PHANTOM CADAVER "MAZE OF MORBIDITY" CDR/C68 (AOW 328)

Cassette cover.

PLEASE NOTE: The CDr version is available NOW; the cassette version is available for preorder.  I expect the cassettes to be in stock and shipping early January 2016.

Monstrous, dense, crushing wall release from the mighty Phantom Cadaver, one of the genre's true modern pillars.  Those in the know are well aware of the project's utter mastery of HNW form; across a bevy of self-released albums, Phantom Cadaver has demonstrated just how flattening, detailed, destructive, and transcendent/transformative HNW can be when in the hands of a skilled practitioner.  I am very happy to be unveiling this new, massive piece (66 minutes!) from the project; without going too much into hyperbole, I'll simply say that this is some serious shit.  If you're into black hole gravity style HNW, then you absolutely need this record.  The cover art should tell you all you need to know about the record's inspiration, and once you throw this on and isolate yourself with darkness and headphones, you will feel its oppressive weight.  In the best possible way.
Released in two formats: as a CDr, with the piece unbroken, and as a C68, with the piece split into two sections.  I don't often do dual format releases at AOW, but this one deserves it.  Both the CDr and the cassette have different artwork.  Each format is released in a limited edition of 10 hand-numbered copies.

CDr cover.

CDR: $10 ppd. in the United States, $23 rest of world.
CASSETTE: $10 ppd. in the United States, $23 rest of world.

ORDER HERE: www.altarofwasterecords.storenvy.com

CORY STRAND "A YOUNG DOCTOR'S NOTEBOOK: SEASONS ONE AND TWO" 8CDR SET (AOW 329)

A collection of HNW "Totality" reworks for each episode of the first two seasons of "A Young Doctor's Notebook," one of my favorite new television shows from the BBC.  Extremely morbid humor combined with intense gore effects and morphine addiction gives "A Young Doctor's Notebook" an almost unbearable weight of absurdist dread and terror; think Steven Soderbergh's "The Knick" without such deathly seriousness and you're almost there.  "A Young Doctor's Notebook" succeeds largely in part to the casting; both Jon Hamm and Daniel Radcliffe have no issue severing ties to their respective images (Hamm as Don Draper and Radcliffe as Harry Potter) and are willing to go as far as they need to for their roles here.  They make a fine comedic pairing, floundering as they drown in existential despair.
This rework utilizes the full audio tracks of each of the eight available episodes (like my "True Detective: Season One" set from last year) and transforms them into short (each piece is between 20 - 24 minutes) bursts of dense, psychedelic harsh noise, hopefully evoking the torturous winter weather of the bleak Russian countryside the series calls home.  Packaged as 8 separate albums, with near-uniform layouts and a very minimalist design.  Released 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

A QUICK UPDATE ON UPCOMING CASSETTE RELEASES

Just a brief note to let folks know where things are at regarding AOW's recent barrage of cassette releases:

OUR LOVE WILL DESTROY THE WORLD "Sol Airborne Pyramid": the tapes are en route to me now and should arrive this week.  I will assemble preorders this weekend and mail them out next week.

DEJECTION/BIG HOLE "Split": duplication will be completed by 12/02 and mailed to me then.  I expect them to arrive early December.  As soon as they do, i will mail out the preorders.  Again, my sincerest apologies for the delay on this one.

FANTOME DE SANG tapes: duplication order was placed this week.  I expect the tapes to be in hand early January.

CORY STRAND "A SERIOUS MAN: THE EXPANDED EDITION" 14CDR + DVD-R SET (AOW 57)

When i satrted doing large format sets based on individual films earlier this year, I knew I wanted to go back and revisit Joel and Ethan Coen's A Serious Man.  It is easily one of my very favorite films ever, as well as the work which i feel best defines the Coens' thematic obsessions.  It also features incredibly beautiful cinematography from the untouchable Roger Deakins and a haunting, elegiacal score from Carter Burwell.
My original rework of the score was a bit "reigned in" and I wanted to create something meditative and expansive this time out, as well as adding some audio that reflected the violence lurking in the subtext of the film.  "A Serious Man: The Expanded Edition" contains:

The original 3CD rework of the score
A 3CD HNW version of my rework
An all-new 8CD expansive drone rework of the score
An HNW "Totality" recording made from the film's audio track

As usual with these "prestige" sets, it's packaged as 15 separate albums, each in their own DVD case utilizing my favorite images from the film (I did my own screen grabs for this one.)  It's a thing of menace and beauty, and I am very proud of it.  Here's my original write up of the first rework, from 2013:

"The Coen Brothers are easily placed amongst my favorite filmmakers.  Their ability to interweave total absurdity, nihilism, and extreme violence into their films without sacrificing the rich and deeply poetic philosophical inquiries at their heart is nothing short of masterful.  Alongside No Country For Old Men and The Man Who Wasn't There, A Serious Man explores the bizarre interconnectedness of the universe and mankind's growing realization that nothing ultimately matters, and moreso than either of the above mentioned works, A Serious Man attempts to take philosophy itself to task for its failure to provide any sort of feasible answers to life's perplexities and complications.  The ridiculous equation Larry Gopnik attempts to explain to his bewildered students may as well be a map of the universe as a whole, vast and full of complexities, myriad roads and paths all leading nowhere.  Existence is vacuous, devoid, a glacial collapse of meaning.
I wanted to work with Carter Burwell's score because it so beautifully articulates the themes of the film: the repetitious and cyclical nature of being, the failure to find meaning in any action, and the ethereal and haunting beauty of the mysteries we entwine ourselves in throughout our meandering lives.  There is no noise here, only a calm and inquisitive stagnant stillness, and maybe even a sliver of beauty peaking through the cracks."

Released in a limited edition of 5 hand-numbered copies.  $150 ppd. in the United States, $163 rest of world.

ORDER HERE: www.altarofwasterecords.storenvy.com

FANTOME DE SANG "NOIRCI ET DAMNES/FORET NUIT D'HIVER/L'ABIME" BOX SET EDITION (WITH BONUS CASSETTE, BONUS 2CDr, BONUS CDr, AND BONUS CDr EP) (AOW 325/326/327)

PLEASE NOTE: This is currently being offered as a preorder, to help offset the cost of production.  I expect to have the cassettes in hand and shipping in early January, 2016. 

A limited, deluxe box set release collecting the three new Fantome De Sang cassettes, with a wealth of bonus material included.  Complete contents of the box set:
"Noirci Et Damnes" C66 (AOW 325)
"Foret Nuit D'Hiver" C44 (AOW 326)
"L'abime" C60 (AOW 327)
"Dans Le Forets Denses Et Fonces" Single Sided C12 (bonus)
"Sauvagarie Nihiliste" 2CDr (bonus)
"Tourment Eternel Dans Le Cercle Le Plus Bas" CDr (bonus)
"La Puanteur De L'allure Decadente" CDr EP (bonus)

The three tapes have different artwork than the stand-alone editions (box set artwork on the tapes is by John Bauer.)  "Dans Le Forets Denses Et Fonces" is a recent FDS track in the black metal approximation style; "Sauvagarie Nihiliste" is a collection of material culled from splits and compilation appearances; "Tourment Eternel Dans Le Cercle Le Plus Bas" is an early FDS record released digitally through Batwings Creations; and "La Puanteur De L'allure Decadente" is a 70 minute, three song EP (!!!) focused on ambient minimalist textures.  This is the first time any of this material has been released physically.  All told, the box set contains about seven hours of music-it's truly exhausting!
Released on noble gold, silver, matte black, and smoky tinted cassettes.  All CDr bonus materials are housed in fold-over covers in clear plastic bags.  Released in a limited edition of 5 hand-numbered copies.  The box set is $75 ppd. in the United States, $88 rest of world.

ORDER HERE: www.altarofwasterecords.storenvy.com

FANTOME DE SANG "L'ABIME" C60 CASSETTE (AOW 327)

PLEASE NOTE: This is currently being offered as a preorder, to help offset the cost of production.  I expect to have the cassettes in hand and shipping in early January, 2016.

The most recent Fantome De Sang full length, completed summer 2015 and originally released as part of DeathSex Electronics' four-way "Baudelaire" split.  Since that release was incredibly limited and available only via trade with the label, I have decided to make the Fantome De Sang portion available as stand-alone album.  I am very proud of this work; it represents the culmination of virtually everything of done with the project, hearkening back to the very first releases of the project's formless blackened noise as well as touching on the current incarnation, with blistering drum patterns and live instrumentation.  This is probably the densest, most layered FDS release I've created; the process of making this record wiped me out pretty completely.  It is true sonic overload, with tons of shit going in every track.  It deserves to be heard by the project's fans.
Released as a C60, noble matte black cassettes.  Artwork by Jan Toorop.  Released 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

FANTOME DE SANG "FORET NUIT D'HIVER" C44 CASSETTE (AOW 326)

PLEASE NOTE: This is currently being offered as a preorder, to help offset the cost of production.  I expect to have the cassettes in hand and shipping in early January, 2016.

This was a Fantome De Sang full-length completed around the same time as my double CD release for Occult Supremacy Productions, "Une Obscurite Vampirique Dans Les Etoiles," with some additional production work completed in 2015.  As it was recorded and written during the same period as "Une Obscurite..." its sound is very similar: raw, chaotic, thrashy/punky occultish black metal approximations choked with atmosphere, a mixture of live instrumentation and computer processing.  Scathing noise and obliterating drum patterns dedicated to deep winter nights in the forest and the relentless hunger of wolves.
Released as a C44, noble silver cassettes.  Artwork by Arthur Rackham.  Released 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

FANTOME DE SANG "NOIRCI ET DAMNES" C66 CASSETTE (AOW 325)

PLEASE NOTE: This is currently being offered as a preorder, to help offset the cost of production.  I expect to have the cassettes in hand and shipping in early January, 2016. 

Crushing, super extreme new cassette from my black metal/noise project Fantome De Sang.  I began this album in the latter half of 2013 and finished it this year; it is meant to stand as Fantome De Sang's evocation of pure black metal fury.  Relentless screaming psychedelic noise, thick bassy sludge vomit textures, and buried torturous melodies alongside a constant stream of blastbeats and hyperspeed drum patterns.  This album offers no respite and makes no apologies.  Cold, cruel, wintry destructionism in homage to the great old masters: Mayhem, Satyricon, Thorns, Emperor.  Utterly intense!
Released as a C66, noble gold cassettes.  Artwork by Theodor Kittelsen.  Released 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