ANTLERS: Into Endless Chaos

Some people are simply perseverance and resistance personified.

Antlers are a 4 piece Atmospheric Black Metal group based in East Germany. Forming in 2013 after
2 guitar playing veterans of the underground music world (Pablo C. Ursusson and I. Soler) started jamming with bassist Mts and drummer M.

Describing their sound as “Ancient hymns for the Age of decay” and “Black metal written for wanderers and hermits, for battle and meditation, for light and darkness” Antlers are a powerful musical assault played with a mystical edge but never lacking in emotional intensity.

Embarking on endless van tours across the European Metal Circuit playing to sweaty bars full of die-hard fans and even sharing the stage with Rotting Christ, last spring Antlers brought US experimental Black Metallers Addaura out on the road with them. Unfortunately 1 member of Addaura had an accident in Paris, meaning the cancellation of several shows planned for that tour.

But both acts didn't let it effect them and bravely carried on, with the tour coming to a triumphant end with two shows in Antlers' hometown of Leipzig.

Their debut album ‘A Gaze into the Abyss’ was very warmly received throughout the underground and is a great exercise in some kick-ass Black Metal songwriting. Upon it's release, the band swiftly sold out on all their CD copies of the record, but still have Vinyl and Cassette copies left so I urge you to pick one up before they're all gone!

You can read my thoughts on the album at the bottom of this page.

I caught up with the band’s guitarist, keys player and vocalist Ntx to find out what Antlers are up to now....

DMD: It has been over a year since ‘A Gaze Into The Abyss’ was released, how much has changed in that time? Have you already begun writing the follow up?

Ntx: Nothing has changed in a very significant way, just that some of the stuff on that album begins to get quite old for some of us and sometimes it's not so exciting to play some tracks from the album anymore. So we are looking forward to begin to play shows in 2017 with a new setlist. For sure the band is more solid now, we are better friends and we know each other better than we did 2 years ago. We have a bunch of songs ready for the next album, yes.

DMD: At the time of sending you these questions, the tour with Addaura has finished, what were the highlights and lowlights of the tour?

Ntx: The absolute highlight was to meet the guys of Addaura, touring and sharing those 2 great weeks of our lives together, they are an excellent band, but way better people. We didn't know each other before, the whole tour thing was an initiative of Stefan from Vendetta Records.

It's kind of funny, because once we saw we got along pretty well, we began to have fun together. They told us that they were afraid of having to share the bus for the next 2 weeks with some grim German metalheads and we told them we were a bit afraid of meeting some arrogant spoiled Americans. Everything worked just great!

The biggest lowlight was the accident that the bass player of Addaura (Brandon) had in Paris, he fell downstairs carrying just too many gear at once and then he broke his left arm, it was a really bad fracture (both bones of his forearm) and it was a fucking crazy stressed night in Paris, so we had to cancel as well the show the day after in Zurich, a couple of days later he could join us again in Italy and take care of the samplers in the Addaura shows, but it was still a downer...

DMD: I was going to ask, do you guys just have a lot of bad luck on tour or are you just out of control and reckless sometimes?

Ntx: We just walk on the wild side... and it seems we fall quite often.

DMD: How did you guys get the name 'Antlers?' Also I love the wrist Tattoos!

Ntx: The name evokes to me a mysterious and monolithic presence in which death and nature awakens connections with my genuine and untamed essence. Thank you, I guess you mean our antler tattoos, not everybody got one on their wrists though. We got them done after a show in Flensburg at the studio Hand of Doom (https://handofdoomtattoo.wordpress.com) That was a long night of drinks and inks...

DMD: What is each member of the band’s favourite Black Metal album?

Ntx: Mayhem - De Mysteriis Dom Sathanas

Mts: Darkthrone - Transylvanian Hunger

M: No empathy - Rust

Pablo: doesn’t know

DMD: What is each member of the band’s favourite album that is not considered Metal?

Ntx: Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds - Murder Ballads

Mts: Igorr - Hallelujah

M: En Blanc - Untitled

Pablo: doesn’t know

DMD: How is the extreme metal scene in Leipzig, Germany?

Ntx: Quite healthy I would say, even if the word “scene” is something I try to avoid. There are quite a lot of places for shows and enjoying music and to meet together. I would recommend you some other bands from Leipzig like II, Evil Warriors, Chamber, Vidargängr, Lihamon and of course other more popular bands like Sangre de Muerdago or Coldwolrd. I don't know if this is a scene or not, but they are good friends and cool bands.

DMD: Considering you guys are a DIY band who self released your last album, do you plan on staying DIY or do you plan on searching for a record label in the future? Do you still think we need record labels in the age of the internet?

Ntx: Well, that's not really correct. Sure, we have a strong DIY Spirit but we are not gonna be waiting for somebody else to come knocking on our door to do things for us, we like to decide what and when to do things and if we don't find a better option then we will do it on our own.

The question kind of surprises me because I thought it was kind of clear that our first album wasn't self released. The vinyl version was released by Vendetta, the CD by Pest productions and the cassette by Into Endless Chaos.

The Internet is cool to get to know a lot of stuff that otherwise wouldn't be possible to know, but I still love to buy my favourite records on vinyl and enjoy the artwork and pay attention to the lyrics sitting on my couch while it sounds on the turntable with the time that it deserves...

DMD: Where do you guys want to tour next?

Ntx: We want to tour everywhere! I guess the next tour will again be in Europe in spring 2017, hopefully this time we can make it to the UK. Personally, I really want to go on tour to Spain finally and meet a lot of old friends there. It's in our plans as well to visit the US in the next couple of years.

DMD: What are your thoughts on the current state of underground Black Metal in 2016?

Ntx: I would say it's getting more open minded, at least that's my perception.

DMD: What inspires the lyrics?

Ntx: Death, dreams, myths, history, human nature and its contradictions, nature, pain, personal traumas, love, everything around that makes me reflect about something. I would say that basically I try to write a map and find my position in the Universe.

DMD:  What does the rest of 2016 hold for Antlers?

Ntx: Writing new stuff and beginning to record our second album in December,  there’s not much more to tell in this moment...

My thoughts on ‘A Gaze Into The Abyss’

The Album features 6 tracks that all flow very well together with little to no filler slowing it down. Antlers are a flawlessly tight, well-oiled machine and every instrument pulls their weight and absolutely no one is slacking off. 

The drums lead the band for most of the time, pulling off many a dynamic fill or suspenseful build up here and there (Track 2 ‘Carnival of Freedom and Betrayal’ & Track 3 ‘Hundreds’). The well crafted riffs, lead lines and harmonies of the guitars are memorable, and while the solos won’t win any awards for originality you can still hear they’re played with blazing conviction and soul.

The growling vocal attack stays powerful throughout and feels like they have a bit more of a death metal vibe about them, which I really like. 

Tempo-wise you get a well rounded amount of medium speed, blistering pace to slower crawls. Track 4 ‘To the Throats’ is a good example of this. In the song's first half-pulverising blast beats and some of the album’s most memorable riffs, and when the outro rolls around- more DBSM and Funeral Doom elements are thrown in, emphasised by a piano tinkling joylessly atop the steady gloomy progression.

‘Memories of the Extinct’ also varies in momentum, opening once again on punishing blast beats and catchy riffs, this closing track features a blink and you'll miss it slow section that sounds destined to be joined in on by a chanting metal festival crowd.

While the band don’t rely too much on exhibitionist playing or stray too far from their 90’s Norwegian BM roots, their songwriting wildcard pays off in spades.

Every riff feels like it's been worked on with the intention of being as punishing and as memorable as possible, while the parts of the album that lack speed make up for it with soul-wrenching emotion.

Fans of Wolves in the Throne Room should definitely consider giving this one a spin.

In closing I will say that 'A Gaze into the Abyss' is an extremely satisfying Meat 'n' Potatoes Atmospheric Black Metal record with enough quality craftsmanship to keep you coming back for more. 

The excitement and hype is already building for their next release, and I for one cannot wait!

8/10

Antlers bandcamp

Antlers facebook

Vendetta Records site

Pest Productions bandcamp

Into Endless Chaos facebook

Addaura bandcamp

If you enjoyed this Antlers feature check out some more DMD Black metal reviews:

Tomhet (Canada)

Ancient Forest (El Salvador)

The Discovery Channel...4 Reviews (God Pussy, Mare Di Dirac, Felix Perez, How I Met Lauren)

Here are 4 reviews containing artists who submit their music to me and music I found online that impressed me.

No ratings, just my thoughts on music I would happily recommend to others.

In this first instalment of 'The Discovery Channel' we have: 
Political Harsh Noise, Ritualist Musique Concrète,
Old-School Prog Ambient and Uplifting Drone.

Let's get started!

The second Discovery Channel can be read here

Submissions:

God Pussy:  Retratando A Realidade Bélica (Portraying the Reality of War) DIY self release

Many thanks to God Pussy himself Jhones Silva, who helped me translate his song titles. 

I first heard God Pussy (Rio de Janeiro’s premier Harsh Noise activist) on the brilliant Ton Doigt Dans Mons Cul compilation Laptop Hooligans 2 alongside Koobatoo Asparagus, Painburn and Yung Stab. 

For ‘Retratando A Realidade Bélica’ (portraying the reality of war) God Pussy deals with a range of themes including: slavery, police brutality, PTSD and the deaths of the innocent caught in the cross-fire of brutal everyday violence. 

Using nothing but his noise equipment Jhones replicates the chaotic, aggressive and terrifying atmosphere of streets descending into a battleground between baton-wielding police and angry, rioting mob.

Opening track ‘Senzalas Contemporâneas' (described by Jhones as: the slave quarters of the past, the prison system today) is a tiny scraping sound transformed into a glitching explosion of furious energy, that crumbles into a throbbing twisted mass of bass, while distortion rains down like a hail of molotov cocktails.

‘Mais Uma Mãe Chora Na Perda De Seu Filho!’ (Another Mother Cries at the Loss of her Son!) 
Is less loud but no less intense, a low hum underneath vile screeching that mirrors the tinnitus filled aftermath of a bomb detonation. 

‘Hoje Noticia - Amanhã Estatística’ (Today’s News - Tomorrow’s statistics) throws in random banging noises and a guitar coughing up some putrid like wah-wah effects in between the sizzling noise assaults. Track 4 ‘Explícito Morticínio’ (Explicit killing) is an automatic rifle firing off rounds of piercing white noise and iron clad feedback. 

‘Trauma E Memória ás Vítimas Do Genocídio’ (Traumatic Memories of Victims of Genocide) sets up the longest track of the release: Repressão, Aniquilamento & Velório (Repression, Annihilation & Funeral) in places this one made me imagine screaming sirens of emergency vehicles being fed through giant piles of effects pedals as well as the faceless wounded writhing in pain. 

‘Justiças Com as Próprias Mãos' (Justice with your own Hands) and ‘Menó Sangue Nos Olhos' (Blood in our Eyes) both feel slightly Harsh Noise Wall, or to be clearer, a Harsh Noise Wall with a few gaps in the brickwork for the other loud, discordant elements to flood through! 

Track artwork is included in the free download
of Retratando A Realidade Bélica

You can really feel Jhone’s heated anger at these various injustices fiercely directed through his noise, two examples of this include: ‘Pobre na MIRA’ (Vulgo ‘Bala Perdida’) Targeting the Poor (a popular saying is an ‘accidental shooting’) which is a vortex of electronic caterwauling and the high frequency tsunami of ‘13 De Maio É Uma Farsa' (the 13th of May is a farce) historically referring to the day in 1888 when Brazil officially abolished slavery and became the last nation in the West to do so.

5 tracks bring this short lived apocalyptic revolution to a deafening close: ‘Ciclo De Corrupção Ativa' (Corruption Cycle Active) ‘Protagonista De Um Filme De Terror’ (Protagonist In A Horror Movie) ‘Cade Os Esquecidos?’ (Where are the Forgotten?) despite all being well executed the one that really picked me up and smacked my ears around was ‘Caos Nosso de Cada Dia' (Our Daily Chaos). 

Concluding with a creepy music box and a single gunshot, ‘Obituário… FIM!!!’ (Obituary ... END !!!)  is both a theatrical and fitting end to an abrasive, hateful but ultimately thought provoking noise barrage.

All things considered, ‘Retratando A Realidade Bélica' is a seriously vicious and appropriate noise diatribe for our times. If you are beyond pissed off at the corrupt establishment then make sure God Pussy is setting fire to your eardrums while you go out and tear it down!

Caos Nosso de Cada Dia (Official Video)

God Pussy website

God Pussy Facebook

Recently, God Pussy released ‘riot’ and had a compilation appearance on UK Harsh Noise CD-R label ‘harsh noise movement’ you can check them both out here:

https://harshnoisemovement.bandcamp.com/album/riot

https://harshnoisemovement.bandcamp.com/album/hnm-100

Mare Di Dirac: Fumes  (Dusktone records)

Mare Di Dirac are an electroacoustic, Musique Concrète noise duo from Italy. Not just staying put with 2 members they are often found collaborating with multiple musicians. Also the brains behind their own music imprint 'Dusktone Records' to put out physical CD releases they are passionate about as well as their own material.

Donning masks and erecting surreal-soundscapes on the grandest of scales, Mare Di Dirac's work transcends the song structures of normalcy and their performances in venue or studio become theatrical events.

The last MDD record ‘Tupilaq’ featured guest appearance from Mauro Sambo and Paolo Sanna
creating an intriguing blend of experimental jazz, sinister drone ambient and found sound/field recordings. In short, it's a sound artist's dream. ‘Fumes’ continues that wild exploration but ventures into even darker realms. Light an incense stick and prepare yourself.

Opening Track ‘SacraFormula’ amongst many audio entities captured includes: 

An unidentifiable (to me at least) reed instrument, a creaking door reversed into a low rumble, and a human voice so manipulated by effects it almost sounds like a cawing crow or some other nameless nightmarish bird. To name a few there are fizzes, sobs, scratching, and heavy breathing all overlapping in the boiling, spitting cauldron of sound. All of a sudden, when it seems to be reaching the tip of it’s summit with a horrified scream, the surging heat is turned off with one discharge of breath.

'Ceremony 00' is more of a slow burner, but still ups the ante with various scattered percussion and a overhead trilling. The low voices return, becoming a grainy, ethereal chant. The primal beating of the drums really give the track it’s ritualistic theme. This undercurrent of drone turns into some heavy sweeping static before dropping the dynamic back down again to soft mouth-made noises looped for a short time like a dripping tap and thumps that seem to resemble footsteps echoing down an imaginary hallway. 

In a faster segment, cymbals crash like merciless waves upon coastal rocks. At this point, the low vocals (are they even human voices anymore?!) start to resemble an ancient boulder being rolled away, the track is laid to rest by clanging rattles and the distant trill.

The ritual continues….

'Representation 01' begins as a loud, snare drum beating away that has a slight industrial feel to it, but still retaining that devotional quality. Layered voices groan and growl away, building until their place in the mix drops totally. Soft cracklings and insect-like scurryings between low buzzing and rustling, clinks of bottles all come together to form a sphere of sound consciousness that swaps to cracking floorboards.

A low piano note rushes in, on probably the most terror-filled track on this release, ‘Deification 10’. Squelching footsteps kick over a spinning glass bottle that falls into a gushing water source, and I can hear what could easily be somebody playing around with the guts of a grandfather clock.

Metallic breathing brings in the piano note again, the water now sounds like it’s draining away but you get the sense that another more malicious, insane presence wishes to make itself known, a pitch bended bell and another rummage inside the clock only add to this descent into madness. The water sounds return, now churned into a fury, meanwhile the sound of birds singing changes into maniacal laughter, only the piano note can signal the end of the darkest chapter in this trip.

Closing Track ‘Quinta Matrice’ sends us off with slow, lightly tapped cymbal hits interspersed with ticking that confirms the clock in the previous song has now been fixed. Fumbling and scrunching are unearthed somewhere beneath it all making the tempo a crawling shuffle. Amongst the ever present stone cold chants is a harmonica drowning in strange effects blaring out brash signals to the untapped regions somewhere inside your brain box it then switches to more of a mosquito dialogue over a tinkling of cymbals. The chants intensify as the ritual nears its climax and with the higher registers of the mouth organ once again at fever pitch, it flares up and it's all over.

What I enjoyed most about this release was that it's a great example of putting dynamics to good use. At times it attained the most tension filled of crescendoes, while the quieter sections still remain threatening. Brilliant vocal work and instrumentation all around. 

Fumes will take you in search of an esoteric utopia, but it is not afraid to drag you through purgatory to reach enlightenment. Heightened awareness and sharpened senses await! 

Listen with a good pair of headphones.

mare di dirac website

mare di dirac facebook

dusktone records website

If you enjoyed Fumes check out Mare Di Dirac’s debut record ‘tupilaq' here

Internet Findings

Mindphaser: Canticles of Dune 

Introducing Chilean artist Felix Perez and his Electronic Ambient project ‘Mindphaser.’ Primarily taking influence from the 70s-80s prog era as well as artists from the Berlin School of Electronic Music scene (Tangerine Dream, Klaus Schulze etc) Felix’s musical talents have seen him gradually gaining many online followers over the last few years. 

Recently he released a short full length album inspired by the Frank Herbert book & David Lynch film ‘Dune.’ 

The instruments used help to recreate the scenes and introduce the various characters/events important to the storyline. Felix included a track by track description of the epic audio tale in the link below, so even if you aren’t familiar with the Dune story (like me) then you can still follow the basics of it all.

First in the sequence is ‘Melange’ which has a peaceful meditative feel to it, only hinting at the expanding musical universe to come. The building synth textures in Track 2 represent the enormous spaceship of such magnitude FP mentions in the album’s liner notes. But that soon becomes a more tension filled, fluctuating pattern, as if the vessel has entered more dangerous space-territory. 

On ‘Hammer & Worms’ the frantic scramble for the resources on Dune is shown through a quickening bass line, and washes of keyboard chords. A well played guitar solo helps to complete the track’s ‘desert mirage’ feel.

Listen here:

https://www.mixcloud.com/felix-perez/canticles-of-dune/?play=fb&fb_action_ids=10210188456810521&fb_action_types=mixcloud%3Aupload


‘Canticles..’ also features 2 shorter tracks dedicated to machine characters of Dune, the first is an affair of beeps and bleeps representing the supreme living computer of Dune known as ‘Omnius’ who considers humanity unreliable and therefore useless. While the second machine based track’s robotic theremin cries and whooshing noises represent ‘Erasmus’ an evil robot who conducts diabolical human experiments.

Almost coming back on itself, ‘Beyond Space and Time’ feels like the second part of the intro with rising/falling patterns that seem to take you around the outer rings of the universe. To round things off, a second version of ‘Hammer & Worms’ this time with an arpeggiated synth line fading in and out of audible reach. 

In Closing, ‘Canticles of Dune’ paints a wonderful musical picture of the Dune universe. If you’re a progressive space ambient/film soundtrack fan with a penchant for the bygone 70s-80s Science Fiction entertainment, this is an essential slice of synthspiration.

mindphaser bandcamp

mindphaser website  

Enjoyed MindPhaser? Check out an interview with Electronic Ambient / Berlin School musician Michael Brückner here 

How I Met Lauren: ‘im spektrum’  (Zero Sum Recordings)

Zero Sum Recordings is a newly formed tape label based in Brooklyn, New York City. 
Already Dishing out fast-selling limited edition cassettes featuring the ambient sonics of Empty Venice Beach and Abstract Audio Systems. ZSR's motto is: "Low on the noise, high on the haze." 

Put together by the multi-talented Ben Hudgins under his Machine Tribe Recordings umbrella
which also includes his many awesome music projects and the excellent Harsh noise, HNW and Dark Ambient tape label: Endless Landscape of Decay.

Last month, the label had it’s debut release ‘im spektrum’ a 2 part drone piece by German ambient/drone/noise-maker How I Met Lauren. 

SIDE A: After the prologue of a guitar jack lead being noisily plugged in and a handful of slowly passing reverberations like trains in the night, ‘im spektrum’ begins to form as a highly resonant sound beam, topped with ripples of light, fuzzy distortion. 

Building from the ground up, it’s atmospheric audio foundations interlink with soft surface noises making a Brian Eno-esque powerhouse. The emerging drone casts a long, flickering silhouette across the mind’s sky. 

SIDE B: Still flying high and shining bright, the shadowy drone continues it’s slow cloud like movement never pausing once to take in the aerial view. But as we all know, what comes up must come down and the descent from the upper echelons is due. Almost reluctantly stripping itself away until nothing but the gentle hissing of tape is left. Roll credits. Now leave in peace.

Pre-judging by the artwork I was convinced this was going to be a depressing ride, but instead you have the musical equivalent of a slow motion daybreak that turns into the brightest of auroras. 

'Im spektrum' is uplifting Drone, done right! Turn it up, close your eyes and let the music engulf you. 

There’s only a few copies left of this one, so get it or regret it!

How I Met Lauren Facebook

How I Met Lauren Soundcloud

Zero Sum Recordings bandcamp

Machine Tribe Recordings HQ

Thanks to those who submitted their music to me, keep ‘em coming in!

If you would like to be considered for a review or a  press interview send me an email containing a link to your music here: lungsofashes@gmail.com