Le Syndicat – 1985 - 1995 - Ten Years Of Excess (1995)

Country: France

Tracklist

Disc 1

Delikatëssen
1. Masse Dépréciatrice 13:19
2. Farce De Morse 09:31
3. Machefer Recharge 10:06
4. Terrificante Matter 07:41
5. Chanson Bruitiste 02:13
Relapse
6. Quadripartite 21:53
7. Dentiste-Surprise 04:24

Disc 2

Vorgine
1. Exorde 06:44
2. L'Horloge De St-Luce 06:25
3. Jouvenceau 00:46
4. Maelström Fornicator 06:16
5. Le Corps De Jehan 05:53
6. Deux 02:55
7. Vorgine 08:36
Relapse (Continued)
8. Roméo Ou Juliette 19:20
9. Dissection-Fantaisie 05:33

Le Syndicat is a collective entity and a former cassette label that began activities in 1982.

It is one of the leading bands in the industrial movement in France

and was created by Jean-Marie Onni (aka Ruelgo) and Zyklon B.
The project later collaborated with visual artists Zorïn and Mïrka Lugosi,

produced a lot of audio concrete cassettes and participated to a lot of "mail art" international compilations.
As a label Le Syndicat released cassettes for artists such as Merzbow, Parazite, Pacific 231, Controlled Bleeding,

Blackhouse and Dog As Master while they also had contacts,

notably with exchange of sounds and compositions by correspondence, with Japanese noise bands like The Hanatarashi.
After the departure of Zorïn and the arrival of Veidt Mjolnir, their  music is experiencing a significant change,

leaving the fields of improvisation and moving from collages, tape loops,

film samples or sequences of classical music, to prominence electronic rhythmic noise beats.
During the second half of the 1990s , the group enters into sleep and reappeared in 2010 with a new album,

this time reconnecting  with bruitism, collage and extreme dynamic forms.
"1985 - 1995 - Ten Years Of Excess" is a double compilation CD released in 1995 by Staalplaat 

featuring the re-release of their cassette albums "Delikatëssen" (1985), "Relapse" (1987) and "Vorgine" (1986).

Memory

Harry Bertoia – Unfolding (1993)

Country: Italy / United States

Tracklist

1. #1025 Unfolding 18:35
2. #1025 Sounds Beyond 15:02
3. #1032 Here And Now 21:04
4. #1032 Here And Now Part II 13:06

Arri Bertoia (March 10, 1915 – November 6, 1978) was an Italian-born American artist,

sound art sculptor, and modern furniture designer.
Bertoia was born in the small village of San Lorenzo, Friuli, Italy.
At age 15, given the opportunity to move to Detroit, and live with his older brother, Oreste.
Upon entering North America, his nickname of Arieto (little Arri) was altered to the Americanized Harry.
After learning English and the bus schedule, he enrolled in Cass Technical High School,

where he studied art and design and learned the skill of handmade jewelry making.
In 1936 he attended the Art School of the Detroit Society of Arts and Crafts, now known as the College for Creative Studies.
The following year in 1937 he received a scholarship to study at the Cranbrook Academy of Art 

where he encountered Walter Gropius, Edmund N. Bacon, Ray and Charles Eames, and Florence Knoll for the first time.
In 1939 after reopening the metal workshop, he began to focus his efforts on jewelry making,

even designing and creating wedding rings for Ray Eames and Edmund Bacon's wife Ruthtaught,

as the war effort made metal a rare and very expensive commodity.
When all the metal was taken up by war efforts, he became the graphics instructor.
Still at Cranbrook, in 1943 he married Brigitta Valentiner, and then moved to California

to work for Charles and Ray at the Molded Plywood Division of the Evans Product Company.
Bertoia also learned welding techniques at Santa Monica College and began experimenting with sound sculptures.
He worked there until 1946, then sold his jewelry and monotypes and worked with the Electronics Naval Lab in La Jolla.

In 1950, he was invited to move to Pennsylvania to work with Hans and Florence Knoll.

During this period he designed five wire pieces that became known as the Bertoia Collection for Knoll. 

Among these was the famous diamond chair, a fluid, sculptural form made from a welded lattice work of steel.
In his own words, "If you look at these chairs, they are mainly made of air, like sculpture. Space passes right through them."
The commercial success enjoyed by Bertoia's diamond chair was immediate.

It was only in 2005 that his asymmetrical chaise longue was introduced at the Milan Furniture Fair and sold out immediately.
In the 1960s, he began experimenting with sounding sculptures of tall vertical rods on flat bases.

He renovated the old barn into an atypical concert hall and put in about 100 of his favorite "Sonambient" sculptures.
Their sizes vary from a few inches all the way up to twenty feet tall.

Many metals were used for the rods, the most common being beryllium copper

known for its wide range of color variations and rich tones.

Some rods are capped with cylinders or drops of metal, resembling cattails,

which, by their weight, accentuate the swaying of the tonal rods and creating deep resonant tones.
Bertoia often recorded his sound experiments using overhead microphones and a 1/4" tape recorder.
He played the pieces in a number of concerts and even produced a series of eleven albums, all entitled "Sonambient,"

of the music made by his art, manipulated by his hands along with the elements of nature.
In 2016, these "Sonambient" recordings were re-issued by Important Records 

as a box set with a booklet of the history and previously unseen photos.
Three major documentaries featuring the barn and other pieces were released about Bertoia.
Learning of the dismal diagnosis of cancer in 1976 caused Bertoia to work furiously on organizing his monotypes,

perfecting the tonal barn collection, and putting his life’s work in order.

He had produced probably tens of thousands of pieces of art during his short life.

His work had consumed most of his time, much of his passion, and ultimately all of his energy.

The toxic fumes such as from the beryllium copper he so loved contributed to the lung cancer.

Yet, his death was peaceful, he felt complete, and he accepted dying as simply one more transitional part of life.

Harry Bertoia died at age 63 on November 6th, 1978 in his home,

and was buried beneath a giant gong behind his Sonambient barn.
The compilation "Unfolding" features two of the eleven albums of the "Sonambient" series,

"Unfolding / Sounds Beyond" and "Here And Now / Unknown" that was originally released on vinyl in 1978.

Memory

Primordia – The Gleaming Eye (1993)

Country: England

Tracklist

1. Meléni 05:28
2. Surface Tension 03:48
3. The Gleaming Eye (Vers.) 04:24
4. Laughing Torso 05:17
5. Mother Love II 05:12
6. Kaosphere 04:44
7. Samhain 05:53
8. What The Breather Brings 04:19
9. Coming Down Fast / The Gleaming Eye 08:24
10. Forever Years 05:10
11. Ikon 13:22

Primordia was a short lived synth-goth project of the late 80s/early 90s.
The band featured Lucy Furlong and W.M. Owens,

that he is also known for his participation on the early albums of Fire + Ice.

Their sound is balancing gracefully between embedded orchestral darkwave elements

and electro/industrial pulsating rhythms.
"The Gleaming Eye" is a collection of recordings from 1988 to 1992 and was released by World Serpent Distribution.

Memory

Murder (2 x 7'' EP 1994)

Country: United States

Tracklist

Side A

1. Edmund Emil Kemper (Sexual Murderer, Necrophiliac, "Co-Ed Killer")

"I Had Thought Of Annihilating The Entire Block That I Lived On." 06:18

Side B

2. Henry Lee Lucas (Murderer, Rapist, Arsonist, White Trash)

"I Was Death On Women." 07:26

Side C

3. Theodore Robert Bundy (Serial Murderer, "Phantom Prince")

"I'm The Most Cold-Blooded Son Of A Bitch That You'll Ever Meet." 06:51

Side D

4. Kenneth Bianchi (Rapist, Murderer, "Hillside Strangler")

"I Didn't See Anything Wrong With It - It Was Just There." 06:42

"Murder" was the first installment of a special interest series 
that would be dealt with the brutal reality of man's murderous capabilities.
Unfortunately no further installments were ever released.
This release contains portions of interviews with four convicted killers 
that many of them came from the documentaries The Killing of America (1981) and Murder: No Apparent Motive (1984).
"Murder" was released in 1994 by Alamut Records as a 2 x 45rpm 7" EP's, both on red vinyl.

Memory

Archaos – Vestes Terrae (1997)

Country: Romania

Tracklist

1. Intro 04:52
2. The Gods 03:32
3. Nulla Salus Bello 05:06
4. Samotrace 05:35
5. Neolithic 01:50
6. Oceanus (Part II) 00:48
7. Bellum Omnium Contra Omnes 05:17
8. Untitled 00:51
9. Mystic Dark 04:21
10. Impavidum Ferient Ruinae 01:25
11. Vestes Terrae 03:06
12. Mors 03:28
13. Laudator Temporis Acti 09:15
14. Contempus 02:51
15. Ritus Cineri 02:15

Archaos formed in Bucharest in early 1993 by Dan Serbanescu (aka Vourckolakos) and Radu Nicolescu (aka Putrefactorus)

as a two man artistic act with both of them sharing guitars, keyboards, vocals, percussion, programming and effects duties.
The early period of the group had as a result the recordings of several demo tapes (about 12 of them) 
and the promotion of Archaos as a dark archaic mystic ambient/gothic/dungeon synth/dark wave band 
of the local scene inspired by the Mediterranean archaic spirituality and forgotten cultures.
The first official Archaos work was released in 1997 entitled "Vestes Terrae" 

and was promoted on national and international basis.
This album is mostly a compilation of tracks from the early demo discography of the group 
and was released by the well known Romanian label Bestial Records.

Also in late 1997 the band performed live for the first time.
In April 1999, a second album was released under the same label 
entitled "The Land/Love Obsession" and included two EPs dated 1998 & 1999.
"Centuries Of Obedience", the third album of the group has its beginning in September 1999 
and was released in May 2000 also at the same label and featured 4 long tracks of deep gothic/dark wave music.
In 2001 the band ceased to exist while Dan Serbanescu continues today with his other projects
(Divine Muzak, Tanz Ohne Musik, Alone In The Hollow Garden and ARM).

Memory

Memorandum – Ars Moriendi (1994)

Country: Sweden

Tracklist

1. Malebolge 05:48
2. Where The Dead Lost Their Bones 05:41
3. New Primitivism 04:31
4. Despite 02:59
5. Pura Dalem 04:05
6. A Harsh Grating Death 01:35
7. Drums Of Agony 05:20
8. No Pain Or Pleasure 05:39
9. Carnage Of Ragnarök 03:08
10. Inner Sanctum 04:44
11. Voodoo Tribal Ritual 04:34
12. Taurobolium 03:32
13. Insecticide 02:06
14. Exterminans 03:27
15. The Caved Mask 03:24
16. The Dead Remains 02:44
17. Esthetiks Of Cruelty 04:05
18. Insecticide II 07:12

Memorandum was one of the early artists on Sweden's Cold Meat Industry label.
The band was the solo tribal/industrial project of Petter Marklund, 

who was also a member of Sepulchre Inc. and XXX Atomic Toejam at the time.
Memorandum released "Aux Morts" album in 1989 and a 12'' ep in 1990 entitled "Ichor".
In 1994 Cold Meat Industry and Apocalyptic Vision teamed up to release "Ars Moriendi" compilation 

that featured their first two releases plus unreleased material.
The project disappeared suddenly around 1994.
Later, after the end of Memorandum, Marklund went on to be a part of Fredrik Thordendal's Special Defects band.

Memory

Terra Serpentes (1997)

Label: World Serpent

Tracklist

Disk 1

1. Arkkon – T 2901E 06:04
2. Martyn Bates – Bahnhofstrasse 02:28
3. Chris & Cosey – One Minute More (Serpent Mix) 05:09
4. Coil – Heartworms 07:14
5. Current 93 – Frolicking 07:50
6. Bryin Dall – May You Never Be Alone Like Me 03:07
7. Death In June Presents Kapo! – Only Europa Knows 06:01
8. Roger Doyle – Dark Scenery Court Games 07:12
9. Elijah's Mantle – Wise Words Of Eve 09:57
10. In Gowan Ring – Still Water Bonne 07:05
11. Lemon Kittens – What The Cat Brought In 02:19
12. Loretta's Doll – Love Is Regret 04:26
13. The Moon Lay Hidden Beneath A Cloud – Untitled 04:35

Disk 2

1. Nature And Organisation – By A Foreign River (The Longing For Mercy And Happiness) 04:33
2. Neither/Neither World – All's God's Dogs 05:01
3. Nurse With Wound – Window Of Possible Organic Development 08:47
4. Orchis – Come Unto Me 05:01
5. The Boyd Rice Experience – Music From The Movie Pearls Before Swine 04:12
6. Sand – On The Corner (Alternative Version) 05:20
7. Death In June Presents Scorpion Wind – Some Colossus 04:51
8. Shock Headed Peters – Oblivion Extract 10:40
9. Sol Invictus – Did You See 04:48
10. Somewhere In Europe – Oblique Realities 05:36
11. Strength Through Joy – Ways To Strength And Beauty 07:02
12. Tiny Tim – The Garden Of Your Heart, Turn Back The Universe, 
You Can't Get Loving Where There Ain't Any Love, A Thousand Love Songs 05:35
13. Zone – The Scavenging Soul 04:50

World Serpent Distribution was a British record label and music distribution house formed in the late 80s 

and was co-owned by David Gibson, Alan Trench and Alison Webster.
 Douglas Pearce of Death In June coined the company name in 1991, 

World Serpent being another name for Jormungandr.
 World Serpent was well known for distributing music by many post-industrial, apocalyptic folk, neofolk, 

avant-garde and otherwise esoteric or experimental artists, such as Death In June (through NER), 

Current 93 (through Durtro), Sol Invictus (through Tursa), Coil (through Threshold House),
Nurse With Wound (through United Dairies), Zone (through Potentia), Elijah's Mantle (through De Nova Da Capo), 

Orchis (through Cryptanthus), Ozymandias (through Ramses Records) and many others.

Many of these artists also ended up collaborating with or being influenced by one another, 

causing the World Serpent name to become synonymous with many of the artists and labels 

distributed through the company during the early 1990s.
World Serpent also functioned as a label, although they released very few records on their own. 

The vast majority of the releases they distributed were on other labels & imprints.
In August 2004 World Serpent went bankrupt and was no longer operating.

Memory

The Absolute Supper (1998)

Label: Cold Meat Industry

Tracklist

Disk 1

1. In Slaughter Natives – INRI... Raped By The Cross 08:36
2. The Protagonist – Imitation 04:43
3. The Protagonist – Zoroaster 05:51
4. Ordo Equilibrio – The Perplexity Of Hybris. I Glorify Myself 04:31
5. Sanctum – {-} 04:09
6. Puissance – Love Incinerate 05:16
7. Arcana – Winds Of The Lost Soul 04:35
8. Mortiis – Child Of Curiosity & The Old Man Of Knowledge 05:42
9. Desiderii Marginis – Chaos Undivided 04:12
10. Sephiroth – R'lyeh 09:21
11. Raison D'être – The Verge Of Somnolence 06:45
12. Hazard – Who Blew Out The Northern Lights? 05:50

Disk 2
1. Brighter Death Now – I Wish I Was A Little Girl 09:41
2. Frozen Faces – Zyklon B Doll 05:53
3. Mz.412 – N.B.S. Act 1 - Begravning 05:34
4. Megaptera – Don't Desecrate The Dead 06:31
5. Deutsch Nepal – Logo 09:37
6. Nacht – Svartsinn 08:12
7. Archon Satani – A Time Of Ruin 06:19
8. Ildfrost – Hearts Perturbe 05:07
9. Ildfrost – Slept Awake 02:15
10. Cintecele Diavolui – The Devil Must Kill 05:50

Cold Meat Industry was a Swedish independent record label, 
which specialized in dark ambient, death industrial, noise music and neo-classical.
It was founded by Roger Karmanik (mainly known for his project Brighter Death Now) in 1987.
At the time of its spreading popularity, end 1980s and mainly early 1990s, 
the label introduced a genuine innovation in music history. 
Especially within the gothic and industrial scenes, the innovations would become legendary.
In the early nineties, the phrase "Cold Meat Industry" for a while even denoted a musical genre, 
that is the avantgarde genre of industrial and dark ambient.
Cruel Moon International, Death Factory, and Sound Source were some of the most known sublabels of Cold Meat Industry.
In February 2014 a notification posted on the CMI facebook page claimed the official end of the label. 
The Absolute Supper released as a double cd in a quad-panel digipak and featured some of the major bands of the label.

Memory

Presumed Guilty (1998)

Label: Misanthropy Records

Tracklist

1. Dream Into Dust – Stormbringer 05:51

2. In The Woods... – Let There Be More Light 06:30

3. Solstice – The Sleeping Tyrant 06:11

4. Hagalaz' Runedance – The Oath He Swore One Winter's Day 03:45

5. Primordial – Journey's End 08:00

6. Burzum – Et Hvitt Lys Over Skogen 09:04

7. Amber Asylum – Dreams Of Thee 03:27

8. Babylon Whores – Somniferum 04:07

9. Madder Mortem – These Mortal Sins 05:05

10. Mayhem – Ancient Skin 04:57

11. Beyond Dawn – Need 05:17

12. Endura – Vestigial Horn 01:49

13. Aphrodisiac – Lux Et Tenebrae 04:09

14. Monumentum – The Colour Of Compassion 07:30

A great compilation of artists by the mighty British label Misanthropy Records, 

Elfenblut and Heroine sub-labels containing unreleased and album tracks.
Released in order to protest against censorship in music business. 

The booklet contains thoughts by each individual artist regarding censorship 

and an essay by Tiziana Stupia (owner of Misanthropy Records).

Many different styles of quality music here but of course the highlight of the compilation is the unreleased,

back then, Burzum track "Et Hvitt Lys Over Skogen" which travels you back to the early days of Black Metal.

One of the best Burzum tracks ever, recorded at Grieghallen in 1992.
Hear it and feel the chills running down your spine.

 Memory

Diamanda Galas – The Divine Punishment & Saint Of The Pit (1988)

Country: United States

Tracklist

1. Deliver Me From Mine Enemies 19:17
   I. This Is The Law Of The Plague       
   II. Deliver Me From Mine Enemies       
   III. We Shall Not Accept Your Quarantine       
   IV. Deliver Me       
   V. Yiati O Ozoe       
   VI. Psalm 22       
2. Free Among The Dead 13:36
   I. Psalm 88       
   II. Lamentations       
   III. Sono L'Antichristo       
3. La Trezieme Revient (The Thirteenth Return) 05:03   
4. E Ξελου Με (Deliver Me) 07:19   
5. L'Heauton Timoroumenos (1857) (Self-Tormentor) 06:49   
6. Artemis (1854) 05:02   
7. Cris D'Aveugle (1873) (Blind Man's Cry) 12:16

A fiercely confrontational avant-garde performer noted for her wailing, four-octave vocal range.
This shattering vocal style, is inspired by the Schrei ("shriek") opera of German expressionism
(a form employing a system of four microphones and a series of echoes and delays).
This release contains the first 2 parts of a complex trilogy (third and final part is "You Must Be Certain Of The Devil").
The texts from the first part (The Divine Punishment) are taken from the Old Testament
mixed with Galas's own cryptic lyrics, except 2-III ("Sono L'Antichristo").
In the second part (Saint Of The Pit) Diamanda's emotionally draining voice speaks for those who, like Jesus Christ,
were crucified because of their beliefs.The artist gives her voice to those who are afflicted with this slow, agonizing death.
 "Correct playback possible at maximum volume only."

Memory