LETHE "THE STRANGER" 3 DVD-R (AOW 256)

An infrequent transmission from my project Lethe, here returning to the subject matter of the project's first AOW release.  "The Stranger" takes elements of the recordings found on "Theodore Robert Bundy" alongside some improvisational synth work and reworks them into agonizing long form drone and HNW compositions, utilizing a more stagnant and fixed style than my usual manipulations.  There is no growth in death.  The five epic pieces here are made for contemplation in the dark, an attempt to imagine the isolationist headspace of Bundy and the void that existed inside of him.  Moments of extreme violence and numbing emptiness, punctuated by horror and depravity-the facets of a complex and frightening psychopathology.
Packaged in a DVD case in a limited edition of 5 hand-numbered copies.  $45 ppd. in the United States, $58 rest of world.
PLEASE NOTE: These are DVD-Rs.  Some modern stereos can play them as is, but most likely you will need a computer to extract the audio.

ORDER HERE: www.altarofwasterecords.storenvy.com

CORY STRAND "AUTO FOCUS: COMPLETE" 6 DVD-R BOX SET (AOW 255)

Massive box set compiling an enormous amount of manipulation work sourced from Paul Schrader's 2002 film Auto Focus.  Based on Robert Graysmith's book, Auto Focus tells the story of all-around nice guy actor Bob Crane (of "Hogan's Heroes" fame) and his extremely rampant sex drive.  Schrader's film is phenomenal, a beautifully shot descent into pure and unadulterated enjoyment, a portrait of one man's struggle to reconcile his unhinged private life with his innocuous public persona.
"Auto Focus: Complete" features six discs of very long-form HNW and ambient pieces crafted from the audio track of the film as well from various audio ephemera associated with the film and Bob Crane.  The ambient works here are easily some of the most beautifully empty and ghostly pieces i've made, taken to exhaustive lengths to fully immerse you in the ether.  The HNW works follow the pattern of "(Totality)" recordings that I've been doing lately with other films, taking giant swathes of audio and manipulating them into super textured, constantly mutating psychedelic wipeouts.  "Auto Focus: Complete" is nearly 30 hours in its total run time-there is an immense amount of material to lose yourself in!  I am incredibly proud of this one-it took an enormous amount of time and effort to create, and I think the results are well worth it.  Anyone into my recent manipulations will not be disappointed!

PLEASE NOTE: All six discs in the box set are data DVD-R's.  I've been told that some modern stereos can play them as is, but most likely, you will need a computer to extract the audio.

Packaged as six separate volumes, each housed in a DVD case with their own artwork, with the entire set housed in a hand-painted box with a paste-on cover and an informational insert.  Released in a limited edition of 5 hand-numbered copies.  $120 ppd. in the United States, $133 rest of world.

ORDER HERE: www.altarofwasterecords.storenvy.com

CORY STRAND "A YEAR OF CARPENTER" 12 DVD-R SUBSCRIPTION SERIES

I'm very psyched to announce my first ever subscription series.  Subscribers to"A Year Of Carpenter" will receive, each month for a year, an HNW rework of the full audio of a classic John Carpenter film (by me, of course, similar to what i've been doing lately with other films.)  Each monthly release will have its own full colour artwork in the standard AOW DVD case packaging, with each release in the series hand-numbered.  There are 3 US subscriptions available and 2 World subscriptions available (the World one costs more because of shipping costs-my apologies.)  I'll be using Carpenter's best known and most beloved films, another approach to reinterpreting the work of my one of my very favorite filmmakers.
The inaugural volume, "Assault On Precinct 13," is done now and will ship out immediately for people subscribing.  After that, subscribers can expect to receive one new release per month for the remaining 11 months of the year.  Those that know me are aware that I do work quickly, so it's likely the series will finish before the year.  There will also be a special, secret "13th" release that will ship out to all subscribers after the original 12 releases ship.  None of these releases will be available in any other format, EVER.  They are exclusive to the subscription series.
US Subscription cost: $225 ppd.
WORLD Subscription cost: $325.
When ordering from the store, PLEASE choose the correct subscription based on your location.
PLEASE NOTE: These are data DVD-R releases.  You will need a computer to access the music.

ORDER HERE: www.altarofwasterecords.storenvy.com

ROADSIDE PICNIC "A BOY'S LIFE" CDr (AOW 251)

First of three (maybe more?) planned AOW releases from the United Kingdom's Roadside Picnic, the breathtakingly gorgeous "A Boy's Life.".  A restless explorer of sound, Roadside Picnic here utilizes audio and soundtrack elements from Steven Spielberg's classic and lovely film E.T. and crafts two massive blocks of audio emotion, the first a rumbling and destructive HNW-style shredfest, the second an enormously beautiful ambient/drone/noise composition that is one of the most powerful and yearning pieces I've heard in years.  I listen to it over and over and the effect is utterly transcendent - like the power of the film is resonating with you at the same time as the inherent intensity of the music.  It's a masterpiece, and I am very pleased to be releasing it through Altar Of Waste.
Packaged in a DVD case in a limited edition of 15 hand-numbered copies.  $10 ppd. in the United States, $23 rest of world.

ORDER HERE: www.altarofwasterecords.storenvy.com

CORY STRAND "NOTORIOUS II" DVD-R (AOW 253)

The companion volume to AOW 252, this time reworking the entire audio track of Notorious into a five hour deep drone meditation.  Of the two versions, this is perhaps the one that reflects the film's aura better - a hazy float through a narcotic dream drone.  Engulfing, relaxing, foreboding, lovely.
PLEASE NOTE: This is a data DVD-R release.  You will need a computer to access the track.
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 "NOTORIOUS I" DVD-R (AOW 252)

Shredding HNW rework of the full audio track of my favorite Hitchcock film, Notorious.  I know it's a bit of an odd choice - more romance than suspense, more a love letter to Ingrid Bergman than a film proper - but my love for the film inspired me to mess around with it.  The result is the usual epic psychedelic onslaught of changing tones and textures, mutating and recycling through one another's near endless echoes, constant and ravenous.
PLEASE NOTE: This is a data DVD-R release.  You will need a computer to access the track.
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

TECHNOLOGY TROUBLES

Both my printer and my disc burner died this weekend.  Obviously this sets things back a bit in terms of production.  I know some people are waiting on the "Fargo: Complete" box sets-I have not forgotten, and I know they're taking longer than expected-school is just taking up a lot of time!  More than I had thought.  The semester ends in a couple weeks; after that I will acquire a new printer and disc burner and move forward.  The "Fargo" material is all done-just need to finish up the artwork for the box set layouts and put them together.  For those waiting, my apologies.  It's coming.
Once things are back up and running, I'll be working to get out a few things that have been on deck for awhile: my own reworks of Hitchcock's "Notorious," three records from Roadside Picnic, the Crown Of Bone "Evil Dead" double CD, more "Blue Velvet" volumes, a new record from Windom Earle, and more.  In the meantime, I have new work out on Occult Supremacy (the Lindskold reissues plus the "Seven Deadly Sins" comp, which features a new and ripping Fantome De Sang track-i'll have artist copies of these, but if you're in the USA PLEASE buy these from Dustin and OSP-he's worked really hard to get them out the label is great)) and Vagary Records (already sold out, but I think i'll get some artist copies-watch the AOW store, as they'll go FAST!) to tide people over.
As always, thanks for the patience.  I'll be back up and running as soon as I'm able.

-Cory

HEAVY METAL VOMIT PARTY "DAWN PATROL (IS WHAT WE CALL THE MORNING WHISKEY RUN)" CDr (AOW 248)

Second AOW outing for the mighty Heavy Metal Vomit Party, this time using Night Ranger's "Dawn Patrol" tape as source material.  Joe the Stache completely obliterates the tape here, destroying it utterly and transforming the tracks into some cripplingly severe audio devastation.  This is some seriously mid-tone/trebly, awesomely loud tape waste-one of the more brutal listens I've had in awhile, a scorching holocaust of cassette-slaying horror and heavy metal excess.  No numbing HNW stagnancy here-it's all an assault.  As usual with HMVP, the titles are hilarious, but the music is deathly serious.  You will not emerge unscathed by HMVP's caustic attack.  Don't tell me you love me-just cut up a few lines of cocaine, grab a few bottles of whiskey, and herd a few groupies onto the bus.  It's going to be a long night (ranger.)
Packaged in a DVD case, with a small insert, in a limited edition of 15 unnumbered copies.  $10 ppd. in the United States, $23 rest of world.

ORDER HERE: www.altarofwasterecords.storenvy.com

CORY STRAND "MULHOLLAND DRIVE (TOTALITY)" DVD-R (AOW 250)

The final piece in my own "Mulholland Drive" puzzle.  This rework is the entire audio track of the film, manipulated and transformed into another epic length work of HNW-based audio destruction.  As with "Mulholland Drive (Addendum)," this piece moves through an awesome variety of textures, tones, melodies and sounds-at times brutally violent, at times despairingly calm and rumbling, at times almost contemplative in its "ambience" (ANW style), this 2.5 hour composition will take you deep into the dark heart of "Mulholland Drive," hopefully furthering the film's overall aura and presence.  I know "Mulholland Drive" is an enormously beloved (and important) Lynch film for a lot of his devotees (myself included!) and with these three works I've done my very best to engage a lot of the film's facets and concerns.  This isn't the key, but it is most definitely a door.  PLEASE NOTE that this is a DVD-R: you'll need a computer to extract the audio track.
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 "MULHOLLAND DRIVE (ADDENDUM)" CDr (AOW 249)

Companion volume to the larger ten disc set.  This single CDr rework of the "Mulholland Drive" soundtrack uses the entire OST as one piece (each song played back to back), which I manipulated and then processed into a gargantuan HNW suite (i realize that to not have some sort of audio violence in a rework to this film would represent something of a failure on my part in recognizing the film's overall tone and atmosphere.)  Far from being stagnant, this is a towering, undulating composition, encompassing moments of all out sludge drone, ANW, HNW, and various floating bits of noise detritus.  One of my most dynamic works, for sure.
Packaged in a DVD case in a limited edition of 5 hand-numbered copies.  $10 ppd. in the United States, $23 rest of world.

ORDER HERE: www.altarofwasterecords.storenvy.com

CORY STRAND "MULHOLLAND DRIVE: A REINTERPRETATION" 10CDr (AOW 242)

Massive rework of David Lynch's mindfucking doppelganger masterpiece "Mulholland Drive."  As with all of Lynch's work, the soundtrack here is killer, but for me this is one of the absolute best, a deep and emotional journey through horror and eros, meeting in the void where the two at last intertwine.  Very few people could title a track "Mountains Falling" and have the music live up to the imagery, but Lynch (as one half of Blue Bob on that particular track) does-the earth will crumble over the course of that track.  Worlds can fall apart.  Having Angelo Badalamenti on board is just the icing on the cake-pure audio melodrama, enthralling, gorgeous, dnagerous, and unknown.
In working with this score, I've gone all drone-seriously deep, thick, heady drone, to complement the film's preoccupation with epistemology and identity.  Many of these tracks eschew melody in favor of tone, but there are my usual moments of austere loveliness and frigid beauty buried down in the dark hearts of the tracks.  Many of these pieces are taken past 30 minutes, to provide as immersive and transcendent an experience through sound as the film provides through imagery.  I am very proud of this collection.
Packaged in a twin-volume DVD case (doppelgangers!) in a limited edition of 5 hand-numbered copies.  $65 ppd. in the United States, $78 rest of world.

ORDER HERE: www.altarofwasterecords.storenvy.com

CORY STRAND "HALLOWEEN: REVISITED" CDr (AOW 247)

Do i need to say anything?  It's Halloween, so here's another rework of John Carpenter's beloved score for the equally beloved film.  This one is the soundtrack as one unbroken track, transformed into a psychedelically charged piece of HNW horror-sculpting.  Enjoy, and happy Halloween!
Packaged in a DVD case in a limited edition of 5 hand-numbered copies.  $10 ppd. in the United States, $23 rest of world.

ORDER HERE: www.altarofwasterecords.storenvy.com

CORY STRAND "VERTIGO: A REINTERPRETATION" 5CDr (AOW 246)

Deep ambient reworking of Bernard Herrmann's masterful score for what is perhaps Hitch's finest film, "Vertigo."  I've been really enjoying working with these highly orchestral scores as of late; their flourishes and changes make for very interesting and emotionally resonant manipulations.  In working with this particular score, I wanted to keep the dread and anxiety in Herrmann's score present without sacrificing beauty; the pieces here are at once imbued with a crawling sort of nauseau as well as an inherent loveliness, a call from the ghostly past.  I'd put this somewhere between my Tim Hecker-type constructions ("Marie Antoinette," et al.) and my very stagnant drone works ("Escape From New York," etc.)  The class I'm taking on Hitch this semester has reawakened my love of his work, not least of which is the incredibly fertile period of collaboration with Herrmann.  A thing of beauty and foreboding.
Packaged in a DVD case 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 "THE BIRDS: A REINTERPRETATION" 5CDr (AOW 245)

Another film that someone requested I work with.  The timing seemed right (it's Halloween, plus we've been working with this film quite a bit between my various film classes this semester) so i thought I'd give it a whirl.  Hitchcock fanatics will of course know that "The Birds" has no score, only diegetic music and a pummeling sound design; in working with the film, I opted to use the entire audio track directly, breaking it into two one-hour chunks for ease of manipulation (also enabling me to create audio CDs as opposed to a DVD-r.)  This five disc rework features two discs of crushing, psychedelic HNW and two discs of insanely cold and dreary death ambient, and a fifth disc of HNW created from the film's awesome credits sequence (the last disc may well be my favorite of the set, as it features very little manipulation other than distortions-for those familiar with the film, expect nothing less than avian HNW holocaust!)  This one was really fun to make, and I believe that joy comes out in the recordings.
Packaged in a DVD case 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

"THE WALKING DEAD: IMPRESSIONS" ART PRINT BY GINA NEWMAN

To raise money for our upcoming collaborative release "The Walking Dead: Impressions," my lady friend Gina has created an art print of the slipcase image that will adorn the 3xC60 set.  The original image was hand-drawn by Gina and cut into a wood block by her; each print is then created individually and inked by Gina on a heavy paper stock.  The prints are suitable for framing and measure about 4" x 7".  We're offering these because I don't have the means to dub cassettes and we're trying to raise some money to do so; to create this particular work we need to send the cassette out to be dubbed by a third party.  If you've purchased any of the Sofia Coppola reworks Gina and I have collaborated on, then you're familiar with her meticulous, clean black and white style.  These are really quite cool!
Released in an edition of 20 prints.  $7 ppd. in the United States, $20 rest of world.

ORDER HERE: www.altarofwasterecords.storenvy.com

CORY STRAND " A WORLD WITHOUT FLOWERS" 2CDr (AOW 244)

All new double album set of Paris Hilton reworks, this time using large chunks of audio from her debut album.  The pieces here are severe and austere death drone, very minimal and stagnant, with a frigid melodic undercurrent that makes you think you're hearing things that may or may not be there.  Time freezing pop manipulations in honor of one of my favorite cultural touchstones.
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

CORY STRAND "HNW '77" 3CDr (AOW 243)

A couple people expressed interest in hearing me rework the art piece "Tuning '77," an hour and a half megacut of the Grateful Dead doing nothing but tuning their instruments during their 1977 tour.  The original piece has a beautiful sort of atonal ambience to it, an epic slab of pointless drift that goes nowhere and takes a significant amount of time getting there.  For this rework, I chopped the original "Tuning '77" into three distinct sections and manipulated each in a slightly different way; the resultant 3CD set is a crushing journey into the outer reaches of beauty and narcissism.  If you enjoy my melodic, psychedelic HNW work, then this one is tailor-made for you.  There's some really lovely violence here.
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 "THE SHINING: ANCILLARIES, VOL. XI" DVD-R (AOW 241)

Absolutely epic rework/manipulation of the entire audio track of the film "The Shining."  A crushing 2.5 hour piece of dense, melodic, scathingly psychedelic HNW full of minute changes in tone and texture.  This is easily one of my best works as of late, a journey deep into the heart of Kubrick's film, unbroken and completely excessive.  Not for the faint of heart.  The length of this piece necessitated it being on a DVD-R; please note you will need to play this one via a computer.
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 "THE SHINING: ANCILLARIES, VOL. X" 5CDr (AOW 240)

Massive new set of HNW excursions into Wendy Carlos' masterful soundtrack for "The Shining."  For this set, I took my own reworks of the track "Rocky Mountains" and re-manipulated them, transforming the deep death ambient of the originals into thick, dense blasts of HNW uberdrone.  Stagnant and unrelenting, these five pieces reflect the violence inherent in the film, a call from the void pockets of the Overlook's forgotten past.
Packaged in a DVD case 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 "VIDEODROME: A REINTERPRETATION" CDr + DVDr (AOW 239)

Immersive and mostly punishing rework of the soundtrack to David Cronenberg's technology and violence-fetishizing mindfuck Videodrome.  Howard Shore's score for this one may be quite short, but it remains wholly and creepily effective (it's easily one of my favorite scores from him); in working with the music I've tried to maintain both the claustrophobic and paranoid sense of dread and the explosive and skin-shredding aura of sexualized violence.  The soundtrack rework (disc one, the CDr) comes in two parts: a thick ambient/drone version and a nullifying HNW assault.  The second disc (the DVDr) is the full audio of the film, manipulated into a scathing and terrifying HNW nightmare.  Like the white noise of a VHS cassette ripping into your brain endlessly.  Long live the new flesh.
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 "REBECCA: A REASSEMBLY" 2CDr (AOW 238)

A companion album to my rework of Rebecca's score proper, a scathing double HNW assault constructed from various elements of Franz Waxman's elegiac score.  It just seemed wrong somehow to be reworking the score to a Hitchcock film and not creating any HNW out of it!
The two pieces here explore some of my different HNW guises: the first disc is the incredibly melodic, ripping psychedelic HNW that i'm most associated with and the second disc is some deep, darker sludgy HNW that approaches ANW type-textures.  Two epic compositions that embrace sensuality and violence.
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

CORY STRAND "REBECCA: A REINTERPRETATION" 5CDr (AOW 237)

Taking a class on Hitchcock this semester has allowed me to revisit some of my favorites in his filmography and reacquaint myself with aspects of those works I had overlooked.  In the case of 1940's Rebecca (one of my very favorite Hitch films, alongside Notorious and Rear Window), that overlooked aspect was Franz Waxman's truly lovely, melancholy, and haunting score.  Hearing it again and meshing it to the film's imagery was incredibly inspiring.
My rework of the score is entirely drone and ambient, at times falling into the Tim Hecker-type blurgaze soundpool, creating grand, sensual pieces of intense emotional resonance; other pieces find the sounds given over more fully to death ambience and grey ambience, massive unbroken flows of expansive and engulfing tone.  The whole record has a ghostly feel that I think perfectly captures Rebecca's aura of eroticism, sensuality, sorrow, and sexual menace.  One of my best recent outings, truly.
Packaged in a DVD case 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 "UNTITLED PIECES, VOL. III" 2CDr (AOW 236)

Third volume in my series of untitled/themeless sound recordings.  This one is a double album, with one disc given over to ambient drone manipulation and the second to full-on HNW speaker shredding.  Both pieces are crafted from the same source material.  The drone work here is quite lovely, evoking a feeling of emptiness and tedium but still suffused with vague melodies and a feeling of yearning.  The HNW piece is just straight up, unbridled, dense/crackly noise.
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 

SHIPPING UPDATE.

Just a quick note to let everyone know that all copies of Small Hours "Olivia II" have shipped.  If you've been waiting for other stuff from me as well as the Small Hours, all those orders have been shipped as well.  I would sincerely like to thank everyone for their patience-virtually everyone told me it was okay to hold their orders until the Small Hours came in, so i could ship everything at once.  It helps a lot, especially for shipping things out to my friends overseas.  I'm hard at work trying to complete the massive "Fargo" box sets as we speak-they're a lot of work.  Things might be a little quiet at AOW for the next few weeks as I ready everything.
I am working on a new Fantome De Sang double album as well.  This will be the first FDS recording to feature vocals (not from me.)  Very excited!
I hope everyone that ordered the Small Hours package will be happy with it!  I think it's awesome.

-Cory

THE EBONY TOWER "1Q84" 6CDr (AOW 232)

New and lengthy work from The Ebony Tower, a very focused HNW project that bases all of its music on great works of literature.  This release tackles Haruki Murakami's recent novel "1Q84"; while I have not yet read the book (although I have read other Murakami works), Mitchell (of The Ebony Tower) told me that it "asks a lot of questions and then doesn't answer them."
The resultant work takes the same approach.  This is incredibly meditative HNW; while on their surfaces the pieces appear to be very static, almost zen-like in their obstinance, deep and intent listening will reveal a dizzying multitude of minute textures and tones at work.  This is one of the best HNW works i've heard in some time, and I am honored that AOW is releasing it-this sort of work is emblematic of the label's mission and aesthetic.  "1Q84" will numb you, sedate you, transport you, and will ultimately allow you ascension and transcendence if you give yourself over to it fully.
Packaged as a triple volume set in double DVD cases, each with their own artwork utilizing interpretive images drawn from passages in the novel.  Released in an edition of 10 hand-numbered copies.  $35 ppd. in the United States, $48 rest of world.

ORDER HERE: www.altarofwasterecords.storenvy.com

CORY STRAND "HOTEL CHEVALIER" CDr (AOW 234)

No filmmaker inspired as much division during my time in film school than Wes Anderson.  People either liked or hated him with equal passion.  I was clearly in the former camp; seeing "Rushmore" was one of the cinematic experiences that made me very much want to study film seriously (the other film: Paul Thomas Anderson's "Boogie Nights.")  While i love all of Anderson's films for their emotional vulnerability and beautiful enclosed universes, none strike me as more heart-crushing and beautiful than his short masterwork, "Hotel Chevalier."  Few films so accurately capture the potent mixture of anger, yearning, and desire that can haunt the memory of failed relationships; few films so beautifully depict the psychological damage those memories can inflict.
This release represents three different approaches to working with the film.  The first piece is an HNW manipulation of the film's real-time audio track; the second is a lengthy death ambient treatment of the film's audio, stretched to a gray and empty evocation of decaying dreams.  The third piece is a blurry, vaguely melodic transformation of Peter Sarstedt's "Where Do You Go To (My Lovely)" as it appears in the film. 
Packaged in a DVD case in a limited edition of 5 hand-numbered copies.  $10 ppd. in the United States, $23 rest of world.

ORDER HERE: www.altarofwasterecords.storenvy.com

CORY STRAND "CODA" CDr (AOW 235)

A sort of epilogue piece to my two large Paris Hilton reconstruction sets, "Paris, Do You Speak French?" and "Overdose My Heart."  "Coda" is a blending of the two source tracks used on the big sets (Miss Hilton's "Good Time" and "Come Alive"), transformed into a massive slog of vaguely gorgeous deep ambient sludge blur.  The piece effectively functions as a relaxing end to a severely intense and massive listening experience (if you have both sets, try listening to them plus "Coda" and see how it works.)
This is not my last work with Paris Hilton material, it's simply the end of this particular cycle.  I have tried to create something lovely but nebulous, much as Miss Hilton as with her recent singles.
Packaged in a DVD case in a limited edition of 5 hand-numbered copies.  $10 ppd. in the United States, $23 rest of world.

ORDER HERE: www.altarofwasterecords.storenvy.com

G'MORK "UNTITLED" 2CDr (AOW 225)

Newest release from Hal Harmon's G'Mork, a project that bases its HNW pieces on the beloved 1980s fantasy film The Neverending Story.  A favorite film of mine as well, I was immediately smitten with G'Mork's debut release on Vagary records, and I approached Hal shortly after to inquire about releasing a G'Mork album through AOW.  Viewed as a noise provocateur grouped alongside Joe the Stache, James Killick, and myself for our nontraditional approach to themes and art in HNW, Harmon's work here is distinctly hopeful but suffused with a penetrating nihilistic sadness that seems to make momentum nearly impossible; the onus is forced onto the listener.  Much as the film The Neverending Story encourages the viewer to find reserves of courage and selflessness within, so too does G'Mork's work, asking the listener to find within themselves the meaning of the work and its relation to their being.  This is an absolutely gorgeous release on every level, and I am honored to be releasing it.
Packaged in a DVD case in a limited edition of 15 hand-numbered copies.  $15 ppd. in the United States, $28 rest of world.

ORDER HERE: www.altarofwasterecords.storenvy.com

CORY STRAND "STONER WITCH: A REINTERPRETATION, VOL. I" 2CDr (AOW 233)

First in a multi-volume rework of the Melvins' most widely-regarded album, 1994's "Stoner Witch."  This first double CD reconstruction splits the album into two distinct sections ("ambient" and "rock/noise"), much as the album proper itself.  The ambient disc is another slice of menacing, sonorous drift and drone, daring you to find connection to the album beyond simple comparisons to "Lividity."  The second disc embrace a more violent and "rock" oriented approach (ha!), resulting in a multifaceted 50 minute slog through tone, texture, and sludge, a torrent of vomit and filth that hopefully matches the Melvins' own anticipatory attempt at HNW structures as evinced by "Magic Pig Detective."  This volume attempts to look at the album as a whole; future volumes (i am unsure of how many there will be) will look at each song individually.
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

CORY STRAND "LYSOL: A REINTERPRETATION" 5CDr (AOW 230)

Rightfully regarded as one of the Melvins' finest and most influential albums (one of the models for my personal guitar tone was King Buzzo's on this record), "Lysol" is drone metal par excellence, a crushing dirge of slow-motion feedback laden destruction that virtually no one has been able to touch since its release decades ago.  In working with the pieces here i have sought to intensify the drone experience the album provides, crafting five discs of extremely deep and glacial tones that achieve a heavenly sort of ambience; the result sounds a bit to me like a more despondent Arvo Part, a neo-classical sort of sound dripping with sorrow and yearning.  One of my best recent recordings, easily, a set of massive constructions to absolutely immerse and lose oneself in.  Beautiful and haunting without sacrificing a modicum of power.
Packaged in a DVD case in a limited edition of 5 hand-numbered copies.  $25 ppd. in the United States, $38 rest of world.

ORDER HERE: www.altarofwasterecords.storenvy.com

CORY STRAND "SONIC SEASONINGS IN HELL" CDr (AOW 229)

Another "evil twin" recording, this one being the extremely dark mirror to my "Sonic Seasonings: A Reinterpretation" release.  This time, I played everything all at once and manipulated the resultant din into a massless piece of ambient menace, which I then re-manipulated into a baroque grand guignol noise symphony.  It's short (about 23 minutes) but extremely brutal and restless; the tones are ever-shifting, unsteady, angry, nebulous, hungry for void.  Wendy Carlos' original recording was already rich with menace, malevolence, and a sort of cautious beauty; this piece pulls more desperately at the violence lurking deep beneath the solstices.
Packaged in a DVD case in a limited edition of 5 hand-numbered copies.  $10 ppd. in the United States, $23 rest of world.

ORDER HERE: www.altarofwasterecords.storenvy.com

CORY STRAND "SONIC SEASONINGS: A REINTERPRETATION" CDr (AOW 228)

It's been awhile since I've worked with any Wendy Carloes material, so I thought i'd resume my attempt at transforming one of her most oblique and strange albums, "Sonic Seasonings."  I had tried, quite unsuccessfully, to work with these pieces around the time I was making my "Beauty In The Beast" rework; the pieces on "Sonic Seasonings" seemed to large and unwieldy for me to really transform them in any significant or interesting way. 
This time, rather than working with the album's four suites separately, I bled them all together as one epic piece, and based my manipulations on that.  The result is an epic piece of microtonal drift, full of glacial changes in tone, mood, texture and atmosphere; I feel what i've done with this record aptly reflects Carlos' original vision of darkness and unease spread throughout a year.
Packaged in a DVD case in a limited edition of 5 hand-numbered copies.  $10 ppd. in the United States, $23 rest of world.

ORDER HERE: www.altarofwasterecords.storenvy.com

CORY STRAND "UNTITLED PIECES, VOL. II" CDr (AOW 227)

The second volume in my new series could be thought of as the evil twin to the first volume, since I use the same source materials but manipulate and contort them in a vastly different way.  This collection is pure wall, perhaps best described as a mixture of HNW and ANW type textures.  Deep, bassy, and crumbling, bearing none of the melodic overtones that characterize the first volume; these are massive, violent pieces that perfectly reflect the stark and shapeless artwork chosen to adorn the package.  Again nearing 80 minutes in length, these pieces are devastators in every sense.  I don't often make wall noise that doesn't have a theme or some sort of intellectualized conceit carrying it (or maybe weighing it down?); here is another slab of pure sound.
Packaged in a DVD case in a limited edition of 5 hand-numbered copies.  $10 ppd. in the United States, $23 rest of world.

ORDER HERE: www.altarofwasterecords.storenvy.com

CORY STRAND "UNTITLED PIECES, VOL. I" CDr (AOW 226)

Inaugural volume of a new series collecting some of my various recordings which have no unifying theme or influence, but are rather explorations and flights of interest for me.  "Untitled Pieces, Vol I." is a highly melodic collection of blurgaze ambient pieces very much in the vein of Tim Hecker (astute AOW regulars will notice by fairly consistent emulation of his sound), but imbued with more of a hollowness and seemingly nihilistic drift, especially towards the end of the album.  If you hear anything familiar in these pieces, it is because the source materials used in their creation is a giant mash-up of songs by one of my girlfriend's favorite bands, Asobi Seksu.  Inspiration is everywhere!  Just shy of 80 minutes in length, this is a massive and haunting assemblage of manipulated sound.
Packaged in a DVD case in a limited edition of 5 hand-numbered copies.  $10 ppd. in the United States, $23 rest of world.

ORDER HERE: www.altarofwasterecords.storenvy.com

SHIPPING INFO/UPDATE.

I just wanted to say that with school starting for me this week and having just gotten a new job, I'm running a little behind on getting packages out.  As you might know, the big multiple disc sets I create are almost always made to order items-i finish the music and artwork and then press each set up/create the packages as I receive orders for them; the process takes a bit of time. I will spend most of this weekend trying to get everything made and packed up, and hopefully sent off by next week.  I appreciate everyone's patience.  Small Hours is at the manufacturer as we speak.  Thanks to all for the continued support.  There will most likely be 5 new solo releases in the next two weeks as well.

-Cory

CORY STRAND "HALLOWEEN II: A REINTERPRETATION" 2CDr (OCCULT SUPREMACY)

At last, my long-awaited and long-talked about rework of "Halloween II."  I think i first started planning this one after my rework of Carpenter's "Halloween" almost a year and a half ago; i'm sure i mentioned its continuing gestation when i released last year's "Halloween II: Deep Drone Version" as well.
Simply put, these are some of my densest, thickest, sludgiest, most devastating walls.  I wanted to create a record that was completely violent and punishing to reflect the film's emphasis on gore and upping the body count.  As always, if you listen deeply, you can hear ghostly sorts of melodies and tonal shifts moving throughout.  I find this album to be brutal, yes, but also incredibly entrancing and hypnotic, at points reaching a sublime sort of beauty.  A high point in my canon.
$12 ppd. in the United States, $25 rest of world.

ORDER HERE: www.altarofwasterecords.storenvy.com

FANTOME DE SANG "UNE OBSCURITE VAMPIRIQUE DANS LES ETOILES" 2CDr (OCCULT SUPREMACY)

Huge new Fantome De Sang double album, easily my favorite work I've done with the project.  This is a big, chaotic, thrashy, punky, metallized slash of severe and disorienting blackened noise destructionism, touching on a wealth of styles and aesthetics.  The nine pieces here reference both the project's nebulous, ultra-blackened formless beginnings and its more current incarnation as a belligerent blast-beat driven approximation of black metal form and imagery.  It's everything you could possibly want from a Fantome De Sang release, and it will wipe you the fuck out.  NO FUCKING MERCY! I love this album and am incredibly proud of every aspect of it!
$12 ppd. in the United States, $25 rest of world.

ORDER HERE: www.altarofwasterecords.storenvy.com

CROWN OF BONE/CORY STRAND "THE THING" 2CDr (OCCULT SUPREMACY)

Split album between Crown Of Bone and myself in honor of one of our favorite films, John Carpenter's masterful blast of Lovecraftian paranoid terror, "The Thing."  Crown Of Bone turns in a massive one track onslaught of scathing, screaming frigid arctic alien noise while my album is a full on rework of Ennio Morricone's score for the film.  My approach on this was similar to the other film-themed splits Dustin and I have done, wherein I allow many of the original OST elements to surface amongst the static and noise.  This is a big trippy set of psychedelic noise washout!
$12 ppd. in the United States, $25 rest of world.

ORDER HERE: www.altarofwasterecords.storenvy.com

SMALL HOURS "OLIVIA II" UPDATE + STATIC GOAT INTERVIEW

Small Hours' "Olivia II" super deluxe CDr has now sold out!  Thanks to everyone that ordered it-you made this release possible, and I thank you for your support of Altar Of Waste.  It means a lot to me, and to James Killick as well, that you believe in this project as we do and want to see it complete.  I'll be sending everything off to the manufacturer this week.  Hopefully the packages will be here soon!
Also, Izedis of psych-noise destruction unit Static Goat (and Enbilulugugal) has given a humorous interview to Roger over at Musique Machine.  It's pretty fun; it reminds me a lot of old metal interviews where the artist tries to convince people they're as misanthropic and kult as their albums suggest.  You can read the interview here:

http://www.musiquemachine.com/articles/articles_template.php?id=346

Static Goat's "Mental Castration" 2CDr is still available, as is the four way split featuring Enbilulugugal.

FANTOME DE SANG "PURGATOIRE MALVEILLANT" 5CDr (AOW 224)

After the experimental long-form punishment of "Vortex," Fantome De Sang returns with another atypical outing, this time eschewing violence in favor of morbidity, hollowness, nostalgiah, dread, and bitter reflection.  An entirely ambient affair, "Purgatoire Malveillant" gives itself over wholly to more expansive and deep sound explorations, rejecting expectation and unveiling a monumental work that will surely alienate some and help others attain transcendence.  The skeletal remains of "Maladif Lune," perhaps?  The onus is on the listener.  Perception and complicity as a statement of intent.  This is not a new beginning, nor is it a condemnation of what once was.  This is merely an aspect.
Packaged in a DVD case in a limited edition of 5 hand-numbered copies.  $25 ppd. in the United States, $38 rest of world.

ORDER HERE: www.altarofwasterecords.storenvy.com

CORY STRAND "ENSLAVED 1992 - 1997" 10CDr (AOW 223)

Exhaustive reworking of Enslaved's early nineties output, from the 1992 "Yggdrasill" demo up through 1997's "Eld."  Enslaved created an absolute blur of caustic and frigid black metal symphonics; as a band they were technically light years ahead of many of their contemporaries, and before they began leaning towards a more progressive concept of black metal, the work they turned in left a scarring mark on the Scandinavian musical landscape.  In working with these five recordings, I have sought to bring out both the extreme violence and intensity of Enslaved's approach as well as their loftier conceptuality, their penchant for demanding thought and consideration from their listeners.  Enslaved's project extends well beyond music, especially as they've moved further away from their BM roots.  Allow this set to be a meditation and a conflagration.
Packaged in a twin volume DVD case in a limited edition of 5 hand-numbered copies.  $50 ppd. in the United States, $63 rest of world.

ORDER HERE: www.altarofwasterecords.storenvy.com

CORY STRAND "UNDER THE SKIN: A REINTERPRETATION" 10CDr (AOW 222)

My expansive and engulfing drone/HNW rework of Mica Levi's challenging score to Jonathan Glazer's sensually indifferent cosmic void excursion "Under The Skin."  Since Levi's original work is already quite discordant, ambient, and droned out the challenge became one of harnessed aesthetics as opposed to all out transformation; rather than warp or destroy i sought to inhabit and (deathly) blossom.  I chose to split the album into two distinct sections, drone and HNW, to reflect both the film's intensity and its tension.  The result is some of the most empty and troubling ambient music i've made, full of malice and stress with few melodic elements.  Even those few pieces that suggest melody immolate it by taking it to an infinite: change is illusive if not imagined, or perhaps felt rather than noticeably perceived.  The HNW discs are deep-toned destructionist pieces that illustrate a more hellish side of drone, stoic and implacable but malevolent and violent.
Packaged in a twin volume DVD case 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                                                                      

SMALL HOURS "OLIVIA II" CDr (DELUXE SLIPCASED PHOTOBOOK + BONUS CDr) (AOW 211)

PLEASE NOTE: This is a pre-order item.  At the artist's request, this release is an edition of 5 copies.  I am doing this one as a pre-order because of the expense-once the release has sold out on pre-order (or enough copies that I can reasonably make up the difference out of pocket), I will send everything out to be manufactured.  I know this is an expensive item; it is, quite simply, the most lavish release i've done with the label.  I want everyone to know that I am not taking ANY profit on this-the price I am asking is the manufacturing cost of each one of these (in all honesty, i will LOSE money shipping them out!)  I believe in JK's work enough and the beauty of this package that I want it to be out there for those interested.  This one is a contract of sorts between myself as label curator and the label's supporters who order the record.

Small Hours returns to Altar Of Waste with a sequel of sorts to the project's "Olivia I" release, an album that was issued privately in the UK to a handful of allies.  While this release is equally limited (a scant five copies, at the artist's request) it is more than worthy of your attention, brimming over with JK's usual incredibly crunchy/crumbly walls.  Far from stagnant, the tones and textures slowly warp themselves and change noticeably as the tracks play out, becoming more and more punishing and dense.  From brooding lava sludgepiles to seriously intense whirlwind type distortion clouds, Olivia Newton John's work is honored by Small Hours.  Another brilliant release from one of the genre's most creative minds.
As stated, this is the most involved and artful release i've done through Altar Of Waste.  Packaged as a laminated hard-bound book, which in turn houses another softbound book inside of it, with six glossy pages of photographs of Olivia Newton John from her most creatively pure and fertile period, as well as the pertinent release info.  The entire thing is housed inside a hard outer slipcase with SMALL HOURS imprinted on the front.  It's crazy and I can't wait to see them!  To help offset the price, JK has graciously allowed me to include a CDr version of "Olivia I" as well, which was previously only available as a privately issued release for a UK tape swap.  This CDr version will have full-colour artwork in the fold-over AOW packaging (fold-over covers housed in clear plastic bags.)
Releases in a limited edition of 5 hand-numbered copies.  $75 ppd. in the United States, $83 rest of world.

CORY STRAND "ETERNALLY BLEAK" DVD-R (AOW 221)

Another epochal drone composition, this time created utilizing elements of Carter Burwell's score for the film "Fargo."  Over six hours of bleak, glacially plodding, winterized uberdrone to waste away with, a cosmic reckoning brimming over with nihilistic emptiness and despair.  This one is a bit darker than "The Nature Of Things," more concerned with hopelessness than meditation.  Time wastes itself as it wastes all of us.
Please note this is a DVD-R.  To extract the song you have to play it on a computer.  Definitely meant for headphones, in the dark, alone.
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 "THE NATURE OF THINGS" DVD-R (AOW 220)

The companion album to "Blood Has Been Shed" trades that record's all-out violence for a seemingly infinite period of meditation and tense inner reflection.  "The Nature Of Things" is a just over 5 hour deep drone excursion into thoughts of causal relationships and karmic retribution, and the attempt to reconcile meaning with absurdity.  We feel the world gives us omens and harbingers, but it doesn't.  Existence is coincidence; actions have consequences.  For many in the "Fargo" universe, this is a lesson that is never learned, even as those same individuals experience its teachings in brutal and punishing ways.  This is an epic drift, sonorous and glacial, seemingly ancient in its indifference.
Please note this is a DVD-r; you have to put it into your computer in order to extract the song.  Hopefully the expansive runtime will allow you moments of personal reflection and understanding.
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 "BLOOD HAS BEEN SHED" DVD-R (AOW 219)

Having been very inspired by all my recent work with the "Fargo" universe, I decided to try an experiment in excess, creating a pair of massive recordings utilizing large portions of Jeff Russo's score for the television series.  The first of these, "Blood Has Been Shed," is a crushing 3.5 hour psychedelic HNW onslaught, a relentless and destructive suite of audio terror that will (hopefully) stretch the threshholds of endurance for many listeners.  It is absolutely a challenge and a statement, as well as an interesting piece of sound art.  If you like my noise work there is no doubt you'll enjoy this as well-it's simply a matter of how much of it you can take.
Please note that this is a DVD-R; you have to put it into your computer to extract the song (that you pretty much have to listen to this through headphones is part of its intensity.)  Good luck!
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 "FARGO: REVISITED" 10CDr (AOW 213)

PLEASE NOTE: This will be included in the "Fargo: Complete" box set.  Only order this version if you do not plan on ordering the box set, or if you are a completist and want this version (it has different artwork than the box set version.)


Stand-alone version of AOW 213, my rework of the score from the television series.  What's most brilliant about Jeff Russo's magnificently beautiful and minimalist score, and about the series "Fargo" overall, is how subtly, yet powerfully, it connects itself to the Coen Brothers film.  These worlds are so interrelated and the aesthetic and philosophical concerns so connected, in every note, every word, every action, and every consequence.  It's a towering work of cinematic art, one that both closes off and expands upon the Coen's nihilistic universe in unique and brutal ways. 
In working with Russo's score I have sought to tie it to my own previous work with "Fargo" the film, in that the sounds here seem connected to the ones found on the film soundtrack rework.  Differences are subtle but intense; violence is lurking in every dark pocket, karmic punishment in every forgotten act looms and shivers.  The ten discs here are a tour de force of tense and frigid drone, hinting at a buried melodicism and the sorrowful memories of a life that never truly was.  "Is this what you want?  Yes or no."
Packaged in a twin-volume DVD case in a limited edition of 5 hand-numbered copies.  $70 ppd. in the United States, $83 rest of world.


ORDER HERE: www.altarofwasterecords.storenvy.com

CORY STRAND "KUBRICK: THE ESSENTIAL SOUNDTRACKS" 20CDr BOX SET (AOW 218)

A huge new solo work focusing on the master of masters, Stanley Kubrick.  Though i've worked with some Kubrick films in the past (both A Clockwork Orange and my large series of work focused on The Shining), they were much more appreciations of Wendy Carlos than Kubrick, whereas this set is an exploration of Kubrick's soundtrack ouevre in truly expanded form.  The 20 discs are HNW and ambient reworks of the soundtracks to nine different films from Kubrick; the resultant whole is a massive homage to a true visionary, a personality who for many (myself included) marks the highest level of cinematic artistry one can achieve. 
The included/reworked film soundtracks are: Spartacus, Lolita, Dr. Strangelove, 2001: A Space Odyssey, A Clockwork Orange, The Shining, Barry Lyndon, Full Metal Jacket, Eyes Wide Shut.
Packaged as a 20 CDr box set, with the HNW discs in DVD cases and the ambient dics in fold-over covers within clear plastic bags.  Each of the 20 discs have their own artwork, utilizing images from and associated with the films.  The entire set is housed in a painted box with a paste on cover, an insert with my liner notes for each soundtrack rework, an insert with the release info and catalogue number, and a signed/numbered insert from me.  Released in an edition of 5 copies.  $140 ppd. in the United States, $153 rest of world.

ORDER HERE: www.altarofwasterecords.storenvy.com

CORY STRAND "THE BLIZZARD" CDr (AOW 165D)

PLEASE NOTE: After discussions between Nar and myself, we've decided to offer all of the albums from our split singly.  The box set will still be available for those that want it; we just recognize it's quite expensive, especially for our friends overseas, and we both love the works enough that we want people to be able to acquire them in a more affordable manner.  The albums themselves are not numbered, as the numbering was done on the box sets.  Each album is an edition of 15.

My second album from the split is about the most direct summoning of a winter atmosphere i could conceive of, a field recording of a massive blizzard turned into a suffocatingly thick and torturous cloud of slow-motion, sludged-out wall disease.  The second piece is some epic drifting ANW, deep and sonorous.  Beautiful winter uberdrone.
Packaged in a DVD case in an unnumbered edition of 15 copies (only the box sets were numbered.)  $10 ppd. in the United States, $23 rest of world.

ORDER HERE: www.altarofwasterecords.storenvy.com

CORY STRAND "HYPNOTHERMIA" CDr (AOW 165C)

PLEASE NOTE: After discussions between Nar and myself, we've decided to offer all of the albums from our split singly.  The box set will still be available for those that want it; we just recognize it's quite expensive, especially for our friends overseas, and we both love the works enough that we want people to be able to acquire them in a more affordable manner.  The albums themselves are not numbered, as the numbering was done on the box sets.  Each album is an edition of 15.

My first album for the split is an evocation of black metal's primacy, numbing repetition and lofi severity; the two pieces here represent a further blurring of the lines between my myriad projects, as you can hear elements of both Dreamless and Fantome De Sang here, married to my psychedelic wallcraft.  There was considerable effort and desire from me and Nar to make these records different and special, and I feel we truly achieved it.  "Hypnothermia" stands as a personal favorite amongst my works, blending the warmth of an organic, improvised approach with the frigid digital intensity of wall manipulation.
Packaged in a DVD case in an unnumbered edition of 15 copies (only the box sets were numbered.)  $10 ppd. in the United States, $23 rest of world.

ORDER HERE: www.altarofwasterecords.storenvy.com

NAR "WINTER WARRIORS" CDr (AOW 165B)

PLEASE NOTE: After discussions between Nar and myself, we've decided to offer all of the albums from our split singly.  The box set will still be available for those that want it; we just recognize it's quite expensive, especially for our friends overseas, and we both love the works enough that we want people to be able to acquire them in a more affordable manner.  The albums themselves are not numbered, as the numbering was done on the box sets.  Each album is an edition of 15.

The second of Nar's contributions to our split, "Winter Warriors"  is a painfully severe assault of relentless HNW vomit (meant in the best possible way.)  Crumbling and bitter, caustic and flowing like a mountain.  A true evocation of the winter wastes.
Packaged in a DVD case in an unnumbered edition of 15 copies (only the box sets were numbered).  $10 ppd. in the United States, $23 rest of world.

ORDER HERE: www.altarofwasterecords.storenvy.com

NAR "VAERET SOM BEGRAVER" CDr (AOW 165A)

PLEASE NOTE: After discussions between Nar and myself, we've decided to offer all of the albums from our split singly.  The box set will still be available for those that want it; we just recognize it's quite expensive, especially for our friends overseas, and we both love the works enough that we want people to be able to acquire them in a more affordable manner.  The albums themselves are not numbered, as the numbering was done on the box sets.  Each album is an edition of 15.

The first of Nar's two albums from our split released early this year, "Vaeret Som Begraver" is simply superlative void-worshiping HNW of the absolute highest caliber.  Massive, deep, crumbling walls of endless cold and numbness.  The three engulfing pieces here seem infinite and frighteningly yawning, like the sound of dimensions folding in the cosmos.
Packaged in a DVD case, in an unnumbered edition of 15 copies (only the box sets are numbered.)  $10 ppd. in the United States, $23 rest of world.

ORDER HERE: www.altarofwasterecords.storenvy.com

CORY STRAND "DEAD POETS SOCIETY: A REINTERPRETATION" 2CDr

I heard of Robin Williams' suicide last night as I was working on another project.  The impact was immediate and I felt a true sadness at the loss of such an original and iconoclastic performer.  As my way of remembering him, I've produced this double album-a rework of the OST to my favorite Robin Williams film (and one of my favorite films overall), Peter Weir's masterful elegy to self-actualization, "Dead Poets Society."  The power of its message, and the enormous presence of Williams as John Keating, simply does not diminish.  I loved this film as a teenager and I still love it as an adult.  It makes me cry every time i watch it, and I am not embarassed to say so.
The music here is fittingly lovely and elegiac.  The final piece on the album is an original 24 minute synthesizer improvisation that I will offer as my tribute to Robin; it is one of the loveliest things I have created and I hope it's worthy.  This is not an official release-rather, it is something made from a place of response and feeling.
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

CORY STRAND "FARGO: A REINTERPRETATION" 5CDr (AOW 215)

PLEASE NOTE: This will be included in the "Fargo: Complete" box set.  Only order this version if you do not plan on ordering the box set, or if you are a completist and want this version (it has different artwork than the box set version.)

Stand-alone version of AOW 215, the rework of Carter Burwell's epochal and beautifully minimalist score for the Coen Brothers' 1996 masterpiece "Fargo."  I saw this film in 1996 (my parents rented it for me, of all things) and it quickly became a favorite for its bleak and absurd nihilsitic look at life in the northern Midwest; to this day it remains one of my very favorite films.  I had started work on this album quite awhile ago; i had originally intended to record it for Occult Supremacy, but never quite liked the direction it was moving in.  I took a long break from it; when I came back to it and started in on it again, I found the tones and sounds I was looking for.  The score is stretched out and blurred considerably, becoming hazy and nebulous, but still retaining its melodic and tense undercurrents.  A quiet storm, perhaps.
Packaged in a DVD case in a limited edition of 5 hand-numbered copies.  $25 ppd. in the United States, $38 rest of world.

ORDER HERE: www.altarofwasterecords.storenvy.com