Nuclear Attack is a concept album about the devastation of a Nuclear War. This album, in fact, seems heavily influenced by games like Fallout rather by the words of Oppenheimer and, probably, due to the young age of their author.
This story begins with "you cannot win" an intro to "Nuclear War" an almost dance songs with beats, samples and guitar. "The blast" is a noise track based on siren like sinewaves, "All that remains is..." is an ambient track that tied with "the unquiet place" create a long emotional desert based on radio waves and soundtrack like effects (think at the noise of neon), maybe a little too long but of undeniable effect. "The reawakening" moves on tribal-like territories and "The shapes of things to come" takes the same theme of "nuclear war" to close the album with some sort of happy end (?!?).
This album lacks a true direction, SemeiOn has done a good record but revealing all their influences, seeming more like a descriptive soundtrack. When they will be able to synthesize their own sound merging all the good bits of this records, they could be really a band.
Available through http://semi0n.bandcamp.com/

Amadou Sall can be considered a veteran already. In the early nineties he used to play in Treponem Pal, a band that through out a few albums pionereed the crossover of metal and electronics. Way more metal than Nine Inch Nails, more rock oriented than Young Gods, less claustrophobic that Godflesh, yet an original force, the first experiment of this kind coming from France, one of the first in Europe. Collapse formed in 1997, and evolved till this 6th release into something that can be easily filed under EBM in every record store. Their biography cites VNV Nation, and you can really feel a stronger concern on melody comparing with older releases, but still trying to indulge on some form of aggression. The mission is not perfectly executed indeed, the (up)beats are mostly very danceable, the arpeggiator works damn good, but feels like something is missing, and this is about power. Vocals are a bit too rough to be melodic, but yet not too angry. The many guitar samples fill in perfectly but a bit too much in the background, and the whole sound sometimes is a bit spoiled. It's about artistic choices that no one can criticize, but feels like the band is approaching the shores of catchiness and dancefloors with a strong heritage of aggressive approaches in both music and lyrics without knowing how to perfectly deal with it. I would call it a transition record and I'm definitely looking forward the following one because I believe that Collapse can really give its own definition of industrial rock.

Actual Noise is basically the twin label of 20 Buck Spin, a label more devoted to metalcrust, sludge and recently even flirting with drone. The more experimental counterpart now unleashes a new work by K11, a.k.a. Pietro Riparbelli, a talented artist coming from Tuscany region, Italy. As well as the previous 'Voice from Thelema', based on field recordings made in the Alesister Crowley's Thelema Abbey's in Cefalù, Sicily, this time Riparbelli worked in Assisi, Umbria region, in the Lower Basilica, mostly famous for keeping San Francis' spoils. The four compositions featured in the Cd are based on ambient recordings made using short-wave radios. The sounds and signals are enriched with some noises, organ parts and voices, the drones flow following each other embracing the listener in a sort of mystic aura. The nature of the recordings, the places where they come from, and the personal Riparbelli's reserach path related to esoterism, numerology, magic, give this cd a shape that is far from being just some sound manipulation just for music (or anti-music)'s sake. They rather create a charm that makes the listening interesting throughout all 40 minutes, even the ones not into esoteric will feel that there is 'something' more than sound here. The cd includes a video shoot in the Basilica, another way to get into that special environment. If you have the chance it's definitely worth also checking K11 live on stage.

Man, to follow the title: I'm right-handed, but even if I dunno what it means to use your left hand but I know what it means to be: "Left Hand Path"...being a diehard Entombed fan!!!. The last time I happened to give a listen to an Adam Pierce release was ages ago, but I was enamored of some of his songs, above all considering the fact I had a mix-tape of some of my favorite tracks. Some of his old releases were full of reminiscences of post-Reich, post-Glass and sure, post-rock passages, I write this since indirectly this could have brought to some African influences (being minimalist composer deeply immersed in African and eastern serialism/music). The fact I can't say if that's just my personal impression or not but this thing has gone so far that many tracks of this work reminded me of some African musicians and above all Ali Farka Tourè, but not just him. African music then?! No way, it's still american folk-music with this solar "happiness all around" influence but without leaving his musicianship back home and consider on drums we have Doug "rhythm-god" Scharin (Him, June of 44, Loftus...), Caroline Lufkin (Caroline), Meredith Godre (Gregory and the Hawk), plus some other guests. Imagine Mice Parade car crashing for good with Ali Farka and the most folkish Stereolab and the sun shines up on top of the hills. Sometimes I still have that impression that Pierce is always close to reach his best, but he still lacks something, a good work anyway, if indie folk-rock was always like this record, this world could be a better place.

Funny I happen to review this release right after having bought a repress of Hawkwind's classic "Doremi Solfa Tido", not that they have that much in common music wise, but there's no doubt they both deal with space, earth and other astral amenities. This release on Record Label Records is a kick ass object itself: it consist of a small box-jewel box that contains the cd and the booklet and the graphic of the whole release reminds me of ancient drawing explorators were drawing when coming back after one of their many journeys. In opposition to what my incipit may suggest, this is a particular electronic release that made me think to some Warp records heroes during the "artificial intelligence" days, but "across time and space" is heavily influenced by some religious, crepuscular ambient music and by some modern electronic artists. I'm putting the emphasis on this "modern" influence since Nommo Ego is far from those wishy washy revivalists trying to pass you some old ideas as new, if you take care to the particulars, and you listen to the rhythmic sounds he uses I dare you to tell me this guy present to his time. I think a title like "across time and space" may give you a good idea this music is probably meant to travel and during several listenings that's what I've done sat back on my sofa and wandered across time and space. At the same time don't take it as an hint to think this' one of those monumental releases dealing with eternity and with ancestral dreams and so on, despite its nightly shade this work has much more to share with melancholy than with a "lost in a forest" kind of experience. This is definitely what I call an inspired release, give it a try.