WOHRT Records Label Feature

by Janet Willis

WOHRT is a small and true DIY label based in the U.S. and features small run (mostly) cassette and some vinyl runs that feature really unique and obscure acts that tend more toward the dismal, raw, primal, atmospheric deathlike whispering, heavy, and all in all “Mind bending and soul snatching”. When talking about WOHRT it’s finally possible to talk about cult and bare bones black metal without the Burzum reference, in fact, if anything, the sounds of acts like Mexico’s brilliant Kavra rebirth several vile and abysmal styles of extreme music into one.

Kavra, although their limited catalog is sold out, is exactly what many of us need for our bleak survival. They waver perfectly between: the really experimental black metal stuff (Urfaust, Todesstoss, Dead Reptile Shrine); classic raw and obscure black metal (Fimbul, Carrion Wraith, Akitsa, Celestial) with the ultra muddy and woodsy foggy feeling, almost psychedelic in parts as that chainsaw riffs cut through the misty film of distortion corroding the mix into some hollow vault of darkness where it belongs; and dark ambient that combines some of the excursions of Lustmord, the epic 15+ minute haze of “Steel of Elitism and Blood” (fans of acts like Lustmord, Yen Pox, Nekrasov, Desideri Marginis, etc. will go into orgasmic convulsions over this one). Just released and already with about 4 left on the Mexican label/distro: http://tapethereaperrecs.weebly.com/distro.html (Paypal and only about $6), if any of the above makes you squirm and wet yourself with excitement then you really have to grab these before they’re REALLY gone.

There’s even hints of the brilliance of the golden era of Levaithan/Xasthur heard here that make me relive the moments when that stuff really broke boundaries. Any black metal fan in love with the truly supernatural fused with violence, down tuned almost sludge/doom hints, ugly and cold textures and sharp axe blade riffs will be bludgeoned with equal parts shock and joy with Kavra. I’d write an epic review of Extranos Dias de Pandra, but it’s nearly gone so it’d be sad to tease folks about how amazing it really is if they can’t obtain it. I just used this review as an example of the diversity and quality of the WOHRT catalog.

Kavra info:
http://kultodekavra.sitesled.com/
http://www.wohrtrecords.com/

Moloch – Der Schein Des Schwarzesten Schnees (Tape)
Already available, this Ukrainian act continues to astound listeners with his diabolical ranting going back and forth between pure wailing insanity and almost depressing sobbing shrieks, it reminds me of what (I would imagine) an asylum sounded like through opiate withdrawals in the 1700-1800’s. The symphonic keyboard/synth background is more of mood setter, making the songs unravel as scenes from raw underground footage, from the 1890’s of a lunatic fit. The guitar rattles and buzzes, sometime never really playing full riffs, chords, or even an identifiable “melody”, it’s more like an improvised dreamlike manipulation of distortion. The guy practically paints images of drawings in blood on molded and rotting stone/metal cell walls through his guitar work on “Mein Wesen ist eins mit dem Schmerz der Natur” which actually translates to something (my German is really rusty) like “My being (essence of being) is one with natural pain or the pain of nature”, it’s very fucking bleak and amazing to experience this song.

Moloch, for me, takes morbid and almost insanity ridden black metal eons past the Xasthur/Levaithan/Draguar soundscapes and really drives the rusted nail into ones infernally pain soaked soul. Right now I’m on “Dies ist ein Pfad an dem ich dich vor einiger zeit verlor “, and it completely compels me to call my shrink and ask for lock up because I want to experience his “experience”. The use of spoken word poetics, a really basic and very primitive drum machine that is almost very amateur but pulled off so well by the brilliance and depth of the other elements that it would be a disgrace if it were sophisticated, the rain and thunder that almost soak the song, and the raspy hate-filled vocals make this 13 minute storm into a hypnotic and compulsive dream. Within the song the components change from low-end grimy distorted guitar chords to a purely eerie and funereal synth background as the vocals are a coincidental shift from the poetic words to the angry snarls.

Almost everything that comes my way in terms of black metal these days, with few exceptions, gets lost in a pile of files or cds/tapes/7” because I give it a spin or skim through it and it just leaves me empty, so for me to have a collection of new stuff like this inspiring review, it means that it has depth and substance. Things may sound a certain way, but if they can’t make you feel it, they are superficial and not the real thing. The moment an artist stops being felt by the listener and his/her creations turn flat, it’s time for either the artist to move on to something they are becoming and even for the listener to move on.

http://moloch.com.ua/
http://www.metal-archives.com/bands/Moloch/87192

Lutomysl – S/T (Tape)
Due out in about two weeks or so, this solo act from Ukraine, once known as Profane Solitude, brings some substance to melodic back metal that never goes into shoe-gaze but does have a skeletal feel and emotional grasp on the listener like the cold hand of death. The guitar work is really great, it shows a ideal balance between the trebly arpeggio black metal riffing style, thick and full distorted chords, and speed blending with melody but never delving into anything technical or out of bounds. It sounds as though Lutomysl has several guitarists working at once to create the density and drowning substance in the songs, and the solo/melodic work also shows promise. Regardless of mixing, or how it was all put together (which is awesome) the guy still had to create each piece and have it fit with the others, and the result is a flowing stream of frosted frustration and isolation that somehow feels separate from the river of self proclaimed misanthropic muck that brings insult to the reality of what others genuinely have done.

Smoke – Sententiën (Tape)
Smoke is raw black metal from the Netherlands, and although “raw black metal” is a blanket term that can be not only broad but also misleading, this act embraces the raw spirit fully as they actually improvise their entire album with the exception of the lyrics!!!!!! The sound at times is as if it’s being recorded live in one take, which it might actually have been if it’s 100% improvised musically, it’s chaotic, low-fi, rhythmic, and ultimately insane. The album consists of 5 tracks, Sententiën I-V, and you have no fucking idea where one will go after the next, it’s exhilarating.

“Sententiën I” begins the album with something really primitive in production, almost reminding me of a really badly dubbed copy of say Black Vomit/Raperack/Wormsblood where it has that brilliant Circle weirdness and sounds like it was recorded in a tin can at times. The entire song is very lo-fi, almost as if recorded on a tape that was recorded over so many times that you can actually still pick up the previous recordings and the sound is so muddy and warped that you almost need a PA system to get the volume up enough to pick out every detail.

“Sententiën II” starts out as abrasive lo-fi punkish black metal with shouted militaristic, almost power electronic/industrial vocals coming out from beneath the clutter and clanging of the band, but one never knows what they will do halfway through. Toward the end, about ¾’s of the way through they bust out a full on punk shred thing and do this “push and pull” with the tempo as if you’re going through time warps, you slow down gradually and then go back up to speed, it’s trippy.

At times I think of Faust doing a satanic and lo-fi interpretation of black metal when I listen to this album. Songs like “Sententiën III” sound angular and even claustrophobic then they switch gears halfway through to obliterating skeletal single guitar buzzing and pissed off gargling vocals like some inhuman beast screaming out in misery. This album is a blast to listen to, it’s just so unlike anything else, but will really appeal to fans of: Akitsa, Wormsblood, Black Vomit, Blodulv, Abruptum, and many other bastardized black metal style acts.

Daemonlord – Godless Prayers (Wohrt Records 2011 cassette)
I’d been looking at this 2011 release on CD recently and now working with WOHRT Records, (who are doing the cassette release) I got to hear it finally in all it’s melodic distortion bombs and razor blade trebly riffing glory and have to say that if the idea of Sacriphyx, early Varathron, early Rotting Christ, early Satyricon with some Darkthrone all mixed into a dark and larynx shredding cocktail gets you hot and bothered then you really can’t pass up Daemonlord’s latest spawn, Godless Prayers. The fucking vocals sound like the guys throat is as dry and parched as the Sahara sands, it’s really clean and deliberate, but just the right amount of filth to keep it in the tombs where it belongs.

I’ve been completely obsessed with Sacriphyx for some time now (along with unusual, old, and or obscure finds) and have to say that with as many metal acts that I write off in two seconds due to lack of substance, especially black metal and now old school death revival stuff, but there’s no getting around Daemonlord’s spell. You get the dark and dismal misanthropic atmospheres but without the symphonic and “sophisticated/cinematic Siskel and Ebert two thumbs up their butt salute” shit.

There’s melodic and swift black metal arpeggios (think Emperor “I am the Black Wizards” main melodic riff) that really rips into you from the first moment on, right here I’m thinking of and listening to the opener “A Breath from the Chasm Within”, but easily the closer “Net of the Doomweavers” and “Train to Nowhere” come to mind with a nice Gorgoroth/Darkthrone buzz and some almost doomy Iommi accents at the end of the riffs. Aside from the melodic tremor felt continuously throughout the album, the riffs feel almost aggressively crusty at times and the raspy dehydrated vocals play well into the early Greek scene and Nordic second wave circa ’90-’94. Sounds, but never recycled /imitated, or barfed up for that purpose.

The production is really crisp, this is analogue here and the sound is monumental!!!!! It’s like a Butterfinger crispy snap, the feel is dense like a storm and violent as black metals roots are firmly founded in, but the use of melodic and rapid maneuvers on guitar, it’s really amazing to experience something that literally moves you physically through speakers. I can’t draw exact comparisons because Daemonlord are just that perfect find that defies all things conventional and labeling because they just do their own thing!!!! In something I can truly relate to: it’s like Simcoe hops: some unique yeast strain but not overly “yeasty”, just “bready with some sourness to it: a deep amber color slightly red, but lacking enough malt character to disturb the bite and redden it further; a strong floral aroma, dense ale body but not stout/porter heavy, and you get something specific and great.

For those of you out there looking for something specific, unique, and classic without it being odd and contrived really must invest in hearing this band. It’s that ideal mix of genuine dark and melodic metal that pleases fans of all genres of the extreme, avoids clichés, captures the desperate and hostile response to mankind but you can’t explain it in words, you just know what you crave and when you hear it, it clicks and the finite elements of the universe become aligned and existing in perfect harmony.

The guitar work is really intricate and well played, even among the fog of distortion you can still hear and feel every ring and buzz, especially on “Written from the Trenches”, a slower paced melodic beast that really emphasizes the guitar work, it sounds as though they have about 3-4 guitarists, a bass player and a drummer, but it’s only two guys!!!!? This song gives me chills and it’s been 90 + degree heat and full humidity here for the last week.

The ultimate guitar work example actually comes during the closing song, “Net of the Doomweavers”. The band really showcases that “I am the Black Wizards” arpeggio that quickly alternates with violent hammer blow riffing at warp speed style, unrelenting and brutal throughout when about halfway through they also pull off a nice brief solo (behind the mix) and wrap the album up in the last 40 seconds with that melodic and brooding intricate guitar work. Well, now that I’m listening to the album for the fourth time all the way through now, the whole album continually does that, and right now I’m on “Storm”, which lives up to it’s name.

It’s almost literally KY intense for my ears, and they not only blend great metal ingredients together, there are also two short instrumental tracks “The Decline” and “Void”, each about 1.5 minutes long and acting as more of a flowing connection between songs as opposed to those out-of-place filler types that tend to feel bumpy and awkward.

I don’t get paid for this stuff, it comes from within and so don’t read this thinking someone gave me something to inspire it and it’s shot out of my ass on command. My time is very limited these days and vanishing rapidly as we speak so reviews are becoming fewer and farther in between and cover only very heavily selected stuff that actually absorbs me unintentionally.

Fans of: Early Varathron, Rotting Christ, Sacriphyx, W.A.I.L., Hail, early Satyricon, early Emperor, early Gorgoroth, Burzum, Darkthrone will more than definitely enjoy this album.

http://www.myspace.com/daemonlord1
http://WWW.WOHRTRECORDS.COM/