you for listening to the conversation and giving Ian as well as Throat Breach your attention.

In this second episode of Voices From Corners Unknown, Connor and Ryan discuss the latest opus from space ambient purveyor Silent Universe, the massive second album from atmospheric black metal quartet Euclidean, and the third (and final) harrowing dark ambient record from Bleach For The Stars.

Thank you so much for listening and your continued support. Let us know what you think about one or all of these records!

Joe Gamache is the founder of the nascent record label, OldeBlock Records. Housed in Edmonton, Alberta's urban sprawl, Joe's aspirations to create not just a label, but a collective of artists that engage with each other, work together, and learn from one another, was cemented just a couple years ago. Building upon this foundation has taken time. The first few blocks of sound he laid for the label's catalog came from his own hands and machines, from his project named Woony Hax. It's one that is difficult to categorize; you can hear dark ambient, drone, ambient, and tendrils of experimentation pouring from each of his compositions, but his sound is best left unfettered by genre descriptors. This sentiment of not categorizing his sound simultaneously crystallizes the essence of OldeBlock in that each release following Woony Hax's three EPs are intriguing and widely variable in their experimentation and aural explorations. Though OldeBlock is still in relative infancy,  there is already solid slab of sound to lose yourself in and ultimately love.

In 2018, two new artists will make their debut and into this year's summer months, OldeBlock will publish their first physical release; a vinyl that finds all of the Label's artists working under a common concept to craft a mosaic of sound. In this conversation, Joe speaks about his finding of OldeBlock Records, the music he grew up listening to, how he fields artists for the Label, the digital landscape of music, and a great deal more. Thank you so much for listening and thank you for supporting Joe and OldeBlock Records.

Barren of Shape is an absurd amalgamation of sounds that shouldn't gel together, but do. What started as a sludge band with a somewhat misshapen set-up of two basses, a drummer, and a guitarist, the then quartet produced a single EP. Soon thereafter, some line-up changes occurred, general band tumult ensued, and Barren of Shape ended up losing their guitarist. Instead of seeking a replacement, though, the trio forged ahead as two bassists, Tom and Dario, and drummer Dylan. They strayed the well-worn path of sludge and decided to begin threading seemingly disparate genres together with needles of grindcore and death metal. Zany vocal deliveries and punishing lower-end frequencies abound, these guys epitomized experimentation gone awry in the best way possible with their first LP, Fauna and Defloration. Where they reside in the city of Heers, Belgium, no band exists like Barren of Shape.

In this conversation, Barren of Shape discuss their musical upbringings, the moment they knew to switch gears to an experimental grindcore-meets-death metal sound, how people react to their music in a live setting, plus a number of other stories. Thank you so much for listening and thank you for giving Barren of Shape your attention.

In an effort to cover more music, artists, albums on this site, I’ve teamed up with a close friend of mine, Connor, to begin a podcast series. Each episode we will discuss three records; the genres will remain in the realms of dark ambient, metal, or genres tangentially related to these. At the end of a record’s discussion, we will play a small sample clip of the record we think will give listeners an idea of what to expect should you go listen to the full release. The series is titled Voices From Corners Unknown. We will do our best to trickle these out on a bi-weekly basis.

There are no ratings in our discussions, just simple yes/no recommendations. These discussions will not replace the written reviews that pop up on the site from time-to-time. Rather, this podcast series attempts to broaden the coverage of artists over the years ahead. Thank you for your continued support and we hope you enjoy our discussions.

Aokigahara graced my ears in the early months of me discovering the auditory realm of dark ambient music a couple years ago. The neoclassical elements on display enveloped me in this shroud of emotion. It felt so personal; the evocative piano movements, the brooding undercurrents of drones which perfectly captured the dreary headspace of trying to find a single reason to live. This record is so potent, so ethereal, and it was the one that compelled me to begin writing reviews in the first place.

A year later, Duncan Ritchie followed up his Cryo Chamber debut with its companion piece, Love Like Blood—a darker, more spiteful record. Three months later, he released a beautifully harrowing EP, Fall The Night, on his personal Bandcamp page. And now, about about one year since Fall The Night, Duncan is back with his third Flowers for Bodysnatchers record on the Cryo Chamber label, Asylum Beyond.

In this conversation, Duncan talks about his older project The Rosenshoul, his Cryo Chamber coupling Aokigahara and Love Like Blood, why he needed Flowers for Bodysnatchers to be something different than traditional dark ambient, and Asylum Beyond; a gruesome tale of bizarre ritualistic killings, insanity, and horror that drags listeners through the dark and deranged recesses of a murderer's mind.

Thank you for giving Duncan your attention and thank you for your continued support.

Ben Power was the first person I interviewed on this site. And I’m glad I did. My first interaction with him stemmed from a review I wrote for his Cromlech Records debut, The Time For Silver Flowers, under his moniker Bleach For The Stars. The intial moment Ben’s soundscapes graced my ears I was unnerved yet wholly enraptured. Silver Flowers‘ liner notes provided some chilling details about Ben’s past, but after re-reading and absorbing them as I let his meditative waves of static drench my ears, I felt compelled to understand more about him, his past, and how he began producing music.

In hindsight, I probably went overboard with the number of questions I asked him, but his warm receptiveness pushed me deeper into an abyss. I learned a great deal about Ben—probably more than he’s willing to divulge to most—but from these exchanges I discovered and explored a harrowing depth of what music can embody and represent for an artist.

His new record, A Barren Crowd, is a direct prequel to Silver Flowers and while it’s relatively comparable in sound, its context is immensely darker. It recounts Ben’s listless days spent in psychiatric care, the moment he cracked in solitary confinement, his conflated memory of a patient being set ablaze. It’s his past revisited and coagulated in sound.

In the video below, Ben and I speak at length about A Barren Crowd and Silver Flowers. It gets dreary in parts, but it’s a plunge worth taking. Thank you so much for listening.

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You can support Ben by grabbing a copy of A Barren Crowd, The Time For Silver Flowers, or any one of his other Bleach For The Stars albums at his Bandcamp page. I highly recommend each record, especially A Barren Crowd as Ben’s descriptions from our conversation detail some unsettling backstory to what the songs actually represent. Thank you for your continued support.