[ aquarius records catalogue

IMPORTANT (Please read to avoid confusion): Some items below may be tagged with a bold, red, all-caps OUT OF PRINT/UNAVAILABLE notice. This does NOT mean that all other items not so tagged are, in fact, in stock — or for that matter, in print and available, though there's a good chance they are. Some folks get confused on this point, and we can see why, so please read this for further clarification and other important before-you-order information. Unlike some mailorder websites, we don't have an electronic inventory system linked to our site, so you can't be sure of what we actually have or don't have in stock at any given moment without asking us — please email our mailorder department for availability status — or better yet, just go ahead and place your order using our shopping cart function and we'll get back to you with the status of each item. If you have general non-mailorder questions, email the store.

Showing results 301 through 350 of 915.

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SORRY.

The Old 97's Too Far To Care was one of our favorite records ever. When that came out in 1997 there was a good chance that no matter when you came into the store, it would be blasting on the stereo. And why the hell not?! It was a perfect rollicking rambunctious blast of super hooky, super catchy No Depression pop. Every song on that record was a classic. But much to our horror, the band plunged into vapid MTV fodder before our very eyes. Putting out a handful of totally lame, faceless records, including an awful solo record from 97's frontman Rhett Miller. We kept waiting, and hoping, that they would bounce back and kick our asses again. Well, after years of waiting, they finally have. Pretty much. Drag It Up while not quite as good as Too Far To Care, is a vast improvement and a darn good record. Catchy and twangy, with wry lyrics and some wicked playing. We knew they had it in them. Our only complaints this time around are the recycled melodies, lots of these songs sound remarkable like old Old 97's tunes (which is maybe why suddenly they sound so good) and the weirdly muddy production. That said though, this is still a pretty darn good record, if only they hadn't set the bar so high.

MPEG stream: Won't Be Home
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SORRY. For those of you, like some of us, that were slightly disappointed with the Old 97's last release, here's something to whet those partched lips. Containing four tracks from two long out of print from 1995 & 1996, plus four never before released tracks. More catchy than "Hitchhike To Rhome," and less polished than "Too Far To Care," this album is sure to please.

Long awaited record from the country rockers that brought us the much loved Too Far To Care (yes, a year is a long wait for a follow-up to that great record, believe you me!). Perhaps not as immediate as Too Far, but still delightful, Fight Songs again shows the Old 97's making some of the best twang pop around!!

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SORRY. Alt-country faves' first full-length, a sometimes hard-to-find release on an small indie label. Fans of their more recent albums should pick this up, as you'll be treated to some of the Old 97's best songs (including some re-recorded for later albums, along with others exclusive to this). If you saw them play on their last tour, a bunch of live faves are culled from this record, like "If My Heart Was A Car".

With baited breath, er, ears, we cracked open the new Old 97's. Would it live up to the brilliance of "Too Far To Care", or follow in the mediocrity of "Fight Songs"? Sadly, the verdict falls to the latter. No amount of re-attempts to listen to this album brings our opinion any higher as well. It seems as if the boys have just lost the ability to write smart and catchy songs, country

THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.

SORRY. When this came out in 1997 Andee and Byram played this at least three times a day. With hook laden, lyrically shrewd song-writing, the Old 97's are the only band of the "no depression" movement to capture the intensity of early Uncle Tupelo without losing the earnestness or twang. The first song alone, "Timebomb," will get stuck in your head forever. Plus, the final track on the album, a singularly kick-ass number, features a duet with Exene from X.

When this first came out way back in 1997, Andee and former aQ staffer Byram played this constantly, at least three times a day. Literally. It was and still is easily one of THEE best No Depression style records, and even now, 15 years later, it sounds as good as ever. With hook laden, lyrically shrewd song-writing, and serious kick ass rocking, the Old 97's are probably the only band of the No Depression movement to capture the intensity of early Uncle Tupelo without losing the earnestness or twang. The first song alone, "Timebomb," will get stuck in your head forever. And hearing it again after all these years, had us wishing the rest of the Old 97's records were this good. And it just doesn't let up, not a single dud in the bunch, "Big Brown Eyes" is another stone cold classic, not to mention the final track on the album proper, a singularly kick-ass number, features a duet with Exene from X, the sound an even balance between earnest twang flecked classic country balladry and wild rollicking punk infused country rock, with some of the catchiest songs EVER. This deluxe edition features fancy new packaging with extensive liner notes from Old 97's frontman Rhett Miller, but more importantly, a BUNCH of bonus tracks, including four outtakes from the Too Far To Care sessions, and a whole disc of previously unreleased demos, including a handful of never before heard songs!!

MPEG stream: Timebomb
MPEG stream: Big Brown Eyes
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SORRY.

THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.

SORRY.

Yet another batch of aural oddities from the esteemed and mysterious UK tape label, The Tapeworm, this one the result of an improvised home recorded bit of abstract electronic experimentation, from this audio/visual collective who in real life tend to specialize in a much more dancefloor driven sort of electronica, but here, the group are loose and free, conjuring up spaced out clouds of blurred psychedelic drift, laced with bits of glitch, sonar like pings, haunting pianos, bowed violins, strummed guitars, everything wreathed in tape hiss, the sound almost Caretaker-y at times, melancholic and mysterious, slow burn shimmers that wrap themselves around glistening guitar harmonics drifting weightless in fields of electronic crackle, Morricone-ish twang, wreathed in reverb and draped over long wavery tones, a sort of tentative unearthly dronemusic, a super abstract deserty slowcore, the vibe dark and ominous, soundtracky and mesmerizingly atmospheric. There's a deep throbbing low end running throughout, occasionally pulsing minimally, but also occasionally blossoming into something thick and viscous. The hushed drifts of smeared sound adorned with swoonsome strings, darkly delicate piano, all manner of field recordings, tangled melodies, murky swirls, all woven into a hazy soft focus landscape of dreamlike ambience, and ethereal slo-mo dreamdrift dirgery. So gorgeous. And like all Tapeworm releases, SO LIMITED. Grab one before they're gone.

We first heard from this mysterious outfit via a cassette courtesy of weirdo UK tape label the Tapeworm, that tape a fantastic bit of broody, murky, home recorded experimental electronic ambience, which we mentioned in that review, hinted at another side of the band, which trafficked in a more dancefloor driven electronica, but if this is THAT, then suddenly that tape makes a whole lot more sense, cuz while this is electronic, and there are beats, it's also dense and dark and psychedelic, dubbed out and lysergic, atmospheric and seriously tripped out. Demdike Stare fans line up here! Compendium collects the best bits from a handful of the group's early 12"s, weaving them into a darkly mysterious and gloriously hauntological whole, dense swirls of blackened ambience, gives way to Fuck Buttons like electro-buzz, before the sound slips into a dubbed out creep, all wisps of chordal shimmer, and weirdly disembodied beatboxing, woven into a super minimal abstract IDM, drifting beneath heavily reverbed, breathy vocals, which eventually splinters into some woozy glitched out electro, laced with swooping backwards effects, super minimal rhythmic skitter, spare, minor key melodies, a weirdly warped, hushed almost electro pop, but fear not, that 'pop' oozes with a definite Demdike style hauntological electro vibe, churning rhythms, echoey ambience, smears and swirls of gauzey thrum, warped slo-mo dirge-pop, anchored by lugubrious tarpit beats, and creepy slowed down vox, stuttery swirls of layered piano, cascading sheets of muted noise, sped up soul vox, lurching hip hop beats mired in fields of crystalline shimmer, the whole thing slipping dreamily and druggily from dark ambience to beat driven moodiness and back again. So good. Most definitely recommended for fans of Demdike Stare, oOoOO, Pye Corner Audio, Burial, Holy Other and the like...

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A beautifully chaotic, spastic slab of plunderphonia from our pal Chris' Soft Abuse label. Old Bombs are one of those bands that all live in different cities and therefore compose and collaborate through the mail. An ideal working method for a music so inherently fractured and schizophrenic. Chopped and reassembled, reappropriated and reimagined, this is a complicated rhythmic sound collage that hints at IDM, abstract sound art, wacked out noise rock and all stops in between. Stuttery rhythms are constructed from old radio clips and ambient backdrops are woven from found sounds and bursts of instrumental chatter. Glitched out electronics collide with random instrument buzz and tape drop out while melodies deftly weave between the wildly careening sounds, trying desperately not to be noticed. Fucked up and awesome. Equal parts Wolf Eyes, People Like Us, Autechre, Merzbow, Lesser but somehow nothing like any of them, Old Bombs make a truly damaged and beautiful noise.

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God, I love Ol' Dirty Bastard. Remember on that awards show, where he was so messed up he nearly walked into a fountain of flames? Or remember that other awards show where ODB ran on stage and started rambling incoherently about the Wu-Tang while some poor

RealAudio clip: Caught Up
RealAudio clip: Dirty And Stinkin'

One of Andee and Allan's favorite black metal records ever. So grim and buzzy, but so completely and utterly baffling and beautiful.

We never thought the day would come, but the return of Old Forest is nigh!!! The first release from these UK black metal anti-legends in 7 years! Their first record, Into The Old Forest is an all time aQ weirdo black metal fave. And their second unreleased record, None More Black, was meant to finally see the light of day via tUMULt, but instead, will be released by the original label later this year. And when the world hears that one, well, Old Forest just may rightfully reclaim their crown as masters of genius fucked up grimness for sure. The real surprise though is the band surfacing from whatever dark hellish abyss they retreated to nearly a decade ago. With a new full length in the works, but also this three part ep collection, focusing on the myths and legends of the Sussex countryside from which these guys hail. Sonically very little has changed. The sound is still murky and buzzy, the guitars thick and blurred, plenty of keyboards, pummeling drums. Lots of atmosphere, and haunting ambience, the vocals a demonic croak, the songs ranging from blasting and black, to creepy midtempo dirge. Haunting baritone monklike chants drift in and out, field recordings of crickets and birds, wind and rustling branches, the songs are packed with super memorable riffs, sing songy "woooo, ooooh" sort of call and response vocals, double kick blasting away, even during some of the more mellow bits, the songs lurch and pound woozily, peppered with incredibly catchy and unlikely little keyboard figures, the band occasionally launching into some furious blasting, but just as often slipping back into a fuzzy dirge or midtempo pound. And everything, no matter how true or grim, is infused with the cracked black sensibilities of Old Forest, much like countrymen Meads Of Asphodel (who may have one times shared members with Old Forest), not taking it too seriously, but at the same time taking it all deathly seriously. Dark and buzzy, spaced out and psychedelic, heavy and black, but also slightly cracked and definitely warped. And this is only part one� LIMITED TO ONLY 222 COPIES. Each packaged in a mini 3" jewel case, with super striking red and black artwork, and liner notes and lyrics.

MPEG stream: Cocks Crowing At Poynings
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Hocus Corpus really threw us for an unexpected loop! This sure ain't the Old Grandad of, errr, old! The most noticeable revamp of this veteran Bay Area metal band is in the vocals department. They're incorporating multiple styles that range from very Voivod-y to British goth to the good ol' death metally growl we expect from 'em. We think fans of this band will like this though.

THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.

SORRY. First release we've listed by Common Oracles, a one man electric guitar raga ensemble based in the US, but recorded in New Zealand. And the sound is definitely New Zealand, it's impossible not to hear some Dead C, although we hear just as much Skullflower and Sunroof, and maybe a little No Neck. Needless to say, this is some underground guitar nirvana. The opener is a 15 minute slow burn that begins all slippery and wiggly, fingers all over the fretboard, notes all tangled up in dense little squalls, but mysteriously imbued with plenty of melody, albeit, buried under swirls of psych guitar chaos, before eventually morphing into some upper register snake charmer Ur-drone. The second track is a total 180, with simple electronic rhythms and whooshing swooping analog synths, like a new wave lo-fi Tangerine Dream or something. Weird but pretty cool. But it's all about the nearly half hour final track, a detuned blues jam stretched into a mantra like rage, riffs, repeated over and over, the blues getting lost in thick streaks of guitar thrum, eventually smoothing out into a creeping glistening melodic shimmer, before exploding into a frenzied psychrock coda. Packaged in hand made, painted and taped sleeves, constructed from old LP jackets, with Xeroxed artwork affixed to the front and a photocopied insert inside. And of course, super limited...

MPEG stream: Raga For The Dislocation Of Valuable Objects Into A Black Hole
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Everyone's favorite simian enamored post-metal/post-doom/post-opposable thumbs heavy dirge titans (featuring members of Isis, Converge and Cave In, no less!) have returned from the caves and the treetops to deliver another bewildering slab of mysterious noise-flecked sonic sludge. Only this time it's two slabs. And they both look almost identical. And they both have the same name. That's right - The return of Old Man Gloom is heralded by a cloud of listener-confounding confusion that can only be described as "Circle-esque." Oh, and did we mention there was also a pre-release "leaked" version that went out to zines & blogs that was actually different from both of these? Yeesh, our heads hurt. But we have to admit it's refreshing to see a band with a bit of a sense of humor in a genre that has a history of taking itself perhaps a little too seriously. But there sure ain't anything funny about either of these album. Blown out noisescapes, like unnerving ethereal ancient transmissions from long dead alien civilization give way to staggering rhythmic doom, peppered with indiscernible static mutterings & world-breaking howls. Whistling feedback pleads hypnotically with swaths of ghostly reverb. The drums plod and roll enormously, like a slow motion avalanche unfolding over a millennia. It's alternately punishing, trance inducing, serene & unsettling - and sometimes it's all of those things at the same time. The ambient passages (of which there are plenty over both discs) lure the listener into a drunken state of ominous hazy hypnosis, which only serves to make those heavy sections all the more overwhelming and landscape flattening. A musical experience as aggressive, punishing & cold as it is mysterious, distant & alluring. A high evolution in instinctual primitivism! A fight-or-flight pummeling recommended to heavy-leaning, spaced-out bipeds everywhere... Note: same review here for both discs, 'cause why would you not buy both? In fact, you'd better not try and order just one 'cause we're likely to send you the wrong one accidentally. And, FYI, vinyl versions on Sige arriving soon too.

MPEG stream: Eden's Gates
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Best band ever?!?! How could they not be? Crushing dirge metal! Check. Drones drones drones! Check. And MONKEYS!!!! Double check. Holy crap! That should be enough right there for chrissakes! Well then, how about "Features members of Isis, Cave In and Converge"! Anyway, all of us here at AQ have been waiting anxiously for the return of the Simian Alien Defense League aka Old Man Gloom and their totally unique blend of pulverising downtuned heaviosity and as well as their surprisingly deft hand at minimal dronology. Two great tastes for sure. Did we mention their obsession with monkeys? Totally epic and intense Neurosis like metallic sludge, occasional thrashing post-punk rock fury, all imbued with weirdly emotional minor key melodies, and always returning to some sort of dark and rumbling, dreamy and shimmering dronescape, before bursting into another spate of crushing metallic fury. On Christmas, OMG expand their musical palette even further with gorgeously hypnotic steel string guitars, even more bizarre found sounds, and a much richer, and way more dense sonic arsenal for constructing the extensive ambient passages. The biggest surprise is the track "Volcano", an almost Interpol style sort of post punk new wave workout that is dotted with bursts of gut wrenching guitars and crushing drums! The final track is the epic 16 minute "Christmas Eve, Parts I, II and III", an extended and expanded version of a track that was on their recent Christmas Eve 3" cd, a massive meandering acoustic folk dirge-drone, with epic majestic sonic swells underpinning strummed steel string guitars and half mumbled / half sung vocals, while all sorts of random sonic debris and swirling melodies drift in and out of the haze and occasional waves of slow motion distortion creep over the proceedings like a black fog. So fucking intense, and so so so good.

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This all time aQ favorite, originally a cute little 3" cd, was recently resurrected and pressed onto vinyl for this year's Black Friday "Record Store Day", but as is the way with those things, got delayed and delayed, and only just recently showed up here. Needless to say, if you don't already own this, or have been dying for it on vinyl, this may be your only chance. And for those of you who like us, dream about the day OMG return to rule, this just might tide you over until then. Here's our (slightly revised) review from when we first listed it way back in 2004: Our favorite primate-obsessed doom metal drone outfit finally return! Old Man Gloom are back with a three inch ep (now 12" lp) to hold us over until their next epic. The centerpiece is the two part "Christmas Eve". The first part is all dreamy drone-y acoustic guitar strum and mournful electric guitar melodies over an ominous rumble that becomes a thick sheet of amps-gone-wild before dissolving into misty ambience again. Part two starts off just like part one but is quickly transformed into a hyper distorted, black hole dirge, with earth crushing downtuned guitars and chanted vocals sounding not unlike Alice In Chains slowed down and run through a bank of distortion pedals (which is definitely a good thing). The rest of the tracks are random bits of OMG ephemera: a thirty second blast of shrieking downtuned metallic grind, two tracks entitled Masami's Music Box I and II, presumably Masami Akita aka Merzbow contributing two thirty second bursts of uncharacteristically sweet melody and ambient hum, and a bonus track, a Mr. Big cover that is so stupid that it's funny (sort of), but has such an amazing ending (why hasn't anyone done this before, but more importantly, how the fuck did they do it) that it would be unfair for us to deprive you of discovering it for yourself. Just don't complain to us when you finally hear it. There is nothing wrong. It's just the OMG Simian Alien Defense League fucking with your mind! Resistance is futile! LIMITED TO 1000 COPIES. In heavy swank cardstock sleeves, printed in yellow and blue, with all new artwork!

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Our favorite primate-obsessed doom metal drone outfit finally return! Old Man Gloom are back with a three inch ep to hold us over until their next epic. The centerpiece is the two part Christmas Eve. The first part is all dreamy drone-y acoustic guitar strum and mournful electric guitar melodies over an ominous rumble that becomes a thick sheet of amps-gone-wild before dissolving into misty ambience again. Part two starts off just like part one but is quickly transformed into a hyper distorted, black hole dirge, with earth crushing downtuned guitars and chanted vocals sounding not unlike Alice In Chains slowed down and run through a bank of distortion pedals (which is definitely a good thing). The rest of the tracks are random bits of OMG ephemera: a thirty second blast of shrieking downtuned metallic grind, two tracks entitled Masami's Music Box I and II, presumably Masami Akita aka Merzbow contributing two thirty second bursts of uncharacteristically sweet melody and ambient hum, and a bonus track, an Extreme cover (Extreme the band, not extreme the sound) that is so stupid that it's funny (sort of), but has such an amazing ending (why hasn't anyone done this before, but more importantly, how the fuck did they do it) that it would be unfair for us to deprive you of discovering it for yourself. Just don't complain to us when you finally hear it. There is nothing wrong. It's just the OMG Simian Alien Defense League fucking with your mind! Resistance is futile!

MPEG stream: Christmas Eve Pt. II
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MPEG stream: Masami's Music Box 1

It's been four years since we last heard any new material from Russia's mighty Old Wainds, and while our ravenous hunger was slightly satiated by the recent domestic reissues of their Religion of Spiritual Violence and Scalding Coldness albums, we were going crazy wondering what the band was up to. Now, as spring rolls in, the Wainds prolong winter a bit longer by unleashing their furious fourth record, Death Nord Kult. In accordance with the band's reputation, the album mirrors the frozen climate of their homeland in a way that only the truest of the true could produce. It is cold, harsh, and completely relentless. Pretty much all the ingredients you want in a black metal record. This band captivated us from day one, based on an ability to bring to mind many of black metal's greats while still managing to sound unlike anything else. They possess a sound that is not "weird" or "avant garde", but one that remains striking nonetheless, and while their earliest material sounds totally bizarre and not of this world, due in large part to the atrocious/awesome lo-fi recording quality, Scalding Coldness was an absolute black metal masterpiece, merging super thick guitars and titanic low tuned drums with a keen attention to structure that seemed to link the songs together as one gigantic movement. Death Nord Kult is the logical progression, finding the band now a duo, along with "permanent session drummer" Izbor of the similarly asskicking NAV, and the overall sound is thrashier and more immediate than before. Sonically, it is the band's thickest and most polished (not Cradle of Filth polished, don't worry) album to date. The fairly straightforward production pretty much gives you the feeling of being in a room with the band as they lay waste. With a more substantial presence in the mix than on past releases, the drums pound ferociously, while strained, guttural vocals croak over dense walls of seasick riffs. Saving a few brief moments of murky ambience, the album continues with this manic intensity right to the end. The riffs are hypnotic and full of melancholy, and the throat shredding Russian vocals provide a strange, uncomfortable feeling that could as easily come from another planet as Hyperborean Russia. Indeed, this band's foreignness is definitely one of the coolest things about them, and while many black metal bands go to cartoonish extremes to prove how evil they are, Old Wainds lyrical themes, here thankfully translated, focus on what they know: bleak, unforgiving wilderness. Like the lone figure crossing the frozen terrain on the cover, Old Wainds are able to masterfully convey a sense of isolation and hopelessness under the crushing power of nature. In a world of petty scene politics and half-assed posers, they are as real as it gets. Establishing the mood of the album with opener "Storm-Whip", Old Wainds launch into a lightspeed assault that quickly switches to a midtempo gallop with crunchy, muted riffing and queasy thrashing moments. "Cruel Black Dead" features classic thrash riffs that are played with such speed and fury that they unlock strange harmonic tones as occasional dual vocals create the awesome chantlike effect (which, call us crazy, at times sounds almost like Tuvan throat singing) utilized heavily on Scalding Coldness. "Bloodstained" is a bit like being forced to endure the most unpleasant rollercoaster ride of your life, throwing you around like a ragdoll over the band's punishing attack, stopping for a few seconds before heading into one of the best metal moments of the year, a midtempo breakdown that gradually builds in intensity with insect riffing, noticeable clean bass (whoa, actual bass presence on a black metal record!), HUGE drumming and tortured demon howls. It's moments like this where you realize how absolutely unstoppable this band is, a notion that is carried on in "Born on the Freezing Dark", an impossibly fast trip through the desolate Russian wilderness with Old Wainds as your nefarious guides, churning out thick layers of puke-sounding guitar riffs (think Craft) over unbelievable drumming. Once again, these Russians have effortlessly showed us how things are done. Though the staunchly underground Old Wainds may not be the first band to come to mind for many metalheads, they should be. They're one of the best, something that is only further reinforced by the unqualified triumph that is Death Nord Kult. Those lucky enough to hear Old Wainds will no doubt realize that when you write songs this devastating, your status is secure: you're ETERNAL.

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As of the writing of this review, it's the day after Christmas, and as is befitting such a holiday, this list is HEAVY on the black metal, our little way of helping those black hearted souls and accursed spirits out there celebrate in their own demonic way. But what that also means, is we were down near metalled out. There's only so many ways you can describe something that is black and buzzing and grim and brutal and frosty and kvlt.... But the second we threw this one, none of that mattered. This was the only black metal there was, virtually erasing all that came before, a sound so powerful and unique and YES, black and buzzing, that we were immediately reinvigorated and filled with sinister black glee. If glee can in fact be either sinister or black. Since we first reviewed Old Wainds a while back, people have been obsessed, and as we mentioned in the other reviews, OW are one of the few bands that virtually ALL other black metal bands seem to worship. Whatever it is abut these mysterious Russians, they've tapped into something magical that no one can seem to get enough of. For a brief period we had all the Old Wainds records, but gradually it become harder and harder to get them back in stock. Until now. Finally a US label has taken up the mantle and embarked on a comprehensive OW reissue program, elsewhere on this list you'll find the mind blowing Scalding Coldness, reissued, and WAY cheaper, and almost more exciting than that, this record right here, their first full length from back in 2001, Religion Of Spiritual Violence, was the only one we had never been able to get. So for a lot of you, this will be the first time you'll get a chance to complete (or begin!) your Old Wainds collection, and needless to say for fans of all things buzzing and black, this is IT. It's really hard to put into words exactly what makes Old Wainds different than the hordes of other BM outfits, they definitely have an old school Darkthrone vibe, sort of punky, but they're just as likely to explode into a burst of impossibly fast blasting blackness a la Immortal or something. The vocals are super strange, less a demonic howl and more a sort of evil croak, and the lyrics are in Russian which makes it even cooler. But the music, while no doubt indebted to other BM bands, manages to sound like nothing else. Swirling chaotic riffing, strange mathy drumming, the cymbals super loud in the mix for some reason, as are the vocals, almost like the buzzing guitars are just a sheet of fuzzy blackness, a backdrop for the satanic invective and the barrage of crashing cymbals. This is indeed grim and harsh stuff, whether churning along in a midtempo Burzumic pound or spraying black fury within a flailing blast, the sound is just so NOT normal, on the surface it sounds like 'black metal', but it's twisted, cracked, infused with a harrowing anger, with a utterly bleak worldview, with a unfailing misanthropy, which leaches into the sounds, and beyond all that, as with any black metal that demands repeated listening, there's tons of stuff going on, including a ton of hooks, sure they're bent and blackened and buried beneath layers of grit and grim and buzz, but they seep out, some of these riffs are as catchy as any pop song. Just listen to the sound samples, read the other reviews for more about the band, their records, their sound, but odds are, like us, you'll be forever in thrall to the grim black majesty of Old Wainds, a convert to their Religion Of Spiritual Violence.

MPEG stream: Thrown Down And Crushed
MPEG stream: The One Holy Dead
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We love Old Wainds. So does Leviathan, Xasthur, Crebain, Draugar, Nachtmystium, and every other black metalhead we know. And as we mentioned before, there is really no better way to discover amazing bands than by discovering who your favorite bands' favorite bands are. Knowing that, Russia's Old Wainds are truly the black metal elite. Very few bands with such limited distribution, no official releases in the United States, and records that end up on eBay more than in shops have managed to make as huge an impression as these guys. And rightfully so. This is absolutely some of the most glorious buzzing blackness we have ever heard. And finally, we've managed to track down three of the four proper Old Wainds releases!! We got a whole bunch but we have a feeling they won't last long, and we're not sure how long it will take before we can get more (or even if we'll be able to at all). Before now we had been been on a never ending quest to track down every single recorded second of music these guys have spewed forth. So much so that one aQuarius employee who shall remain nameless (ahem...Andee) spent an embarassing sum on one of these discs on eBay!! But for now, you are spared that same fate. We have a bunch of copies of Old Wainds' second full length Where The Snows Are Never Gone, the split with fellow countrymen Nav, and this, their most recent release, Scalding Coldness! Which we also managed to get on vinyl!!! So what is it about Old Wainds that has the grim hordes all in a tizzy? And why is Scalding Coldness one of the best black metal records of all time? Hard to explain exactly. If you were standing right here, we'd just play it for you. And it would only be a matter of seconds before you understood. And you can go ahead and listen to the sound samples, it should have the same effect, but we might as well try to put into words what it is that's so amazing about these guys and this disc. With any metal, it's all about the riffs, black metal maybe moreso, because with black metal, it's pretty much entirely about the riff, no matter how buzzy the sound is, how evil and atmospheric the music is, without killer riffs you are NOTHING. Needless to say, Old Wainds whip up some of the catchiest buzziest riffs around. Swirling, snarling, dense and slightly off kilter, definitely in the great Norwegian tradition but with their own unique twist. Crunchy and insectoid, with strange little trills and unlikely chugs, haunting arpeggiated chords... The vocals too, guttural and growly, but not really shrieked or grunted, it's about as close to actual singing as black metal vocals can get. Still harsh and hateful, but more sort of gruff and raspy. And then the songs, epic and majestic, almost cinematic at points, but at the same time grim and frosty, buzzing dronescapes of bleak blackness, infused with a surprising amount of melody. And then there's the weird stuff, the chantlike vocals, the guitar leads that surface here and there, the strange pulsing ambient interludes, the weird breakdowns, ultra dramatic intros with bizarre drumming... but none of those things define the band, they are just part and parcel of Old Wainds' twisted black universe. The perfect blend of Xasthur, Immortal, Leviathan and Darkthrone. Sort of. Take your favorite bits from each of those bands and then smear in some desolate Russian winters, and twist it all up into some black shape that while sort of familiar is unlike anything you've ever heard before. And you'll be getting close. Absolutely essential. In the AQ black metal hall of the elite, atop a mountain wreathed in fire, beneath a sky as black as pitch sit the black metal elite, Satyricon, Emperor, Darkthrone, Burzum, Immortal and the rest, but it's looking like someone just might have to scoot over and make room for Old Wainds at the table...

MPEG stream: Scalding Coldness
MPEG stream: Freezing Winter Breath
MPEG stream: ...In The Glance Of The Dead

Finally, full length number two (of three) from Russian black metal legends Old Wainds. We're still trying to restock their most recent, 2005's Scalding Coldness, but for now,�Where The Snows Are Never Gone is probably more grim frosty bleak blackness than you can handle. But that shouldn't deter you from trying.� Originally recorded back in 1997 and released on cassette, reissued on cd in 2003, only finding its way to AQ in 2007,�Where The Snows Are Never Gone is another epic frostbitten slab of relentless black buzz. It's easy to hear why Old Wainds is the black metaller's black metal band. Wrest from Leviathan, Ancalagon from Crebain, Hildolf from Draugar, pretty much every BM misanthrope we know counts Old Wainds as one of, if not their absolute, favorite metal bands.� Old Wainds are not damaged or demented, lo-fi or fucked, this is epic and majestic, the riffs are amazing, the drums a skull caving bombast, the production is massive, a swirling buzz that could swallow you whole. It's hard to know what else to say about these guys that we haven't already said over and over and over. To read more of our Old Wainds raving see any of the other OW reviews on the AQ site... Needless to say, if you're already a fan and don't yet have this, BUY THIS NOW. If you've yet to discover the hellish joys of Old Wainds, this is as good a place to start as any, in fact it just may be our favorite of the bunch.� More in line with the primitive thrashing buzz of bands like Darkthrone and Beherit, this is fast and blown out and black, relentless and furious, frosty and so so so grim. The vocals are a Popeye like croak (not all that far removed from Immortal's Abbath) and the tracks are peppered with strange explosions and sonic drop outs, the guitars go from lightning buzz to chugging crunch, the drums sounds like they're being fired out of a gun. Minus a couple intros, this record does not ever let up, even for one second. Until... The final track, which is absolutely gorgeous, definitely the prettiest thing Old Wainds has ever recorded. An endlessly loping minor key midtempo groove, arpeggiated guitar, a sort of sea sick rhythm, motorik drumming, the guitar a warm glistening buzz, vocals a chanted moan, repetitive and so utterly dreamy (in a grim, cvlt, black way of course), until the very end where the song seems to buckle and the band stumble back into action obliterating any traces of loveliness in an explosion of brutal black fury.� As with every single Old Wainds recording, totally essential.�

MPEG stream: Unholy Norland Fire
MPEG stream: Winter Warriors
MPEG stream: Gods Gazing From Beyond

We once mentioned that the best way to discover the most amazing music in any genre, is to check out what other musicians are listening to. Never has that been more true than with black metal. A genre predicated on bands' underground status or level of grimness, how cult or frosty they are. Which means, some of the best bands aren't often heard outside of tiny circles, many times just other bands and close friends. Limited tape releases, cd-r's, demos. You have to be super tenacious to really be on top of the latest greatest grim horde from Bolivia or Paraguay who only have a single cassette release, and it was limited to 10 copies, each one doused in the band's blood. Such is the case, although not quite so dramatically with Russia's Old Wainds. Ask any of the BM elite. Ask Wrest from Leviathan, Ancalagon the Black from Crebain, Hildolf from Draugar, Azentrius from Nachtmystium, and any one else you can pull from their blackened crypts, who their favorite black metal band is, and odds are all or most of them will tell you Old Wainds. And we might have to concur. The frustrating thing is most of the Old Wainds discs are only available on eBay at totally exorbitant prices. But you know what, it's completely worth it. Old Wainds play some of the most primal, furious, gloriously buzzy black metal we have ever heard. Although it might be better to start here, with this normally priced cd reissue of the bands Withers Of The Wainds demo. Each track a blast of cold black winter winds, swirls of murky buzzing riffage, thrashing drums, and super insane vocals, that are strangely processed / affected so they sound like some strange death rattle, drenched in reverb, like the battle cry of some pterodactyl / rattlesnake hybrid. So completely alien and harshly harrowing. But perfect for the bleak buzzing blackened landscapes below. Killer riffs (you can pretty much boil ALL metal down to their main component, the riff), a murky production that swaths everything in a gauzy black veil, and those insane over the top vocals, all whipped into an impossibly furious black attack. Absolutely and utterly essential black metal. We'll do our best to track down the rest of the Old Wainds discs that are available (not many? none?), and we'll wait patiently for the out of print ones to be reissued (or reissue them ourselves, if Andee can get in touch with the band), but for now, hails to Arma Diaboli for reissuing this disc and saving us all $50, and allowing us the opportunity to finally bask in the unearthly black glow of Old Wainds!!

MPEG stream: Thy Dream
MPEG stream: Fog
MPEG stream: Nazgul

We've long been shrieking and demonically howling the praises of Russian black metal horde Old Wainds, but until recently, we had been unable to track down any of their releases. One of their old demos was re-released (Withers Of The Wainds) which was much easier to get, and then slowly but surely we managed to track down the rest of their releases. We reviewed the godlike Scalding Coldness a few lists back (we're still waiting for our restock, thanks for being patient) and this time we've got a killer split, between Old Wainds and their fellow countrymen (and Old Wainds offshoot) Nav. We reviewed the full length lp from Nav a while back but were unable to get their cd (we're still trying) so for lots of folks this may be your first chance to hear Nav. Anyway, like we've said in the past, a true measure of a band, is who is listening to them, especially when it's other bands, so when we say Old Wainds is EVERYBODY'S favorite (and we're talking Crebain, Leviathan, Xasthur, Nachtmystium, Andee!!) that's pretty high praise indeed. And not at all unwarranted. Old Wainds are the Blizzard Beasts of the East. A howling buzzing blast of frosty fury, so intense and relentless, a completely epic black buzz, but with incredible riffs, amazing arrangements and some seriously intense vocals. Not as bizarre as they were on the Withers Of The Wainds demo, but much harsher and hellish than on Scalding Coldness. Through The Chaos To Eternal Winter (Old Wainds' half of the split) is 18 minutes of unbridled brutality, black beauty, so gloriously heavy, recorded way back in 1999, this sounds as heavy and intense as most of the bands peddling their black metal wares today. Three blasts of buzzing black brilliance, the fourth a haunting ambient folk drift, complete with dirgey downtuned guitar and disembodied minor key piano, and harsh reverb drenched vocals. Perfectly matched, and in some ways maybe even better than the Wainds (gasp!), are Nav, the project of Old Wainds drummer Izbor and featuring at least one other Old Waind in its ranks. The sound is similar, grim and frosty, but somehow the buzz is bigger, thicker, with even less melody than Old Wainds, and more blast, the vocals are distorted and buried in the mix, the songs are peppered with bursts of lurching midtempo Burzumic buzz, but Nav spend most of their time buzzing along at hyperspeed, the blackened buzz so thick and relentless, it becomes a fuzzy drone, mesmerizingly blurry and blown out. the drums so fast they are like another layer of sonic fuzz. But it's not just buzz, the riffs are killer, the melodies are there, and are catchy as hell, just completely suffocated by the icy black buzzing of the relentless guitars and nonstop blasting beats. The final track begins with some reverb drenched acoustic guitar, quite lovely and dreamlike, before being engulfed by a strangely melodic and dramatic minor key black blast, almost like a black metal Godspeed, epic and keening and oddly enough, really really pretty. Absolutely essential, as with all things Old Wainds (and Nav for that matter)...

MPEG stream: Face Of Madness
MPEG stream: Dead Eyes Of The Dark
MPEG stream: Hymn To The Cold Silence (Part 1)
MPEG stream: Warriors Of Glacial Desert

That crude & spooky, black & white linocut (?) cover art looks like some cult black metal cassette or floorcore noisepsych lp from nowadays. But it actually heralds an album of '80s Italian underground metal weirdness, which is basically one of those obscure microgenres that we here at Aquarius might just be getting a bit obsessed with (other examples: Scandinavian skweee, field recordings of frogs, Sheffield black psychedelia, singing saw music, and the New Wave Of Finnish Heavy Metal). Well, at any rate we're into a few weird '80s underground Italian metal bands, previously having written about Black Hole and Dark Quarterer... We'd put Flames Of Hell in there too but they were from Iceland, not Italy, though somehow seem like they'd belong. There's also the likes of Death SS and Bulldozer, and going way back Jacula, but it's Old Yron that we should be talking about right now! That's the band responsible for this record, originally released in quite limited fashion in 1989, though it sounds somewhat older than that (Old Yron actually having their beginnings back in 1974). Six tracks suffused with traditional metallic atmosphere and amateur charm. Being Italian, it's got a classically influenced, proggy bent to it, but that's filtered through an extremely budget DIY production, enhanced perhaps by what may be the crackle of the vinyl from which this (fully legit however) cd reissue was probably transferred. Old Yron deliver the goods in the form of high pitched screams and Yngwiesque guitar shred, on such songs as "Old Yron", "Crazy Lady", and "Strange Vision"... strange vision indeed, as OY seem to be all about taking their mundane existence and finding something dreamlike and weird about it, particularly involving women if at all possible, in which case they are voluntarily "Slave To Dream"! Speaking of women, their regular singer's histrionic, operatic stylings are joined by the atypical "jazzy" singing of a guest female vocalist on "Window In The Dark" which is probably our favorite track here, for sheer eccentricity. The album ends with the Paganini inspired instrumental "Up-Start", which sets us up for this cd's two bonus tracks, modern (circa 2003) recordings of classical guitar by OY mainman Antonio "Tony" Ferrari. While much slicker than the original Old Yron album itself, they can be seen as a progression from it, and/or perhaps can be considered a palate cleanser after all the very metal, lo-fi, yet cultured wailing of the album proper. The cd booklet includes thorough liner notes by Ferrari, presented in both English and Italian. Thanks for Shadow Kingdom for digging this up, how they discovered it we don't know, but it's a unique find and we're glad to have it, it'll certainly serve as our '80s Italian underground metal weirdness fix for a little while!

MPEG stream: Crazy Lady
MPEG stream: Window In The Dark

From our pal Mike at the amazing Sleeping Giant Glossolalia comes this latest blast of gnarled metallic guitar heavy whatthefuck from long time aQ fave Mick Barr (Krallice, Ocrilim, Octis, Orthrelm, Crom-Tech) who in Oldest, is teamed up with Brooks Headley (Born Against, Universal Order Of Armageddon), who besides being a rad drummer, is now a fairly well known pastry chef! However, as curious as we would be to hear/see Headley's pastries combined with Barr's axe-work, it is in his role as drummer, that he completes the Oldest duo, which Barr describes as sounding like Voivod meets Darkthrone, but which in fact sounds a lot like Barr's late great Crom-Tech combo. A wild mathy tech metal grindpunk noise-prog blowout that finds the duo unleashing frenzied stretches of tranced out guitars, frantic riffing, the melodies angular and atonal, the drumming dense and complex, the arrangements fractured and fucked up, the vocals a punkish shriek. Intricate and heavy, dizzying and chaotic, the songs super fluid, droney, cyclical and near static one second, lurching stop/start stutter the next, slipping occasionally into chugging classic metal mode or soaring blackened buzz, but always returning to that distinctive twisted technical grinding math/meth metal crush that Barr seems to have a lock on. Fucking awesome. And not even really out until next month, so for now, an aQ exclusive!

MPEG stream: Survivalist Compounds
MPEG stream: Incessant Mortal Creation
MPEG stream: Tower Mockery

THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.

SORRY.

Old favorites and out of print rare stuff from Palace/Will Oldham. Includes the infamous "Big Balls" AC/DC cover and FIVE NEW SONGS. Guest musicians include Mick Turner and Jim White from Dirty Three, David Grubbs, etc.

LOVELY album showcases Will's growing talents as a real songwriter.

If the Faheyesque fingerpicking that Jim O'Rourke brought to alt.country/indie rock were made even more sparse and given an almost Windham Hill/Michael Hedges/slightly-Renaissance-Faire quality, you'd have the Will Oldham (Palace) instrumental album. This is soundtrack music for a short film based on The Ode to Billy Joe.

Four new instrumentals from Mr. Will "Bonnie Prince Billy/Palace/Palace Songs/Palace Bros/Palace Music" Oldham. The liner notes tell a brief tale of a ship owner and some sailors, but offer little else in the way of recording information or description. Very mysterious. After trawling the internet oceans, we discovered that these four songs were composed as soundtrack pieces for a documentary film by Jason Massot about four modern merchant seamen. Little did we know that if we'd simply looked more closely at the disc and read the small print, we could have found all of this out sans computer. Ah the modern age! Such short attention spans! All the more reason to take some time to immerse yourself in Oldham's somber, contemplative songs. Slowly creeping acoustic guitar and bass navigations that we -- having not yet seen the film -- can say do indeed evoke the gentle rocking of an old ship and the endless rippling of the waves. The most affecting and foreboding of the four is the final "Emmanuel".

MPEG stream: Emmanuel

THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.

SORRY. 4 songs, none of which appear on the Drag City full length. Recorded up in Santa Rosa with members of the Dirty 3 and Albini behind the board.

Limited as heck, this one-sided 10" with a brand new song from Will Oldham comes packaged with a rather lovely book-like selection of photographs from one Erik Wesselo. The photos are mostly soft-focus landscapes -- forest, sea cliffs, etc. Buy now or cry later, although at $17.98 for one song, this is for uber Oldham fans only.

Fflint Central is a U.K. label run by two extraordinarily nice guys and darn fine hosts (good enough to befriend a sick and bedraggled on-tour Andee and buy him Cokes). Fflint specializes in experimental electronics and harsh abstract noise. One would think that there's enough, or too much of both, but the men from Fflint have that something special (fuck-you attitude? undefinable sound? sense of humor?) that makes these records way better and way more interesting than the majority of the 'electronica' we hear these days. Fans of VV/M, Lesser and other 'troublesome' electonica will dig this stuff. Affordable CD-Rs. Go ahead and take a chance. You may regret it... This is probably the most laid back record on FFlint, but that's not to say it isn't still intense and incessant. Tranquil soundscapes (processed field recordings made in Norht East Wales) are mixed with pulsing synths, bells and chimes, and warm drones, making for a soothing and dark and an amazingly beautiful record.

THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.

SORRY. We have to admit we were never that into DJ Olive, he always seemed to be the token turntablist on records by NY based rock ensembles trying to be 'edgy' or wanting to 'experiment', either that or the go to guy if Spooky was already booked. We're not trying to be harsh, we'd definitely take Olive over Spooky ANY day, but that's just the impression we got, but this record, boy did it shut us up good. Real good! This is definitely one of the most beautiful turntable drone records in recent memory. Really. One epic 50 minute track, a murky underwater drift, equal parts Oval, Jeck, Basinski, Marclay and Hecker. Gauzy and slightly warbly, loops seemlessly integrated into a single glacial drone. Fans of any of the above mentioned turntablists should just stop right now and buy this immediately. It's not just a drone record either. The first half of the disc is thick and warm, a slow moving slab of rich multi timbral sound, but partway through, the smooth dreaminess begins to peel back, revealing little bits of guitar, or strange rhythmic clicking, brief glimpses of the inner workings, that reveals a strange skeletal system beneath Sleep's seemingly deep organic surface. Which only adds to the deep listening, feeling strange shapes moving just below the surface, the drone interrupted to skip and skitter before resuming its glacial pace. I know we say this about a lot of records, but Sleep truly is dreamy.

MPEG stream: Sleep (excerpt)

add to cart [/images/addtocart.gif]/af4105.html Glenn Donaldson (of Thuja, Blithe Sons, Skygreen Leopards, The Birdtree, The Ivytree, etc.) brings us yet another cd-r of his wondrous folk-improv-field-recording, this time, the instruments were dragged to Stonestown Galleria, where the band set up in the bar of popular Italian eatery. So along with gently plucked guitars, and plaintive warbling vocals, and simple childlike percussion, you can also hear the sounds of tinkling glasses, families dining, cell phones ringing and all sorts of other sonic urban detritus. The highlight is probably the 30 minute final track "All You Can Eat Breadsticks", a slowly shifting soundscape of mastication, clinking silverware and piping hot loaves!

MPEG stream: All You Can Eat Breadsticks (excerpt)

THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.

SORRY. Originally released in 1974 to little acclaim, this is the first appearance on cd of Welsh guitarist Oliver's only album. Psych-blues guitar, like a solo Beefheart or something. BEAUTIFUL and highly recommended. Thanks to Aquarius-listmember Nik Carlson for turning us on to this back when it was only available as a $30 piece of collectible vinyl.

THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.

SORRY. This is the final 12" in Table Of The Elements' 10th anniversary Lanthanides series of one sided silkscreened 12"s and what a fine way to end it. Pauline Oliveros has been massively influential in improvised music, electronic composition and her spiritual and meditational approach to music making. A Little Noise In The System was recorded ar UCSD in 1967 utilising a Moog synthesizer, tape delay and feedback and is anything but meditational. A big ol' blast of hissing skree, like a million crickets with Merzbow in their walkmans and the volumes cranked to 11. Over the course of the piece, the sound does shift and modulate and offers quite a bit of tonal variety, but this is still pretty fierce stuff. Clear vinyl with a lonely stretch of road winding through the woods silkscreened in white ink on one side.

Two beautiful and intense minimal electronic compostions from 1967 and 1966 respectively.

THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.

SORRY. "Crone Music" is a 1989 piece composed by Oliveros for her expanded accordion. The recognizable chords of the accordion breathing slowly dissolve by means of four digital delay processors which generate a wide array of electronic drones. The piece was commissioned for a experimental theater production of Shakepeare's "Lear."

THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.

SORRY. Wow! Three early live experiments with electronics, which at the simplest level use an array of oscilators and tape loops processed through long delays, for some of the most beautiful and haunting electronic drones to pass through our speakers!

Three early electronic compositions by Pauline Oliveros from 1966 and 1967. "No Mo" and "Something Else" were created at the University of Toronto's Classical Electronic Music Studio using "Layfette tone generators, noise source and tape delay." "No Mo"

RealAudio clip: Something Else
RealAudio clip: Bog Road

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