Aesthetic Death

A Gaze Blank And Pitiless As The Sun is the one and only full length recorded by defunct Danish formation Whelm. There was one single EP before (called The Prologue, 2006), and in 2010 the quartet registered their full album.

Once again I will take care of an ‘old’ album, because that’s my way of showing gratitude to a label that cares about music and bands rather than money (though I am sure each single album they will sell, maybe because of this review (?), might be welcomes with open arms; and why not anyway). No, seriously, Aesthetic Death were so kind to offer me this debut of Dutch formation Ortega as part of a hugely interesting parcel, so there is no reason why not to write at least some words about it.

I was extremely confused when I listened to The Kudos Of Serial Killing the first time, and actually, right now, listening to this album for the third time, I am still brain-twisted. And when I read some info about this project on Aesthetic Death‘s home page, it didn’t quite help me to understand what was going on. But I think it’s charming to be submerged to the unexpected.

For quite some time, Haiku Funeral please / irritate humanity with quite disturbing collections of Aural Creation / Destruction. Via Hikikomiri Records, the band released two albums before, called Assassination In The Hashish Cathedral and If God Is A Drug (seen the titles, this might be somewhat mind-tripping???; so I’d like to suggest you to read the quite unusual and explicit lyrics and you’ll have an idea).

Sometimes you get confused for a reason you didn’t expect. This was the case, for my concern, when receiving a copy of Walk Through Fire’s Hope Is Misery. Reason? That crazy artwork, for Odin’s sake… I’m not sure if I like it (I think I am not truly a ‘fan’ of this kind of visuals), but it surely focuses on depression, pain, dejection, prostration and hopelessness (taken from the collected works of Cihat Aral).

Sometimes you get confused for a reason you didn’t expect. This was the case, for my concern, when receiving a copy of Walk Through Fire’s Hope Is Misery. Reason? That crazy artwork, for Odin’s sake… I’m not sure if I like it (I think I am not truly a ‘fan’ of this kind of visuals), but it surely focuses on depression, pain, dejection, prostration and hopelessness (taken from the collected works of Cihat Aral).

Once again I will take care of an ‘old’ album, because that’s my way of showing gratitude to a label that cares about music and bands rather than money (though I am sure each single album they will sell, maybe because of this review (?), might be welcomes with open arms; and why not anyway). No, seriously, Aesthetic Death were so kind to offer me this debut of Dutch formation Ortega as part of a hugely interesting parcel, so there is no reason why not to write at least some words about it.

‘Mekigah is an effusion of sounds emanating from a dark turbulent vortex… A beautiful blackened bastard child of diverse dark genres’... Does this introduction make you happy? Horny? Anxious? Scared? Or maybe all of them? In that case, I recommend you to read on!

I have always liked what Irish act Wreck Of The Hesperus did in the past. But somehow, I sort of ‘lost’ them after their split with fellow countrymen Mourning Beloveth. But the Aesthetic Death office did offer us the Light Rotting Out album, so there is no reason not to review this master piece, despite being ‘old’, i.e. released almost four years ago. It’s not because I am such a sweet human entity only; I just think that good stuff deserves what it deserves (if you know what I mean).

Stu, the guy behind Aesthetic Death, knows how to make me happy. Just send me the second album of Russia’s trio Goatpsalm and I start smiling (the sardonic way, evidently)!