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AIDAN BAKER ‘Noise of Silence’ [CDr] HyRe002

Review@Electric Requiem Magazine (translated in english)

Aidan Baker – ‘Noise of Silence’ (Hyperblasted Recordings)

“The following review concerns only those who adore the deterioration this art named music can offer “for they shall conquer the feeling”.

A lot of people sank in Aidan Baker’s world – the world of a multi-artist. Each one of them came out alive. Each one of them came out better. The diving place could be the port of the ARC collective, the opening among Pederecki String Quartet’s rocks or the abyss of his personal discography and the one that contains the magic condemned world of the slow, destructive and bestial shell of Nadja. Or even the landscapes of his writings, these collections of words stashed inside the art-spitting sack of despair. Not one of these divers lost anything. Not even Aidan Baker.

Which is the sound of silence? A noise. Bearing no similarity to anything we’ ve met until now. The noise of silence does not shriek in high db’s, it doesn’t yell to declare its presence. In the silent system, noise is merged with peace and quiet, holding (up to the point of nailing) the listener to his place, almost in a metaphysical manner as it leaves us with the gaze of a fool, the one we stick in our faces when confronting the incomprehensible. During the 50-minute presentation of the sound of silence theory a voice whispers the word “suicide” every now and then, driving the listener at top speed towards the wall of madness. By the looks of it, Aidan Baker carefully planned this destructive machine, as suicide stands as the only salvation from the beauty of the moment, a moment which adresses you in slow motion, subsequently allowing the study of the microfilm in order to spot the tiny dots in which the mute storyteller carefully hid the elements of the ancient Greek tragedy and made space for tapes and guitars to narrate the story. And what does a story teach? Get real, there’s no answer to that question. It depends on the story. What happens when you end up having the part of a wordless troubadour’s audience whose ultimate goal is the spreading of a mix of stories that as it seems are not connected by any means? You stand surprised for you know that your education did not take any step at all towards completion, still, you feel a better man. Nobody ever succeeded in defining what “becoming a better man” means. Yet, you are a better man. You know it. “Noise Of Silence” gifted you with the “death to poets” saying. And now you understand why it’s so true. Words can be explained. The teachings of silence not.

And these words are so few because i don’t have anything more to say. If you want any additional info there’s only the following to find: “Noise Of Silence” comes hand-numbered in 150 copies in a beautiful digipak edition (and only) and you can order it from HeadtoAvoid Recordings (if you reside in Athens, Greece) or Hyperblasted Recordings through which it was released. A summer gift to yourselves for the winter.

P.S.: In case i didn’t make myself clear (highly possible), i loved this record.”

(Giannis-Orestis Papadimitriou > Electric Requiem JUL07)

Read the review in Greek languange

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AIDAN BAKER – Noise of silence (Hyperblasted)

“Silence is dangerous for the weak, for the worst fears appear in that moment. Have you ever wondered why most people want to socialize at all costs, babble around, join communities, travel together, laugh insistently at parties, let everybody know who they are and what they do even if we don’t give a fuck, speak loud on the cell phone in front of others? That’s right, they’re afraid of silence. Aidan Baker – probably involuntarily – approaches a neighbouring concept with a 50-minute track and, by modifying the oneiric tendencies of some of his work quite heavily, hits the bull’s eye. Although guitars and tape loops are the only source for the music like in many of Aidan’s previous albums, this time there is a dominating colour that shifts the balance towards that perilous area where trance and mental influence meet. That hue is symbolized by Baker’s use of vocal fragments, which the man from Toronto adds to his stratified masses to highlight a correspondence between the basic elements, meaning silence and fear of course. These uttered syllables, elongations of speeches, disturbing accounts (”I felt suicidal”, a male voice reports in the last minutes of the CD) create a confused, but still engrossing jumble of subliminal messages whose persuasive power is highly effective, especially via headphones. It’s just like being submitted to some sort of psychedelic test without drugs, and sincerely I would not advise this record to someone who can be easily affected. A great release, then – but only if you’re trained in keeping coolness when the brain suggests strange things: for many, the noise of silence is unbearable. That’s when they start doing damage.”

review by Massimo Ricci // Touching Extremes

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Aidan Baker – Noise of Silence (Hyperblasted Recordings, HyRe002, 2007)

Si hay algo que puede caracterizar el trabajo de Aidan Baker es la diversidad. Tanto en cuanto se refiere a la gigantesca cantidad de proyectos que ha abordado como a los temas sonoros que ha explorado en cada uno de ellos, los trabajos de este canadiense son altamente variados y casi imposibles de seguir en términos de registro. En “Noise of Silence”, por ejemplo, Baker apunta a una obliteración sónica similar a la que se ha vuelto característica de su exitoso proyecto, Nadja: intensa y siempre creciente efervescencia en monolítos de distorsión.

Empleando básicamente loops y guitarras, este músico genera gigantescos cúmulos de ruido que se centran en la naturaleza circular de las cintas y sus grabaciones, las cuales van intercalando voces, estática y porciones pregrabadas mientras un detallado uso de la guitarra va delineando pautas melódicas sensibles. Partiendo de un momento aún relativamente ligero, no tan violentamente descarnado, “Noise of Silence” comienza haciendo creer que se trata de un trabajo droner de texturas sublimadas. Tras unos cuantos minutos, inadvertidamente, el escucha habrá de verse atrapado en el denso cuerpo de la catársis convocada por Baker. Una vez en el declive, el elíptico drone tiene finalmente lugar, sumiéndonos en su incierta calma, mientras voces en delirio nos comunican intenciones suicidas, retroalimentándose en variaciones de velocidad enfermizas en su comunión de dolor y última redención. Cincuenta minutos de sublimación e introspección a base de una mezcla deliciosa de ruido circular y melodías etéreas: decididamente lo que recomienda el doctor -pero no el psiquiatra. (S.S.) RUIDO HORRIBLE

(we need a english translation for this, so if you can help please contact us)

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BOHEMIAN GROVE ‘Age of Retrogression’ [CDr] HyRe003

“Excellent debut from this mysterious Greek group, excellent composition with even some solos and occasional use of clean vocals, definitely has that unique dark Greek sound. Recommended!” (Attila the Hun)

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_Age of Retrogression_ struck me as something completely out of the blue, but ultimately it proved to be quite a powerful introduction to the band. First impression was the artwork, which was crafted by some Justin Bartlett. It incorporates a mostly monochromatic theme, going for a relatively simple, symbolic cover, bearing an ouroboros and an owl, and eerie, penciled artwork for the inner sleeves — quite an intriguing break from the norm, I must say.

Quality atmospheres are presented on Bohemian Grove’s debut, which are positively symptomatic of their wise conglomeration of different styles. Their percussive bedrock is solid and varied, providing for some moments of nifty rhythmical hooks. Quite indicative of their compositional acuity is the multidimensional approach with which they compose their songs, which are aptly structured and well executed. Given their particularly lengthy songs (with album closer “Drowning in the Roar of a Sinking World” ticking in at twelve minutes) this is definitely a plus.

Their production is full and expansive; not exactly crystal clear, but still quite far from tinny and skeletal per your usual raw black metal platter. As far as basic melodicism is concerned, despite their much esteemed milieu (i.e. Hellenic black metal), they opt to remain tethered to the Nordic archetype of high-tempo spurts and rippling dynamics (taking their cue from Gorgoroth in particular) with some subtle hints of early Moonspell thrown in the mix. Still, the album’s musically conveyed pathos comes across as convincing on several occasions.

Overall, although not a demanding listen by any means, it’s an attention-grabbing little entrant into the black metal scene that given its due interest can pack enough punch to strike a chord or two in any aficionado’s mind.
Bohemian Grove – _Age of Retrogression_
(Hyperblasted Recordings, 2008)
by: Andreas Marouchos (7.5 out of 10) for Chronicles of Chaos

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“I Bohemian Grove sono una nuova band proveniente dalla Grecia, formata recentemente, nel 2006, che esordisce subito con questo full-length intitolato “Age of Retrogression”, che si presenta in una confezione cartonata molto accattivante. La musica che ci viene proposta è abbastanza melodica, ripulita da ogni grezzume e da ogni imperfezione, viene esibita in forma cristallina e si pone a metà strada fra gli Amon Amarth, i Bathory e i Satyricon di “Volcano”, non disdegnando qualche rasoiata di classico Black. La produzione carica di groove, il growling pesante e molti spunti compositivi si incastrano bene nella struttura globale della proposta, che alterna sapientemente momenti sostenuti a rallentamenti dal riff curato e granitico. “Age of Retrogression” devo dire però che è un po’ carente di atmosfera, in quanto difficilmente la fredda struttura delle canzoni riesce ad abbracciare un alone in grado di conferire alle note quel qualcosa in più che spesso possiedono dischi del genere; sono inoltre presenti alcuni virtuosismi fini a se stessi, come un paio di soli che non fanno che accentuare lo smarrimento di cui parlavo sopra. Alcuni sofismi sarebbero più adatti ad altri contesti insomma, e se utilizzati impropriamente fanno più danno che altro. In una certa inclinazione verso soluzioni death-oriented e nelle rare clean vocals i Nostri fanno presagire ad una influenza che attinge anche dai loro connazionali Rotting Christ, nonostante la grandezza di questi ultimi non venga avvicinata nemmeno lontanamente. Cos’altro dire? I cinque brani, tutti lunghi, che troviamo in questo esordio ci presentano un gruppo interessante, che cerca di farsi spazio nel post-Black con un occhio al passato, con alcune idee valide e alcuni errori, dovuti soprattutto al voler mettere troppa enfasi nelle composizioni, che forse con una maggiore cura nei fondamentali del genere sarebbero state più incisive. Resta un album sufficiente, questo “Age of Retrogression”, che comunque consiglio di acquistare dopo un ascolto preventivo.” http://www.blackmetalistkrieg.net/

(we need a english translation for this, so if you can help please contact us)

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Bohemian Grove – Age Of Retrogression

When this CD comes in your hand your eyes will be staring for a few moments the cover. I don’t know, the eating his tail snake, the owl, the colors, the whole mood, this thing excretes evil and dark thoughts inside your mind. But it’s not only that, inside there is a piece of sickness, something like a goat sucking the energy of woman or like that, unholy shit, great drawing. Of course a good artwork cannot guarantee anything for the “inside” music but – first – I am getting bored with all the plastic computer pussy shit that most of the bands uses today and – second – it shows a passion and a good hobby – horse behind the group.

BOHEMIAN GROVE is a band from the city of Patras in Greece that started their journey into the misty realms of Black Metal in 2006. This album, entitled “Age Of Retrogression”, is their debut recording containing five tracks reaching a more than 40-minute time of very good music. A style majorly influenced by the classics, DARKTHRONE, a little of MAYHEM, many references to albums like “River At Dash Scalding” and “Discipline Manifesto” of NAER MATARON embodied with the melancholy or epic touch of MGLA, the grimness of GORGOROTH and CARPATHIAN FOREST plus the psychotic, anti–formal, lifeless and poisonous riffing of Vicotnik’s bands. Generally you will find a lot of stuff here, clear depiction that the band’s members are full into the music they are playing.

The opening track, “Wretched Men” begins with a ’nailing you on the floor’ riff, straight from the coldest mountains of Norway and you’ll notice easily the good work that has been done in the structure, that goes for all their songs, enclosing many changes that will raise your interest. Great vokill, sometimes I think the vocalist spits blood from his lung and throat in the studio floor. I don’t think that fits a lot a riff somewhere in the fourth minute but after it comes a nice melodic part with some clean voice that creates and gives an epic aura in the whole atmosphere. The closing is with the beginning riffing that I repeat is killer.

The second track, with the ’totality’ title “Praise The Goat” is fucking perfect and probably this one with the first are the best in this album, at least in my opinion. A holocaust, a maelstrom of blades in the start and – after an exhausting part total necro a la present time of DARKTHRONE or CARPATHIAN FOREST – will follow an addictive riff in the refrain. Praise the Goat. After the sixth minute it reminds me a lot of NECROMANTIA, the solo is adequately good, fitting well and once again the vocals are perfect.

“Upon A Human Grave” starts slowly with a doomy part, transforming into abyssal exploding after and once again reflects a lot of inspiration inside. Many good riffs, they could have done two songs with that, and same with the self–titled that has a serial guitar assault. Much impressive was also the last, almost 12-minute opus, enriched with the phantom of Vicotnik inside, with a lot of stuff being close to the epic style of AGATUS and in the end you will meet an astonishing idea, that creates images of Ragnarok and apocalypse like you are experiencing a psychedelic vision. The drumming in this song is nice; probably the most creative in the whole recording and generally this effort shows a band that has many ideas, that is not afraid of exploring and reaching the limits of their musical faculty creating a pinguid ground for any future releases.

I liked a lot “Age Of Retrogression” and when I’m thinking that this is their debut my expectancy raises. The whole production is good for the sounds they playing, maybe the blast parts could had a more physical touch although they are not bad and sometimes their ideas have not a proper sequence in some of their sonic parades. I’ll be a tight knot in my rating ’cause I’m sure that in the future they have the scope for improvement but I cannot deny that this is one of the best recordings for this year in the Hellenic underground and is highly recommended.

Metal-Temple.com – Reviewed by Yiannis DK. on 2008/11/04

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Il true black metal, l’occultismo, i riti pagani. Sono tutti temi cari ai Bohemian Grove, debuttante band greca, la quale prende il proprio nome da una enorme bosco di sequoie californiano. Sono chiari i riferimenti pagani; sia perché il Bohemian Grove è un territorio storicamente sacro per chi pratica riti pagani; sia perché nella copertina è raffigurato un grosso gufo, Moloch, divinità pagana che prevede sacrifici umani.
“Age of Pretrogression”, oltre ad affrontare tematiche non scontate, è uno di quei rari dischi che, pur essendo underground, mantengono un livello medio-alto, su tutta la linea: confezione in lussuoso digipack nero e oro, con bei disegni che ci proiettano direttamente dentro il bosco; produzione molto ben fatta, con suoni graffianti e nitidi; musica a tratti coinvolgente e dal grosso tiro, con alcuni spunti che solo le grandi band possono avere; infine prezzo bassissimo.
Tanti complimenti possono sembrare eccessivi, ma meritati.
Un plauso va sicuramente alla piccola Hyperblasted, capace, nonostante le finanze limitate, di produrre un prodotto professionale al massimo, che sicuramente aiuta nella resa finale del tutto.
La formula utilizzata da questa band non è affatto complessa, ma anzi molto semplice; alla band bastano pochi riff, ben assestati, per creare una bella atmosfera oscura.
I Bohemian Grove, pur non innovando, pur riutilizzando soluzioni care al black metal norvegese dei primi anni novanta, riescono, con una certa classe, a creare trame di sicuro interesse, con alcuni picchi che lasciano intravedere degli ampi margini di miglioramento.
Black metal tradizionale, nulla più, con qualche spunto “pagan” in piena sintonia con il contesto lirico, ma in generale la band gioca sull’immediatezza e la spontaneità della propria musica.
Questa band riesce a trasmettere una certa energia e lo fa senza fare nulla di particolare, senza pretendere di essere alternativi, ma giusto riproponendo il “solito” black metal.
Un film già visto questo, ma i Bohemian Grove sono bravi attori nel rigirarlo a loro modo, riescono a mantenere integra l’essenza di questo genere musicale, che nella sua più pura essenza, non ha bisogno di particolarità per potersi esprimere al meglio.

“Age of Retrogression” è quindi un buon inizio, per una band forse ancora un po’ acerba, ma con un talento innegabile che sicuramente in futuro potrà permettere loro di fare il salto di qualità. Black Metal Terror

(we need a english translation for this, so if you can help please contact us)

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Η αύρα, το ψυχικό ρευστό, η ενέργεια ή όπως αλλιώς θέλει κανείς να το πει, που περιβάλλει πρόσωπα και πράγματα, είναι μεγάλη υπόθεση. Είναι ικανή να κερδίσει τις πρώτες εντυπώσεις και να κάνει τα πράγματα πιο εύκολα για τη συνέχεια. Αυτό ακριβώς συμβαίνει με την περίπτωση των BOHEMIAN GROVE. Το όνομά τους από μόνο του είναι αρκετό να κεντρίσει το ενδιαφέρον. Η ιστορία πίσω από αυτό καταφέρνει να το εντείνει (κάντε μια σύντομη αναζήτηση για να πειστείτε, εύκολο είναι, άλλωστε στην εποχή της πληροφορίας ζούμε). Το προσεγμένο digipak με το απέριττο artwork προκαλεί μια ελαφριά γυαλάδα στο μάτι. Τα ισχυρά σύμβολα του ουροβόρου όφι και της κουκουβάγιας επιδρούν καταλυτικά στη διανοητική προετοιμασία για την ακρόαση. Βέβαια, πάντα ελλοχεύει ο κίνδυνος της λανθασμένης πρώτης εντύπωσης και γι’ αυτό, υπάρχει ένας μικρός φόβος, μήπως η κουκουβάγια προκύψει… μπούφος, ελέω της εμφανισιακής ομοιότητας των εν λόγω δύο πτηνών.

Πάμε λοιπόν σε αυτό που βρίσκεται κάτω από το περιτύλιγμα.Η επαφή με το μουσικό περιεχόμενο του “Age Of Retrogression”, της παρθενικής δισκογραφικής δουλειάς της μπάντας, καταδεικνύει άμεσα ότι στο εξώφυλλο του album απεικονίζεται κουκουβάγια και ότι η ακοή και η ψυχική υγεία του γράφοντος δεν διατρέχουν κίνδυνο. Ισχύει μάλιστα ακριβώς το αντίθετο. Η μπάντα διαθέτει την απαραίτητη έμπνευση για να τολμήσει να παρακάμψει το σύνηθες πρώτο στάδιο κάθε πρωτοεμφανιζόμενου συγκροτήματος (το demo) και μπορεί να υποστηρίξει τις ανάγκες μιας full length κυκλοφορίας. Μουσικά, οι BOHEMIAN GROVE είναι πολυσυλλεκτικοί και χωρίς να έχουν κάποια “κραχτή” ομοιότητα με κάποιο group, έχουν στο DNA τους το trademark του ελληνικού black metal ήχου. Ενώ λοιπόν οι Βορειοευρωπαίοι “συνάδελφοί” τους έχουν σαφώς περισσότερες thrash καταβολές και γεμίσματα, οι BΟΗΕΜΙΑΝ GROVE ακολουθούν την παράδοση, που θέλει αρκετά ελληνικά συγκροτήματα (με πρωτοστάτες αυτά που άναψαν πρώτα τη φωτιά του εγχώριου b.m.) να μπολιάζουν το black metal τους με κλασικά heavy και doom metal στοιχεία. Ο τρόπος που εισάγουν heavy / doom μέρη στη μουσική τους, θυμίζει ανά σημεία MARDUK στις πιο επικές και mid tempo στιγμές τους (π.χ. στην εισαγωγή του “Upon A Human Grave”). Οι θιασώτες του “ξυσίματος” ας μην βιαστούν να ξενερώσουν πάντως, αφού η βάση της μουσικής των BOHEMIAN GROVE είναι τα γρήγορα riffs, τόσο νορβηγικής όσο και σουηδικής προέλευσης (το ομώνυμο κομμάτι θα μπορούσε άνετα να βρίσκεται σε κάποιο δίσκο των DAWN, SACRAMENTUM κ.λπ.). Παθιασμένα, σκισμένα φωνητικά και ικανοποιητική παραγωγή (ίσως με μια μικρή ένσταση στον ψηφιακό, “ξύλινο” ήχο των drums όταν blast-άρουν) έρχονται να συμπληρώσουν τη συνολική εικόνα του “Age Of Retrogression”.

Συνοψίζοντας, οι BOHEMIAN GROVE έχουν να προσφέρουν ένα ολοκληρωμένο πακέτο: αισθητική, έμπνευση και πάνω απ’ όλα, δυναμική. Η δυναμική αποτελεί και τη λέξη – κλειδί στην περίπτωση της μπάντας, αφού η αύρα της πρώτης τους δισκογραφικής δουλειάς δίνει υποσχέσεις για μεγάλα πράγματα στο μέλλον. Με την προοπτική, λοιπόν, ότι σε μερικά χρόνια θα θυμόμαστε αυτό το δίσκο ως το πολύ ελπιδοφόρο ντεμπούτο τους και επειδή πάντα κάποιος πρέπει να υποδυθεί το ρόλο του “κακού” της υπόθεσης, θα εξαντλήσω όλα τα αποθέματα αυτοσυγκράτησης, αυτοκυριαρχίας κ.λπ. Οπότε, προς το παρόν…

Δημήτρης Θωμάς (MetalEagle.com)

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PHIL MAGGI ‘Lucilia Caesar’ [CDr] HyRe006

“Phil Maggi is the vocalist for a killer Belgian noise rock band called Ultraphallus, who we’ve yet to carry here at C-Blast but will hopefully rectify that in the near future – they’ve got a raging blown-out Am Rep/Unsane/Geisha thing going on that is damn heavy. It looks like Maggi’s got some creepy horror movie soundtracks floating around in his skull as well though, which have materialized as this new solo CDR that was just recently put out on the Hyperblasted label. Packaged in a silkscreened 4-panel chipboard case, mastered by James Plotkin (Phantomsmasher / Khanate / Khlyst / OLD) and limited to a mere 90 hand-numbered copies, Lucilia Caesar is a sinister soundworld of minimalist drones, heavy doomed piano notes decaying in the night air, snippets of orchestral music taken apart, cracked and then stitched back together into deep breaths of scraping symphonic dread that cycle over and over again, distant ur-drones piercing a veil of witchy violins. I checked it out, and found out that the disc takes it’s name from the greenbottle fly, which is a gruesome looking creature in it’s own right, and that realization just adds to the sense of decay and corruption that seems to seep through Maggi’s repetitious compositions as they unwind endless loops over shadowy terrain, in a manner not all that unlike the Basinski-esque blackened ambience of Sor’chenn.”
review by Crucial Blast.

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Phil Maggi – Lucilia Caesar (Hyperblasted HyRe006) CDR

“Phil Maggi, at least according to the accompanying press sheet, is a busy little beaver, being a member of 3 groups as well as releasing this his first album of solo works. It’s a good listen too. Utilising samples from a variety of contemporary classical recordings alongside his own sounds and a variety of indeterminate voice samples Maggi is actively and methodically constructing a reality designed to his own specifications. A little overly repetitive in places and with an atmosphere that is almost unrelentingly dour excludes this from being something that I’d choose to listen to everyday but for the most part it’s an intriguing piece of work that just needs the addition of that little missing something extra (maybe varying the ambience) to push it into being compulsive listening.”
review by http://www.wonderfulwoodenreasons.co.uk/