The only artist I was not familiar with was Terbeschikkingstelling, so I was interested to see how this collaboration panned out. Here are the personae dramatis: Rutger van Driel (LÄrmschutz) on trombtronics, mixing, mastering; Volker Störtebeker (Terbeschikkingstelling) on trombone, sousaphone, didgeridoo and jaw harp; Chaos V.G. on noise with scrap and other destructible objects; and Fail on electronics. The way that this went down, according to the liner notes, is that “Original tracks and material by Fail (1 and 2) and Chaos V.G. (3 and 4) and manipulated by Rutger van Driel (LÄrmschutz) and Volker Störtebeker (Terbeschikkingstelling).” Well, this sounds like a lot of cooks (and trombonists) in the kitchen, so let’s dive in and see what they cook up.

We kick it off with "Stepping Stone," which is chaotic as hell. Training video voiceover is mixed with trombone, synth, and random noise. The voiceover is then looped and processed. I like how it all disintegrates over time until we are left with just some horn. “Another Try" is a bit less cut up and more organized as a noise track. Clattering metal, analog squiggly noises, and electronic noises mesh with digeridoo and horns to provide some low end. All of this is covered in a thin layer of static. "10.000 Ways That Won't Work" opens with the sounds of someone with an arcwelder and a bad case of flatulence working in a factory. This gets noisier as the wall of noise takes over. Walls of static and electronic noises interrupted by multiple horns. The sousaphone really shines in this piece, giving it a lovely low end. And when was the last time you heard a sousaphone on a noise album? Truly the heaviest of the brass in all ways. "Give It Up" closes it off by bringing the horns to the forefront. Lots of noise and a jaunty brass tune make for an interesting combination.

If you have ever had someone say that noise is just some dude with a bunch of pedals daisy chained together, give them this release. This is one of those cases where the collaboration makes it work because of the differences in approach. The entire thing is a lot of fun and well worth checking out. This album weighs in at around 20 minutes.

I could find nothing on this artist. Discogs had nothing. Nothing on Bandcamp. No website that I could find (unless they are a shipping service). No link in the notes. Maybe related to fencepost who had “bloom & decay” on IDR? Probably, but still we are left with only the music to go on, and with a title like Doom & Betray, and the fact that it is on Inner Demons Records, I think we both have some inkling of what we are in for. But you never know.... IDR likes to throw us a curve ball every now and then. So let's see how postzone plans to betray us and bring about our doom.

We kick it off with "Doom_II," which is noisy, with the sounds of creaking doors, hammering noises, and explosive crashes of noise. We're off to a good start in uneasy listening. "Betray_IV" is every bit as intense but combines the crashing sounds with a lilting synth line that goes through the track, providing an interesting contrast. This would make an excellent addition to a soundtrack, where you want to create an ominous atmosphere that suggests that whatever you fear is right around the corner. "Doom_I" opens with what sounds like field recordings of rifle shots mixed with a sparse beat that continues throughout. Once again, the atmosphere is oppressively dense and the overall effect has a cinematic feel to it. There is a rhythm to the track that keeps it engaging, as the droning synth ebbs and flows with the pauses in gunfire. "Betray_VII" opens with some windchimes that provide an illusion of respite. However, despite the chimes and the melody that flows throughout, there is still a sinister undercurrent lurking here. Even if it is less intense than previous tracks, one gets the sense that he or she would not wish to be a protagonist in whatever this soundtrack is accompanying. At almost 24 minutes, "Betray_II" has time to develop. It starts off less bombastically than the previous tracks, which makes it that much more unsettling when listening to it straight through. This is heavy drone with just a bit of dissonance and a slight bass rumble underneath. The overall effect is like being in the middle of a very large beehive. They don't want to hurt you, though. In fact, they are generally indifferent to your presence, going on about their work. In some ways, this is an exercise in endurance, but as you listen you begin to hear subtle shifts in the drone. About 15 minutes in, there are some moments of synth melody, but this is quickly overpowered by the beehive noise. All is beehive. The beehive is all. "Doom_V" closes it out with a reprisal of shotgun blasts as rhythm and heavy sawtooth synth drone.

Overall, this is not quite noise and not quite dark ambient. It is, however, heavy and cinematic. In The Nursery had a series of discs that they called "optical music," and I like to think of some of these kinds of releases in the same way. This is a soundtrack for a film that exists only in your head, and in this case the overall feeling is not a good one. If anxiety had a soundtrack, this would be it. Really well done and well worth checking out. This album weighs in at around 59 minutes.

Nightmare Park hail from Connecticut and describe themselves as “Blackened Harsh Static and Noise Walls, sounds sourced from Horror films that I like. . . . HELL IS REAL.” The Bandcamp page also has a lot of albums based on various horror films like "The Shining," "Pet Semetary," "Psycho," "Candyman," and many others. With little to go on, let's dive in and see what Barbara is in for.

This album consists of one 20 minute track titled "They're Coming To Get You, Barbara." I don't know who Barbara is, but she had better watch out. To put this succinctly, this is extremely crunchy noise. It is pulsing and completely overdriven. There are some subtle changes in the sound and you begin to hear patterns in the way that you can start to see patterns when watching television static. If you like harsh noise wall with an emphasis on "harsh," this will be right up your alley. This album weighs in at 20 minutes and is limited to 42 copies.

For those of you unfamiliar with this artist, Fail is the work of Dan Fox, the man behind Inner Demons Records and the hardest workin’ man in noise music. His pedigree is well known, so let’s dive in and see what he have this time.

"160227B" kicks off with what sounds like heavily distorted vocoder and high-pitched feedback noise. Rumbling noise comes in to join the feedback to provide some balance. This then shifts gears into a rumbling ride with a synth pulse that rings out like a bass-driven heartbeat as heavily distorted voices run over the top of it all. But don't even try to figure out what they are saying because it is a fool's errand. There is a lot going on here, and I love the kitchen sink approach to noise, so this works well. But it is not chaotic. Rather, it comes across as intentionally constructed.

"160904" is a 20 minute drone-driven work that kicks off with the sounds of air raid sirens before shifting gears into heavy, stuttering drone, which smooths out into some bass drone with incidental noises thrown in and sweeping flanger. This then shifts to grinding noise over pulsing drone. Compared to the previous track, this is downright peaceful. If you like your drone with a little grit to it, this is well worth checking out.

Overall, this shows the versatility of Fail. It is not just harsh noise and it is definitely not total chaos. This is carefully constructed noise that has a goal beyond simply blowing the listener away. Well done. This album weighs in at around 33 minutes.

Fail is the work of Dan Fox, the man behind Inner Demons Records. He records under several names, most notably Fail, Loss, This Is What I Hear When You Talk, and others. Now let’s talk about the title. I love the idea of a metal detector detector, so let's comb the sand dunes and see what we find beneath the surface.
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We kick it off with "I want to streak a nude beach by running around wearing a burqa," which is a 21 minute spacey trip. It totally sounds like there are times where Fox sampled the Star Trek transporter sound. This then shifts into a bass-heavy segment with an actual beat. Yes, a real one. You might even dance to it if you dance slow enough. Or if you are weighed down with a lot of cloth. Hypothetically speaking. Towards the end, it becomes a bit more punishing, with a lot of drone, noise, and pounding beats. There may be some distorted voice in there, but who can tell? And can we take a minute to appreciate the absurdity of the title? In a world that seems to be going straight to hell on all fronts, sometimes the only thing we can do is laugh. As Kurt Vonnegut remarked, "Laughter and tears are both responses to frustration and exhaustion. I myself prefer to laugh, since there is less cleaning up to do afterward." So it goes.

"Pink Freud" closes it off with another delightful title and a nice piece of almost peaceful drone. That “almost” is an important caveat, as the first third is smooth and calm, where it suddenly becomes dissonant and piercing. This then becomes a bit more distorted, but more soothing, like listening to a jet engine fly away into the distance.

Overall, another solid release from Fail, and a reminder that sometimes you just have to see the humor in the world. If you like it noisy, but not harsh noise wall, this is well worth checking out. This release is available exclusively to subscribers and weighs in at around 27 minutes.