Tuesday, June 24, 2014

CORY STRAND "ESCAPE FROM L.A.: A REINTERPRETATION" 5CDr (AOW 201)

John Carpenter's sequel to "Escape From New York" stands distinctly apart from its predecessor in tone and atmosphere.  In "Escape From L.A." the suffocating claustrophobia of post-apocalyptic New York was replaced by the rampant and immersive destroyed landscape of Los Angeles, with the first film's vague horror vibe completely done away with in favor of a far more playful and irreverent feeling.  The whole film feels like it has very little to lose; Carpenter himself has said on multiple occasions that "Escape From L.A." should be read as a straight comedy, and that any attempts to intellectualize the film or tie it inextricably to the first will surely meet with failure.  Setting the film further apart from the world of the first is the soundtrack, composed by Carpenter but with significant outside assistance from Shirley Walker.  The difference is perceptible, to say the least.
In working with the score to this much-maligned film I've sought to reunite it a bit with "Escape From New York," at least as far as my own sonic universe is considered.  A spiritual cousin to the sounds found on my "Escape From New York" box set, the works here are glacially droning and anxious, inhabited by a severe and disorienting emptiness.  The final piece is a 35 minute noise epic, a coda of sorts to the massive three-part HNW suite that closes out the "Escape From New York" set.
Packaged in a tri-volume DVD set, in a limited edition of 5 hand-numbered copies.  $30 ppd. in the United States, $43 rest of world.

ORDER HERE: www.altarofwasterecords.storenvy.com

CORY STRAND "ESCAPE FROM NEW YORK: A REINTERPRETATION" 10CDr BOX SET (AOW 199)

I don't know that there's really much I need to say about "Escape From New York."  It's a stone-cold cinematic classic any way you look at it, deservedly ranking with John Carpenter's best and most interesting films.  In Snake Plissken Carpenter found his ultimate John Wayne-aping antihero, and with good friend Kurt Russell the pair made cult film history.  Equally notable and iconic is the film's pulsing synth score, composed as usual by Carpenter himself, a syrupy trudge through post-apocalyptic New York's diseased underbelly of miscreants, throwaways, and sociopaths.  The music in the film is as important as any of its quirky characters, a constant sonic accompaniment to the parade of despair and violence that Plissken encounters in his bizarre journey into the night.
In working with the score I have sought to bring out the dread and foreboding felt in the film, and like most of Carpenter's work, the work lends itself best to some seriously deep and suffocating drone ambient.  Like Carpenter himself, I worked fast and with little reflection on the work-it's all about getting into a mood and sustaining it.  There is little melody or emotional reprieve here, just nostalgic whisps of memories from before the world went to shit and a seemingly constant sonic reminder of its current barrenness.  The first seven discs of the rework are the soundtrack proper done in heavy glacial drone mode; the final three discs are an extended, ultra-destructive three part HNW suite constructed from myriad sonic elements of the film.  It's one of my most massive and engulfing sets.  If there truly is any escape, you won't find it here.
Packaged in a painted box with a paste-on cover and an insert, with the ten discs housed in six DVD cases (three singles, two doubles, and one triple), each with different artwork.  $75 ppd. in the United States, $88 rest of world.

ORDER HERE: www.altarofwasterecords.storenvy.com

Friday, June 20, 2014

CORY STRAND AND GINA NEWMAN "MARIE ANTOINETTE: A REINTERPRETATION" 11CDr BOX SET + ART PRINTS (AOW 200)

For the 200th release on Altar Of Waste (who the fuck would have thought i would ever get there?) my girlfriend and I decided to create something special that really honored what the true purpose of the label is.  Having collaborated last summer on "The Bling Ring: A Reinterpretation," we opted to go with another Sofia Coppola film and do something a little more grand.  "Marie Antoinette: A Reinterpretation" is my massive rework of the soundtrack to Sofia's beautiful film, transforming the tracks into pristine and achingly sad yearning weepdrones, an echo of the emptiness and loneliness that permeate the film.  "Marie Antoinette" is a film both entranced and dismayed by posture and aesthetics, a meditation on isolation that also happens to be insanely gorgeous to look at.  My work here is probably the loveliest music i've created, very much in line with my work with the "Harry Potter" series of films.  Deep Tim Hecker/Troum territory.
Gina created a set of art prints to include with each set as well.  Working in her usual style of very meticulous linework and strong black/white contrasts, her pieces capture key moments and objects from the film that convey Coppola's twin foci of excess and emptiness. 
Packaged in a painted box with paste on covers.  Each set contains my 11 CD rework of the OST (packaged as three separate 3DVD cases + a 2CD fold over cover in a clear plastic bag, all of which utilize artwork and images from the film) as well as two of the original prints from Gina (suitable for mounting/framing), along with a facsimile set of the entire series of prints, an insert signed by both Gina and me, and some other ephemera.  Available in a limited edition of 5 hand-numbered copies.  $85 ppd. in the United States, $98 rest of world.

ORDER HERE: www.altarofwasterecords.storenvy.com

POWER MONSTER "LEVITICUS" CDr (AOW 196)

Power Monster returns to AOW with another incredibly brutal and rage-filled descent into electronic hell, a more than worthy follow-up to the caustic devastation of "Love Is A Lie."  Here the anger permeates every fucking track, a dizzying journey through turmoil both historical and personal.  Listening to "Leviticus" sounds like hearing your brain getting torn apart from the inside, like a pipe bomb full of razor blades blew off in your consciousness and totally shredded it into bloody wet piles of worthless flesh.  Life is an unending trial and a horrible bleak storm of disappointment.  This is pure crushing power electronics from a project that just gets better with each release.  I am honored to be given this one to release on Altar Of Waste.
Packaged in a DVD case in a limited edition of 25 hand-numbered copies.  $10 ppd. in the United States, $23 rest of world.

ORDER HERE: www.altarofwasterecords.storenvy.com

TENEBRIOUS/MOWLAWNER "SPLIT" CDr (AOW 194)

Devastating split of horror drone obscurity and all-out noise terror sculpting from the nightmare-inducing Tenebrious and the industrialized esoterica of Mowlawner.  The alst Etnebrious record I released on AOW still stands a favorite; the group's ability to meld HNW severity with fear-laden dread and suffocating horror atmospherics is on full display here in their two pieces, resulting in a miasma of sound that is distinctly cinematic and incredibly unsettling.  Mowlawner's pieces work in a more bludgeoning manner but one that is no less emotionally draining; alongside some intense sonic punishment there is a stoic beauty and transcendent sort of desire hidden in the compositions that lets them reach beyond, deep into the listener's subconscious.  There is an amazing amount of detail in this split; multiple focused listenings will be amply rewarded.
Packaged in a DVD case in a limited edition of 20 hand-numbered copies, with beautiful grotesque collage artwork from Wladimir Vladimir.  $10 ppd. in the United States, $23 rest of world.

ORDER HERE: www.altarofwasterecords.storenvy.com

CORY STRAND "INTO AN INFINITE BLACK, VOLUME TEN" CDr (AOW 178J)

Volume ten of "Into An Infinite Black" returns to eviscerating live Mayhem, this time working off their 1997 show in Bischofswerda, Germany.  Commonly bootlegged as "The Return," this was a comeback show of sorts wherein the band showcased their new members and the new sound set forth on "Wolf's Lair Abyss.".  The recording quality of the boot is beyond terrible, so what was already a murky diseased mess is made even more so via my manipulative hand.  As with all my Mayhem work for the series, the wall here is violent and unstable and quite unrelenting.
Packaged as a fold over cover in a clear plastic bag, in a limited edition of 5 hand-numbered copies.  $7 ppd. in the United States, $20 rest of world.

ORDER HERE: www.altarofwasterecords.storenvy.com

CORY STRAND "INTO AN INFINITE BLACK, VOLUME NINE" CDr (AOW 178I)

The ninth installment of my "Into An Infinite Black" series finds me working with Arckanum's landmark "Trulen" demo, a sonic wasteland of chaotic gnosticism and deep forest magicks.  Arckanum are one of my absolute favorite black metal projects because the vision is so incredibly singular and unchanging.  "Trulen" set the standard for everything this project would produce after, with each release more majestic and esoteric than the last.  In working with  the material here, I have sought to create a dense and belligerent wall of thick ubertone, with glacial but discernible changes throughout.  Mesmerizing and obtuse.
Packaged as a fold over cover in a clear plastic bag, in a limited edition of 5 hand-numbered copies.  $7 ppd. in the United States, $20 rest of world.

ORDER HERE: www.altarofwasterecords.storenvy.com

Friday, June 13, 2014

CORY STRAND "VISIONS OF THE COUNTRY: A REINTERPRETATION" 3CDr (AOW 198)

I started playing guitar when I was 12 years old.  At the time my major influences were Jeff Hanneman and Kerry King, James Hetfield, and Kurt Cobain.  I knew little beyond that, and though my first guitar was an acoustic (my dad made me learn on an acoustic because he said the best players learned to play that way to really develop the callouses and hand strength) I had no interest in being an "acoustic player."  Fast forward a good number of years later and my ears were far more open.  I fell in love with the work of Fahey, Bishop, Rose, Jones, and of course, Robbie Basho.  Few guitarists were as classically romantic or as insanely talented-Basho seemed able to tap into the true cosmic ether and bring back pieces that were comprised of nothing other than honesty and beauty.  To this day he stands as a favorite, and "Visions Of The Country," his legendary album for Windham Hill, is easily one of his best and most accessible works.
In reworking this material, I have sought to transpose the beauty Basho gave to us with the guitar into something more drawn out and kosmiche.  I think i have very much succeeded.  The ten lengthy ambient pieces here stand as some of my loveliest, most meditative work to date, recalling the oceanic blurdrone of Tim Hecker and Troum.  I think even Robbie Basho would find something lovely here.  I'm very proud of this one and it is my honor to share it with you.
Packaged in a DVD case in a limited edition of 5 hand-numbered copies.  $20 ppd. in the United States, $33 rest of world.

ORDER HERE: www.altarofwasterecords.storenvy.com

CORY STRAND "INTO AN INFINITE BLACK, VOLUME EIGHT: DARKTHRONE" 3CDr (AOW 178H)

The eight volume in my ongoing series exploring the foundations of black metal, this time tackling the classic trio of albums from Norwegian stalwarts Darkthrone.  This 3CD set collects and reworks "A Blaze In The Northern Sky," "Under A Funeral Moon," and "Transilvanian Hunger," turning these already raw and minimalist Bathory-worshiping hymns to the moon into scathing blasts of texturally varied and screaming HNW onslaughting.  Primal, brutal, and entirely caustic, delivered without compromise in the only manner befitting this sort of legendary material.
Packaged in a manner similar to the Ulver set from awhile back, with the three albums each having their own artwork and the entire trio housed inside a larger fold-over cover, all contained in a clear and sealed plastic bag.  Released in a limited edition of 5 hand-numbered copies.  $20 ppd. in the United States, $33 rest of world.

ORDER HERE: www.altarofwasterecords.storenvy.com

Wednesday, June 11, 2014

CORY STRAND "LIVE AT SLIM'S: A REINTERPRETATION" 2CDr (AOW 197)

More Melvins fuckery, because the results just keep coming out so incredibly monolithic and brutal!  The source material this time is the ridiculously hard to obtain/find "Live At Slim's" 8-track cassette, capturing the Melvins operating at what i believe to be the height of their powers, 2001's bludgeoning "2 x 4" tour (when i saw them on the Minneapolis stop it was nothing short of life-changing for me.)  Ignoring the fact that it's an 8-track, even if you DID track one of the 100 down, each cartridge had a random runtime, so only a handful of them featured the whole show.  My rework uses ALL of the tracks and is just shy of 70 minutes long.  It's fucking punishing.
Also included is the actual concert itself on the second disc, just because it's so horribly rare.  My gift to all the fellow Melvins fiends in the noise community.
Packaged in a DVD case in a limited edition of 5 hand-numbered copies.  $15 ppd. in the United States, $28 rest of world.

ORDER HERE: www.altarofwasterecords.storenvy.com

Tuesday, June 10, 2014

CORY STRAND "REANIMATOR: A REINTERPRETATION" 7CDr BOX SET (AOW 195)

Massive, epochal reworking to the OST of one of my favorite films of all time, "Re-Animator."  Directed by Stuart Gordon and based off the H.P. Lovecraft story, the film is a dizzying tour-de-force of over the top hyper-gore splatter, nervous histrionics, and some pitch black morbid comedy; its willingness to push beyond the genre confines of horror and wallow in its own ridiculousness has rightfully bestowed upon it a cult film status, as well as being (at least to me) one of the best cinematic Lovecraft adaptations.  While actor Jeffrey Combs is perhaps most deservedly associated with the film, Richard Band's bombastic score is no less deserving of enthusiasm.  Like John Williams ingested by the rings of Saturn, Band's work is gleefully zany without sacrificing menace or intensity.  In working with the "Re-Animator" soundtrack, i've attempted to play up that over the top tendency and create an immersive blast of seering, psychedelic wallcraft.  Textures and tones abound in a sea of colorful blood rainbow fury, a torrent of tongue-in-cheek bile to chart your ascension beyond the stars, beyond death.  This is some of my most insane wall work to date-tons of change and little stasis but all severity!
Packaged as six separate albums (the final volume is a 2-disc double album), each with their own individual artwork, and housed inside a radioactive green cardboard box with paste-on covers and an informational insert.  I think it looks really cool.  Released in a limited edition of 5 hand-numbered copies.  $60 ppd. in the United States, $73 rest of world.

ORDER HERE: www.altarofwasterecords.storenvy.com

Friday, June 6, 2014

DEFECTIVE CDr's

I've been hearing from some people that the last couple batches of releases had some defective CDr's (tracks not playing past a certain point, bad skipping, etc.)  For a while i had switched CDr brands (normally i use Memorex but my supplier was out so i went with Verbatim) and i believe they were of lower quality than expected, resulting in some unplayable discs.  I am afraid that anything i released during May might have these problems.
If any of these problems are affecting discs that you purchased from me, PLEASE get in touch with me so I can replace them for you.  This was my error, so i will ship out the replacements at no cost to you, even if you are overseas.  When you write to me, please let me know which album(s) you are writing about and which disc(s) need to be replaced.
I wholeheartedly apologize for any inconveniences, and i'll do my best to make it right.

-Cory