I can’t believe how many insanely good tape labels are out there in the universe of underground music. One of them you need to check out ASAP is the Bay Area’s Sentient Ruin Laboratories! Everything that they have put out up to this point is unique and will stand the test of time. I play Sentient Ruin Laboratories tapes when I need to be reminded of how far a band can push the boundaries of genres to come up with something that makes the inside of my ears say Unholy Fuck! The focus of the Laboratory is not to turn out a massive quantity of releases, but to make sure all of the bands they share with the world speak their own language, and one that translates into a special experience for the listener. CVLT Nation is ultra stoked to have Sentient Ruin Laboratories be a part of our label spotlight feature this week…
1. American: Coping With Loss
American take us only a few steps further from Xasthur, granted that a trace of newer ‘trends’ seen in today’s black metal scenes can be also seen in their music, such as the down-tempo sections akin to sludge metal and an ambient-ridden, organic sub-structure which again a whole lot of today’s black metal bands attempt at merging with their sound, highly influenced by another ‘trend’, post-metal. Considering how bands like Tombs are already in the dead-end of that path, American’s incorporation of some old-school, thrashy riffage might lead to some way out, and it surely does at various points; even so, they don’t seem to be so keen on that, and most of the time the extension of such sections is easily missed. Their other interest, the industrial soundscapes, gets enough credit to build up more than a half of their 40-minute mantra, with so many of the songs either fading into them at some point or being consisted solely upon them…Read full review HERE!
2. Buioingola Dopo l’apnea
I hear something blowing in the wind and it sounds like the perfect mixture of doom and gloom. The cause of this epic aural orgasm is Buioingola’s spot on release Dopo l’apnea. This Italian band are able to harness the heaviness of doom while wrapping their creative spirit around the ethereal ghost of death rock. Grab ahold of their soaring basslines so they can leave you feeling weightless as you float away on grey clouds. To fully understand how rad Buioingola is, Dopo l’apnea should be listened to as a whole…So what do I want from Buioingola? More music to be released on Sentient Ruin Laboratories, because I’m hooked!
3. Sutekh Hexen Become
I can not move, all I see is frozen death, my shadow is haunting me, whispers are the screams of the living, fuck fading to black – I want to fade to nothingness! Now it’s your turn to blast Sutekh Hexen’s Become and see where this sonic flying saucer of dark dirge takes your imagination!
4. Abstracter: Tomb of Feathers
Abstracter’s Tomb of Feathers actually came out nearly a year ago and sleeping on it was a huge mistake. This sprawling album from the Oakland band is post metal in excelsis with aspects of sludge and psychedelica to boot. Frankly, there’s a lot going on in this record, which is why it demands your full attention at all times.
Swirling death doom riffs collide with lush melodic passages that drink from the Pelican fountain from time to time, meanwhile the vocals carry a similar dichotomy. When not shaking the very ground we’re walking on with deathly bellows and barks, vocalist Mattia lays down staggering clean vocals that are near operatic in their scope; just take the gauntlet laid down by the first track ‘Walls That Breathe,’ for example…Read full review HERE!
