Saturday, February 25, 2017

GRVD "BURDEN" C102 (AOW 460)

Very pleased to offer up a new full-length release from Ann Arbor, Michigan's blackened noise/drone/ambient/power electronics project GRVD.  I use the word "epic" very frequently when I write about AOW releases and I'm going to use it again here, as it's really the only apt descriptor that conveys the ambition and scope of this album: "Burden" is nothing less a monumental journey through emotional destruction and psychic upheaval, trafficking in all manner of beautiful, crushing, monolithic, vitriolic, and hyper-vicious screams of audio.  Elements of far-away, dissonant black-metal and gauzy post-rock grandeur seep through the sonic excess, only to be flattened away by caustic tidal waves of scathing electronic torment.  This album feels massive in a way that few others do.  It is a statement and a culmination, and it will utterly drain you.
The album can be streamed in its entirety here:

https://grvd.bandcamp.com/album/burden

Released in a limited edition of 20 hand-numbered copies.  $10 ppd. in the United States, $26 rest of world.

ORDER HERE: www.altarofwasterecords.storenvy.com

Friday, February 17, 2017

CORY STRAND and SHADOWPIERCER "A DREAM OF DARK AND TERRIBLE THINGS" 2XC40 SET (AOW 433)

Long in the works split and collaboration between myself and Shadowpiercer, based on David Lynch's film Eraserhead.  Dakota and I are both Lynchophiles and have done lots of work based on Lynch's films; when we discussed doing some work together, Eraserhead was pretty much our first choice.   can safely say that this is one of the coolest projects i've been involved with, and I think the music on this set represents some of the best noise and drone/ambient work I've ever done.
The set is split into two parts: the first cassette, "The Dark," is a split cassette, with one track each from both myself and Shadowpiercer.  The second cassette, "The Terrible," presents two pieces Dakota and I created together in collaboration.  The collaborative tracks are so dense with sound that I can't even tell who did what anymore; Dakota and I traded tracks back and forth, adding parts and manipulating sounds until we both felt the tracks were exactly what they should be.
The collaborative aspect of this release extends to its artwork and design as well.  One cassette is designed by Dakota, the other by me.  We wanted the work to reflect our individual aesthetics, as well as showcase the similarities in our approaches.  The set is then wrapped in an OBI strip that utilizes the psychedelic pattern that links Eraserhead to the world of Twin Peaks.  It's a gorgeous set.
An enormous amount of time, work, and collaboration went into the realization of this set.  It really is one of the best AOW releases, and I am super proud of it.
Released in a limited edition of 10 hand-numbered copies.  Deluxe presentation, with both cassettes having exterior and interior artwork.  $25 ppd. in the United States, $38 rest of world.

ORDER HERE: www.altarofwasterecords.storenvy.com

DOSIS LETALIS "LESSONS IN RUTHLESSNESS" 2XC40 CASSETTE SET (AOW 437)

Long-awaited release of this crushing double cassette set from Dosis Letalis, the project's second AOW release based on Netflix's labyrinthine political thriller House Of Cards.  The four walls here are easily some of the heaviest work i've heard from Nemanja, reflecting the brutally dark and cutthroat atmosphere of its inspiration.  Fans of DL's politically-charged offerings will not be disappointed by this set, as the material here simply destroys.  Massive, brooding walls of thick unctuous distortion, brimming over with the project's now-trademark crackling tones.  Treble and bass united in unholy, destructive power, an elegy for a fictional representation of tyranny that seems more and more realistic with each passing day in the United States.  The layout is quite lovely, as well.
Packaged as a double cassette set, with each cassette having unique artwork.  Released in a limited edition of 10 hand-numbered copies.  $20 ppd. in the United States, $35 rest of world.

ORDER HERE: www.altarofwasterecords.storenvy.com

MISERY RITUAL/N0123NOISE "WE WERE ALL BORN TO BE UNLOVED" C30 (AOW 457)

Ultra-heavy, severely bleak split release between Misery Ritual and N0123NOISE, with each project going down their own rabbit holes of depression and embittered, crippling introspection.  Misery Ritual's piece is a morphing, moving, deeply textured slab of HNW that is so dense with detail it'll take hours upon hours to catalogue the shifts.  Masterfully composed for maximum devastation.  N0123NOISE's piece here is an empty and engulfing block of lonely drift and drone that considers the fear of living in a random and indifferent universe.  A monumental pairing.
The split can be streamed in its entirety here:

https://n0123noise.bandcamp.com/album/we-were-all-born-to-be-unloved

Released in a limited edition of 20 hand-numbered cassettes.  $8 ppd. in the United States, $23 rest of world.

ORDER HERE: www.altarofwasterecords.storenvy.com