Celan - Halo

Celan is the brainchild of Ari Benjamin Meyers (Einsturzende Neubauten, Redux Orchestra) and Chris Spencer (of Unsane fame). They met in Berlin during an Unsane tour and immediately got interest in creating a project to combine and melt their completely different backgrounds (classical, avantgarde, industrial, noise and hardcore). Phil Roeder, Franz Xavier (ex-members of flu. ID) and Niko Wenner (guitarist extraordinaire from OXBOW) completed the line-up that recorded the debut album Halo in 2009.

(Taken from Last.fm)

This was one of the top releases in 2009! If you don't have it, grab it, I bet you will enjoy it!

[ Exile on Mainstream / 2009 / Hardcore / CBR@320 ]

Tracklist

01. Safety Recall Notice (00:45)

02. A Thousand Charms (04:28)

03. All this and Everything (04:30)

04. One Minute (03:37)

05. Sinking (04:44)

06. Weigh Tag (03:06)

07. Washing Machine (04:21)

08. Train of Thought (04:21)

09. It's Low (03:58)

10. Wait and see (03:41)

11. Lunchbox (12:41)

---

50:16

Mediafire

Track One (fixed)

A Forest of Stars - Opportunistic Thieves of Spring

Experimental black metal is A Forest of Stars’ M.O. on “Opportunistic Thieves of Spring.” Long compositions are wrapped around a hodgepodge of musical ideas that ranges from peaceful violin solos to mind-numbing brutality, all usually within the span of a few minutes. This premise was put to solid effects on debut album “The Corpse of Rebirth” and “Opportunistic Thieves of Spring” continues in this direction. The band’s sophomore effort is tighter and more fluid, which is surprising considering it is longer than their first record. The lines between black metal and progressive/experimental are blurred even further, signifying an unpredictable sound that can shift gears at a moment’s notice.

With the majority of the songs over the ten-minute mark, there is no rush in getting to the aggressive sections. The band seems content with sticking to calm passages for extended periods of time with little recourse. Ambience plays a role in the later tracks, which is the main offense against “Opportunistic Thieves of Spring.” While it can be used to enhance a mood or build towards a rousing finish, A Forest of Stars uses ambience to pad out the song lengths. This is most evident in “Starfire's Memory”; a wonderful song that should have ended five minutes earlier than it did. The overindulgent instrumental outro isn’t poorly performed, but seems unnecessary after the band seemed to end things on a strong note before going into the outro.

The rest of the album avoids this pratfall by switching between soft and heavy moments with relative ease. The shifts are sudden, keeping things moving at a steady clip. The momentum is always at a peak position, avoiding long stretches of tedious songwriting. Closer “Delay's Progression” is the perfect representation of this motif. An early synth piece leads into female whispers and acoustic guitars before maintaining a mid-tempo pace built upon lush violin lines and vocoder work. The blast beats and tremolo riffs don’t come in until the last third, making their appearance more effective.

Black metal is a small part of the album, as opener “Sorrow's Impetus” is the only track fully immersed in this sound. The other songs are craftier in their approach, keeping it to short bursts evenly spread out. This is a brilliant decision on the part of A Forest of Stars, as it keeps the intensity given off by the black metal onslaught from getting dull or repetitive, as can be the case with many bands in the genre. When the album picks up and things start to get crazy, a refresh feeling sweeps through.

Beneath the murkiness lies vivid beauty that peers out of the shadows at select moments to show a different side of the band. The majestic violin solo that begins “Thunder's Cannonade” is masterfully executed, while the backwoods acoustic feel of “Raven's Eye View” is highly unique. The cabaret/saloon piano on “Summertide’s Approach” is also another noteworthy oddity in an album stacked to the brim with them. The lyrics have a haunting beauty to them, with sharp imagery and poetic quips like “Soul starved bodies crushed, throats stuffed with my falling angels” and “She cleanses these gutters with her utmost purity. Onrushing dark leaves your false light lonely.”

The release of “Opportunistic Thieves of Spring” was quite low-key, a shame since this is a thrilling black metal album that deserves way more attention than it has been receiving. Some have said that A Forest of Stars is the UK’s answer to Wolves in the Throne Room, but other than both bands having lengthy epics, the two really don’t have much in common. A Forest of Stars is its own entity, one that is easily recognizable among the crop of bands in the genre. When you hear a song from A Forest of Stars, you are hearing something distinct and fresh; a twist on an ancient formula. When the dust settles at the end of 2010, “Opportunistic Thieves of Spring” could be the sleeper hit of the year.

(more here)

Great to be here again! Computer was crashed, now he is alive again and now I'll spent you a great and brand new release. Enjoy it!

A Forest of Stars - Opportunistic Thieves of Spring

(Transcendental Creations / 2010 / Psychedelic Black Metal/Experimental / VBR2 202 kbp/s)

Tracklist
01. Sorrow’s Impetus 13:02
02. Raven’s Eye View 9:24
03. Summertide’s Approach 13:29
04. Thunder’s Cannonade 8:02
05. Starfire’s Memory 11:51
06. Delay’s Progression 16:29

Mediafire

Between Silence and Sound

Hey there folks,

 

long time no see, eh? I bet you are wondering why we haven't posted anything in the last weeks. I was at the hellfest (still trying to get in shape again), fullmoonstruck blew up his computer and our friend q_uiz is on holiday in bulgaria after finishing his grammar school. We got the world cup on the television right now, too. And as you know, we European guys prefer soccer instead of football and spend most of the day sitting in the sun to watch the games.

But be prepared, on sunday we hit the spot again with some nice releases. 

Cheers and thanks for all the support,

CultOfRuins Team

Set Fire To Flames - Sings Reign Rebuilder

Set Fire To Flames is a post-rock band of thirteen musicians from Montreal, Canada, formed in 1999, who have released two albums on Alien8 Recordings or FatCat Recordings depending on where you live.

Both albums were recorded “in states of little or no sleep, in varying levels of intoxication, and in physical confinement,” with the result being brooding, eerie music. The material for their first album Signs Reign Rebuilder was created over five days in a dilapidated old apartment in Montreal and is a mixture of improvisation, composition, and environment noises. Their sophomore double album Telegraphs in Negative / Mouths Trapped In Static was recorded in a barn in rural Ontario; the sounds of the creaking doors and other background noise are heard in the songs.

Many of their tracks are very minimalist in nature, filled with ambient noise and various other non-musical sound effects, juxtaposed or combined with instrumental music.

The band is often considered a side-project of Godspeed You! Black Emperor, and the two musical ensembles share several members.

(taken from last.fm)

[ Alien8 Recordings/FatCat Recordings | 2001 | Post-Rock | 320kbps | 1:13:17 ]

Tracklist
1. I Will Be True - 2:39
2. Vienna Arcweld - 13:45
3. Steal Compass - 6:12
4. Wild Dogs Of The Thunderbolt - 4:54
5. Omaha - 6:16
6. There Is No Dance In Frequency - 4:16
7. Cote D'Abrahams Room Tone - 4:35
8. Love Song For 15 Ontario - 3:19
9. Injur- Gutted Two-Track - 2:49
10. When I First Get To Phoenix - 3:12
11. Shit-Heap-Gloria Of The New Town Planning... - 10:50
12. Jesus, Pop - 1:42
13. Esquimalt Harbour - 2:16
14. Two Years In A Bucket - 3:43

Mediafire

Clann Zú - Rua

Clann Zú was an Australian band that formed in Melbourne in 1999. The forming members drew inspiration from an eclectic mix of musical styles, such as punk, rock, folk, electronic & classical. Their fusion of Celtic folk, electronic music and rock has created a unique epic soundscape full of powerful atmospheric sounds and off-beat instrumentation. Their songs are bilingual, utilising both Irish and English lyrics.

They were with G7 Welcoming Committee Records, an independent record label established by Chris Hannah and Jordan Samoleski - of labelmates Propagandhi - and Regal in 1997.

(taken from last.fm)

Download this if you liked Crippled Black Phoenix, this is somewhat similar in the mood they create and the musical means they use.

[ G7 Welcoming Committee | 2003 | Folk Rock/Post-Rock/Indie/Celtic Folk | 256kbps | 48:12 ]

Tracklist
1. Words For Snow - 4:35
2. Five Thousand More - 4:12
3. Hope This Day - 3:15
4. All That You've Ever Known - 5:33
5. Everyday - 4:02
6. All The People Now - 6:30
7. Ri Rá - 3:20
8. Lights Below - 6:09
9. Crashing to the Floor - 3:44
10. You're Listening to a Dead Man Speak - 6:52

Mediafire
+ Track 8

Arms And Sleepers - Matador Remixed

Arms and Sleepers began one night in the back of an ambulance in Cambridge. In an alleyway a man was bleeding with a cassette player in hand, the play button still on. What sounded like recordings of a gospel choir blared from the tin speaker, while down the street a jazz band could be heard.

The man was dying. He dropped the cassette player on the cement and closed his eyes, the sound carrying through the air into his ears for one last time. Though this moment in time died with him, his cassette lived on — and Arms and Sleepers were born.

Persistent international touring and constant dissemination of their sounds makes Arms and Sleepers a worthy opponent for the typical temporal constraints that can befall a band. Having issued a series of limited edition releases and the well-received Bliss Was it in That Dawn to be Alive EP (Fake Chapter) in 2007, Black Paris 86 is their debut full-length on Expect Candy Records (DE).

A tight and intense record, listening to it feels like sitting in a cinema, watching landscapes, beauty and tragedy - feeling warm and safe while a hint of mystery seems to whisper that not everything is ok out there.

(from Last.fm)

The brand new release of this great band. Remixes of their album "Matador" from other bands and themselves. Enjoy it!

Arms And Sleepers - Matador Remixed

(Expect Candy / 2010 / Trip Hop/Electronic/Ambient / 256 kbp/s)

Tracklist
01. Matador (Uzi & Ari remix) 5:42
02. The Architekt (Lymbyc Systym remix) 4:40
03. Twentynine Palms (Nolens Volens remix) 4:57
04. Simone (Amanda Rogers remix) 3:25
05. Helvetica (The American Dollar remix) 3:17
06. The Architekt (The Consulate General vs. Boy In Static remix) 4:32
07. The International (Arms and Sleepers remix) 5:38
08. Kino (Thisquietarmy remix) 5:31
09. The Architekt (Bigadiga remix) 4:03
10. The Paramour (Elika remix) 3:03

Mediafire

y lime? - Hunan Garden

Y Lime? is a brother sister duo from Chicago. Emily sings and plays guitar, while Zak plays bass. They sing songs about zombies, veganism, and friends.

(taken from last.fm)

There's really nothing more to say. Beautiful folk with extremely cute lyrics sung by a girl, what's more to life?

[ probably self-released | 2008 | Folk | 128kbps | 19:56 ]

Tracklist
1. Not Ass Like Donkey, Ass Like Your Butt - 3:20
2. Nostalgia - 3:43
3. Animal Testing 2:48
4. Zom-bees 3:11
5. Corey 3:46
6. 4131 (apples) - 2:11
7. Springs 3:15
8. Copper Harbor - 2:23
9. Casper - 2:51
10. Leaving Isolation Station - 2:28

Mediafire