SCHATTENSPIEL - SCHATTENKRIEGER

ARTIST: Schattenspiel
TITLE: Schattenkrieger
CATALOG #: UFA 35
ARTIST LINKS:
SCHATTENSPIEL - www.myspace.com/phalanxfeatthewhiterabbit
BARBAROSSA UMTRUNK - www.myspace.com/barbarossaumtrunk
IGNIIS - www.myspace.com/igniislilithsson
IRIS TRAUMANN - www.myspace.com/iristraumann
ORPHEUS ENTHRONED - www.myspace.com/pentheusthefourth
ARTIST COUNTRY: Germany
LABEL: UFA Muzak
LABEL LINK: www.ufa-muzak.narod.ru
GENRE: Neo-Classical/Dark Ambient

TRACKLIST:

01_ Alone in the dark [Intro]
02_ Schattenspiel & Barbarossa Umtrunk- Sturmwarnung
03_ Schattenspiel & Igniis- El Gato Negro
04_ Niemandsland
05_ Schattenspiel & Orpheus Enthroned- Symphony of Loneliness
06_ Solang mein Herz noch schlägt
07_ Tigerauge
08_ Schattenspiel & Igniis- U-29
09_ Schattenspiel & Barbarossa Umtrunk- Orages d'Acier Act II
10_ Dunkle Wolken ziehen auf
11_ Vendetta
12_ Schattenspiel & Art Abscons- Väterchen Frost
13_ Schattenspiel, Barbarossa Umtrunk, Igniis & Ouroboros- IV Schattenkrieger
14_ Flashback
15_ Falling Down [Space-RMX by Iris Traumann]


I have never been part of a project that was this intense before. I mean, The Tarot Serie was certainly intensive, but even I was not privy to just how much of a theatrical production this album would turn out to be. I also know now how much the creation of this album was also in league with its size and scale of achievement. Many artists have slogans, mantras, sometimes clichés, but this is really a solid example of what Sven Phalanx loves to tout in order to assure everyone knows the extent of a sort of purity that runs through his art: "No politics, just music".
This was certainly an aggressive effort. Not only is the amount of artistic collaboration an indication of the time and dedication this work required, but also the considerably varied and harmonized variety of styles and personalities involved as well. There really is an almost overwhelming sense of pride in each track, but more than this is the feeling that was the main animation source of the songs.
The main semblance of this album is an undulating spectrum of negative emotion. There is despair, as with "Alone in the Dark", and the well-constructed piece done with Argentinean Neo-Folk adventurer, Igniis, "El Gato Negro", a musical adaptation and tribute the the immortal Edgar Allan Poe. A great piece of that work is the vocals, which to me sounded like a very calmer-toned version of "Lobo Hombre En Paris" by Rock En Tu Idioma pioneers La Union. But Igniis also pushed the gears in "U-29", a borderline-industrial piece of sort of noisy Dark Ambient that marks a more intense place in the albums development. But before that, the work displays a very melancholic side, with "Niemansland" and my own contribution to this release, a shared work Sven christened ”Symphony of Loneliness". The first of this pair is a warm one, one that might induce mental visions of something like the Elysian fields of ancient Greek lore. The second happens to be an effort on both parts to exorcise a shared bout of anxiety concerned with matters of the heart...
But things take a turn. A big size of the second half of this disc is devoted to the "Krieger" side of things. The biggest offerings here happen to be "Orages d'Acier Act II", a joint effort with Barbarossa Umtrunk that equals the ample production value of the album's second track, "Sturmwarnung", and the epic four-way collaboration between Sven, Baron Von S, Gr Mateo, and everyone's good buddy, Marco Grosso, "IV Schattenkrieger". A twelve minute joining of forces that travels is so many directions, its difficult to tell where it will take you, but it is the best melting together of almost all the other elements that came and went before it... Then the droning, semi-tense stepping aside that is "Flashback" makes the closing transition into an very tender and also mature remix of Sven's "Falling Down"...
This album is certainly something special, but the worth it has to the persons involved might never be fully comprehended by the listener, though everyone certainly hopes it is respected. The were many elements of fate involved in the making of this album, I can surely attest to that.
It is a wonderful notion to all of us that we all had something or other in common before this came together, but the term "full circle" applies to us just as much as the general camaraderie and development of a musical brotherhood does.
This is a physical release limited to 150 hand-numbered copies.

ARTIST STATEMENTS:

SVEN PHALANX:
SCHATTENSPIEL spent overall one year to finish the album SCHATTENKRIEGER. We imposed an obligation to ourselves: When someone listens to the album, the music has to be so mystic and catchy, that you want to hear it again and again. We decided to produce it in that way we ourselves would
like to hear it many times.

Then we had the problem with the lack of time, because we all work or study in our normal lives. The former Project PHALANX FEAT. THE WHITE RABBIT grew up from two to four band members, and so we all decided to re-name the project Schattenspiel in 2010.

The Songs of "Schattenkrieger" are very private, we tried to assimilate our personal experiences, and we do not want to wait on typical clichés concerning our styles of music. We all had blows of fate during the time of working on the album. The music is our way of letting off steam. That's why we built up Schattenspiel. No politics, just music.

While creating the album, we wanted it richly colored, and so we collaborated with other musicians, too.

We want to thank Barbarossa Umtrunk, Igniis, Kazeria, Rex The Ninth, Andrea R. & Nicole W., Fiedler! and our label UFA Muzak.

Carpe Noctem.
SCHATTENSPIEL.

IGNIIS:
I think working with "split" songs is a very exciting option, and in turn quite complex. It is not easy to get the mixture of different musical styles to blend correctly and fluently. That is the challenge. One must have his head open to a wide range of sounds, and put aside the elitism that adheres to music nowadays. It's very comforting having participated all together with other musical projects in these songs.

BARBAROSSA UMTRUNK:
Barbarossa Umtrunk & Schattenspiel have begun to work together with the song "Sturmwarnung", which is a remix of the song "Thule Gesellschaft", originally released on the CD-Split of the same name by Seuchensturm & Barbarossa Umtrunk for the SkullLine label. Baron Von S & Sven Phalanx, the two respective leaders of BU & Schattenspiel have decided to continue working together regularly for some tracks in the future. Many other collaboration tracks have been done, and BU has done his own remixs of Schattenspiel's original songs "Falling Down" [which becomes "Falling Moons"] , Aus der Tiefe ["La Montagne du Califat"] and Aufbruchstimmung ["Le Centre Supreme"], and from his side, Schattenspiel has done his own remix of BU's tracks "Winter's Reign" and "Orages d'Acier" [both renamed "Act II"].
The two bands have always kept working together for several compilations: the song "Tell-Tale Heart" based on Edgar Allan Poe's short novel, has been released on V/A "Tales of the Grotesque & Arabesque" for Q23/Notariqon & "Vive le Quebec Libre!" will appear soon on the new SkullLine Anniversary compilation. One tribute song in memory of Mishima Yukio, the last Samurai called "Sun & Steel" has been done recently, and also the track "IV" which is a 4-way collaboration track created with Ouroboros, Igniis, BU and Schattenspiel.
Currently, Kazeria, Igniis, Barbarossa Umtrunk and Schattenspiel are working together on a conceptual CD based upon the historical figure of Vlad Tepes and BU and Schattenspiel have decides to re-release all their tracks in common on "Tatenokai", a Split-Cd that will be released in a few months on SkullLine.

ESCUADRON DE LA MUERTE - Hic, Inquit, Debes Habitare

ARTIST: Escuadron De La Muerte
TITLE: Hic, Inquit, Debes Habitare
CATALOG #: MNT105
ARTIST LINK: www.myspace.com/escuadronmuerte
ARTIST COUNTRY: Mexico CABRONES!
LABEL: Maquinaria
LABEL LINK: www.myspace.com/maquinarianet
GENRE: Power Electronics/Noise

TRACKLIST:

1_ ...El horror... El horror... (6:52)
2_ 26 de Diciembre de 1914 (7:04)
3_ Días De Destrucción y Gloria (5:52)
4_ El Principio Del Final (6:23)
5_ Atravez De La Ventana De Mi Junker87 (4:38)
6_ Pasaje Mental 1 | La Casa Arafna (5:33)
7_ Genocidio (8:23)

Though technically a demo, there is nothing about this album that suggests a lack of, well, anything. Matter of fact, this has to be one of the most aggressive and sharp demo releases I've ever heard. Though this work has been cleaned up and been released officially by the Order Of Wolves label based in the UK [www.myspace.com/orderofwolves], this first version should definitely NOT be dismissed or ignored.
The main themes that run through this piece primarily allude to the incitement of industrialized warfare, AKA, World War I. The sound itself specializes in harsh high-end distorted frequencies, with a surprisingly focused array of waveforms that give the album movement on account of the different shapes of the tracks. There are gradual build ups of mood and sound, a very strong feature of the opening track, as well as of the second, which has the album’s best example of Zihr Alphil’s talent with low-end, a shaky bass frequency-oriented arpeggio. As the album progresses, a different strength possessed by the track that proceeded it is included in the next, which then gives you another surprise, then placed ahead.
The two most brutal tracks have to be “El Principio Del Final” [The Beginning of the End], and “Genocidio”, while my favorites have to be the opener and “Atravez De La Ventana De Mi Junker87” [Through the Window of my Junker87], which despite not having harsh noise walls like tracks 3, 4, and 7, shows strong compositional skill, and a more prominent use of synth sounds via loops and a distorted piano sequence.
“Pasaje Mental 1 | La Casa Arafna” carries the more subtle and eerie characteristics of the track before, only with some piercing screeches thrown in which prepares you for the upcoming “Genocide”. There are a good number of Nationalistic European music samples in this album, but not to excess, and about the same quantity of samples that are of voice and single-instrument orientation. Most are heavily distorted, sometimes beyond recognition…
All and all, I consider this one of the strongest debuts I’ve been privy to in my two short years in this scene. Anyone else that had noticed potential in this young man’s work knows now that they were right because of how much Zihr has grown and progressed only a couple of releases later.

To close, I would like to thank Mr. Alphil for creating the image that had welcomed you when you got to the site! This collage is representative of what my efforts are with this project: to represent the vanguard of a community that, much like the skeletal and deathly motifs, finds its true place in an underground, in shapeless shapes, infinite in their defiance of material form.

DOWNLOAD LINK: http://www.archive.org/details/mnt105

ARTIST STATEMENT:
"Hic inquit debes habitare" [here is where you'll live] is the name of the demo [and album] where I put my first energies into composing my sounds. It was around the month of September [maybe little before, maybe a little after] that I created my first song "Genocidio", inspired by WWII, having grand tension and violence in it, while I was drinking rum!
This album is in general inspired by some episodes from WWI and WWII. Some of these are based around the fictional creation of history. Of course, it happened, but not as it was told.
It was published by Maquinaria, an Argentinean net label, and afterward was published in physical form by the label Industrial Heritage [a.k.a. s.t.a.u.b., Open Wound, Order of Wolves], the label owned by Trev, member of The Grey Wolves.
The decision of having two different versions, one free and another complete, was made because I know some people don't have money to purchase music, but they want to have something from their favorite bands or artists, or just to listen to it, and later buy it. This is why it is published officially in both places. Of course, if you get the physical version, is good because it shows that you want to have some physical evidence of your beloved music… or sick and destructive music… well, as you wish to consider it. Having the physical album also shows the label that it was a good decision to publish that artist.

Currently, SkullLine will be publishing a split album by
ESCUADRON DE LA MUERTE + SIEGE entitled “Adel”, a split with huge sounds and great, strong force. It cost us, Sergio [Siege, Vintras] and I some blood, sweat, and tears to create it, but it is finished… wait for it…
I have done collaborations and splits with such musical projects as Psychaotic, Eldar, Siege, Argentum, Ordo Larima Christi. I am currently collaborating with Nuevo Ideal Nacional. Many thanks to my people!
I also wish to give thanks to all the people who publish me in their labels… Trev of Industrial Heritage, Peter of L.White records in Germany, Pascal of Zero Tolerance in France, Nicolay from UFA Muzak, Russia, and Team of Maquinaria netlabel in Argentina.
And last but not least to the people that listen to Escuadron De La Muerte and spreads these sacred sounds, and special thanks to Rex for this review, muchas gracias carnal!

The principal basis of this or any of my following albums was, and will always be DEATH as a sacred energy, entity, idea, and the absolute. This inspiration is drawn from murders, crimes, war, natural death… Death as itself is the mysticism of life.
Naturally, it's the reconfirmation of life.
Above it all is Death.
Cheers.
Francisco/ESCUADRON DE LA MUERTE

The Kingdom is Nigh

Welcome! This is a site dedicated primarily to reviewing material from Net Labels, posting worthy news, and helping to support those who have decided to share their art electronically. The name of this site alludes to the nature of these releases, and their lack of physical form. Though my goal is to prioritize the institutions that let the world have free musical art, this site has no prejudice toward actual physical releases. ALL are welcome.
Here, the focus is mainly Noise, Power Electronics, Dark Ambient, NeoClassical, and of course, anything else from the Post-Industrial community that is worth sharing.
There are no scheduled decrees here, all contributions that I choose to remark upon will be posted as I complete them.
As I begin, I would like to thank my good buddies Malakhi and Sage form the soon to be closed Heathen Harvest. Without the extraordinary dedication of these two, the past two years of my life would have been some rotting limbo indeed. They opened the door to the true Industrial underground for me, and helped pave my way to where I am now. You guys rock!
Thank YOU as well for dropping by! For submission inquiries, feel free to email me at industrialpenisnine@gmail.com, visit my music page on myspace at myspace.com/rextheninth,
or on facebook at facebook.com/ratafour
Your faithful servant,
Hossein Raul Chavez