Lustmord - Metavoid (2001)

This was my introduction to Dark Ambient music. A crucial experience that slightly altered my perception, as if I'd found an answer that had previously eluded me.

Brian Williams has been recording as Lustmord for 30 years. He IS Dark Ambient. After a stint in SPK in 1982, he delved deeper and deeper into a distinct horror / Sci-fi soundscape formula culminating in a successful career as a film sound artist in Hollywood.

Metavoid is rather different than most of his work, as it is quite symphonic. A most accessible work that could easily have been a film score. Gently unsettling, its more the fog of darkness as opposed to his usual terror and confusion as though actually being in the belly of the beast. Don't misunderstand, with titles like "The Ambivalent Abyss", "Blood Deep In Dread" and "A Light That is Darkness", this is no cakewalk but simply a good place to start for anyone interested in the genre.

The bulk of his discography is extremely demonic and unsettling. Though rarely abrasive, his work is so dense with corrupted tones, incantaions, tibetan horns, bullroarers, and chanting that it makes me feel as if I'm about to be sacrificed at some evil mass. Incidentally, His first live performance in 25 years was at The Church of Satan's high mass observance on (06-06-06). So lets go plodding through the viscous aural crimson waters like in that dream you had once where you were being chased by a specter but couldn't get off your knees. Creeped out yet?

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Frumpy - Frumpy 2 - 1971

This is 70's German Progressive Hard Rock at its finest. That statement may not mean much to some of you reading this but there was an extraordinary amount of creativity manifested in that scene. Check out the German television program "Die Deutschrock Nacht" and you'll understand.

Frumpy’s second album consists of four lengthy tracks, ripe with swirling and busy keyboard wizardry, guitar that is sporadically interspersed to be a mere additive, strong bass playing obviously influenced by Holger Czukay, and tasteful subtle driving drumming matched with the oddly charming sound of Inga Rumpf’s raspy and hoarse singing.

This album is is an example of the impact American and British Hard Rock had on Germany and how this band managed to utilize that influence while incorporating their own distinct Krautrock originality. Jeff Beck, Jefferson Airplane and Grand Funk join forces with Can, Neu and early Kraftwerk.

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C.A. Quintet - Trip Thru Hell - 1969

I recently discovered this Minnesota Garage / Psychedelic rock band because a friend sent a link to me about the LP selling for $1600 on Ebay. After downloading it I understand why. Freaky acidic jams like "Trip Thru Hell Part 1" and jangly pop songs such as a strange cover of "Micky's Monkey" make for an oddly captivating outing. With flanged drum solos and trumpet lines in the vein of Arthur Lee & Love, this makes quite a trip. Its a nightmarish evening of blotter and confusion you might remember from youth. Elements of everything from Jefferson Airplane to Manfred Mann and from The Pretty Things to The 5th Dimension. If you're a fan of Drug Rock in general, don't sleep on this one. Ripe with heavy riffs, Go Go'ish 60's game show theme vibes, amateur Jazz and a campy Canned Heat feeling bluesy acoustic outro about their passionate drug use makes this bizarre and goofy but infectious.

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Overmars - Affliction, Endochrine...Vertigo - 2005

My favorite underrated French metal band will rot your brain, confuse the hell out of you and weigh heavily on your mind if you manage to endure the 69 minute barrage. This 2005 release is extremely honest and radically brutal. I call it metal out of necessity. Its ripe with Black Metal, Sludge,Hardcore, Horror film soundscapes, instrumental interludes and dissonant atmospherics. Patiently delivering a story that seems infinite, this septet runs the gamut of moods underneath Arnaud's plaintive and growling vocals. Avant-garde intellectualism sides with grace and intensity in the face of their depressive and grisly subject matter. Meticulously produced, I highly recommend listening to this one in headphones. Only...not before bedtime.

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If You're in Asheville on Halloween...