Out on September 8th is a brand new label sampler from the fine Cold Spring label. “Arise – A Cold Spring Sampler” is being released as a 2CD in gatefold ecopak and holds 33 tracks.

“Arise” is the first sampler in this 20+ years old label sampler series since the “Earthen”, which was released in November 2018. Included is material from Cold Spring’s current and forthcoming releases covering industrial, esoteric, dark ambient, noise, ritual, drone, doom metal, experimental, electronica, or yet dark soundtracks.

Included is work from Kollaps, Llyn Y Cwn, Khost, Jagath, Trepaneringsritualen, Coil, Merzbow, She Spread Sorrow, Frank Hall, Dead Voices On Air feat. Cevin Key, Lull, Mz.412 , The Circular Ruins And Mystified, Common Eider, King Eider, Colossloth, We Be Echo, George Fenton, Kristian Eidnes Andersen / Lars Von Trier, , Himukalt, Sonologyst, Satøri , 400 Lonely Things, Tunnels Of Ah, Sleep Research Facility, Burial Hex, Tenhornedbeast, Fm Einheit / Lee Ranaldo, Spk, Oleg Karpachov, Drew Daniel / John Wiese, La Breiche,
Neil Chaney, Gp-Orridge & Dave Ball.

Check out the tracks below. Warmly recommended!

Bernard - Side-Line Staff

Chief editor of Side-Line – which basically means I spend my days wading through a relentless flood of press releases from labels, artists, DJs, and zealous correspondents. My job? Strip out the promo nonsense, verify what’s actually real, and decide which stories make the cut and which get tossed into the digital void. Outside the news filter bubble, I’m all in for quality sushi and helping raise funds for Ukraine’s ongoing fight against the modern-day axis of evil.

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Birmingham (UK) duo Andy Swan – Damian Bennett set up Khost in 2013. Damian explains the name of the project had a strange shroud’ feel to it, like a presence. Khost is a city in Afghanistan so in the end it sounds a bit the same as acts like Boston, Chicago, London, Berlin and Nazareth. Damian Bennett felt they all seemed to be autonomous and just generated a vibe more than anything literally city-related. Andy Swan first read about the Afghan city of Khost in a CIA book and it immediately hit him as evocative and exotic and yet slightly threatening in a non-specific sort of way. It has an air of unease about it. It’s really hard to put your finger on it which suits the sound of Khost really well. Khost this year released the album “Buried Steel” on Cold Spring Records, which sounds to me as their most accomplished work to date; an album filled with overwhelming, monstrous sound treatments and carried by a rough production. It’s a work that can’t leave you unaffected so I talked about it with both members.

(Courtesy by Inferno Sound Diaries)

Q: I noticed you’re hailing from Birmingham, which is a town where numerous bands and artists dealing with very diversified music genres have been established. What has been the impact of it all on your interest in music and starting to experiment yourself? And what’s your connection with JK Flesh/Godflesh?

Damian: I grew up loving acts such as Wizzard, The Move and Moody Blues, all of which are entrenched in the spirit of the city. Later bands like Au Pairs and Steel Pulse… if you know the latter, you know of Handsworth where I used to live. We love Birmingham rock, punk, metal, glam, reggae, D&B, house… from clubs to unofficial anarcho-punk. We love venues like The Asylum and I personally love Newtown and Aston. Sabbath would rehearse in the community centre there.

We both have connections to Godflesh over decades and I was really proud to have worked on music in Avalanche studio, and to play like in Techno Animal… Justin on guitar, Kev on sax, was insane. Plus touring with Godflesh in the depths of Winter, was badass.

Andy: I was born and raised in Birmingham. I left school at 16 and immediately went to work in a Birmingham factory which had a massive effect on me. Birmingham back then had a more lived-in sort of feel which it doesn’t seem to have these days -it’s all plastic and shiny which I hate. It used to have a lot more soul but it’s devoid of that in some ways now.

I was in a band called Final with Justin from Godflesh back when I was 15 or so. We go back a long way!

Q: What means Khost to you and what did you originally tried to express/exorcise?

Damian: I love the possibilities the Khost vibe/temp/mindset presents. I don’t of many acts that have done as much wide-ranging material as we have… this year alone, “Buried Steel”-album –plus videos for that, “Steel Veil”-book, “23_12”-compilation which is ongoing and another project with a USA band which is in the works.

We comprise super heavy riffs, tones and electronics –such as “Intravener” –multi visuals on stage, and have many guest artists such as Eugene from Oxbow, Stephen from Wrangler/Cabaret Voltaire, Syan –who has also played with us live –Daniel Buess, Jo Quail.

We also get some pretty hefty swipes in about what passes for modern civilization. Hardcore commentary, just not the same delivery as you would get in punk. Though we obviously love punk and hardcore throughout the decades. I want to say on the latter am a massive Will Haven fan, for their sonics, approach, vibe, lyrics, live… wow.

Andy: I think that Khost is completely genre-free. It allows any sort of expression which is very liberating.

Q: What kind of work did you wanted to accomplish with “Buried Steel” and what have been the different stages you’d to go through to achieve the album?

Damian: Many albums can be a fairly simple journey from A to B. This is not.

Some albums are just a compilation of tracks. This is not. To do the latter would be, for me, to regard a ‘film’ as being a compilation of separate visual segments then just stuck together: if done right, it’s not that at all; it’s a narrative, a continuum under the watchful eyes of a unified team.

We wrote the material immediately starting after “Governance” and it really developed organically over time, with people entering the space and delivering their part. I think the first piece written was “Kent House”.

We had mechanical mishaps on the way such as a reel to reel catching flame –this is an occupational hazard with the band, but would salvage what we could and make something new from the salvaged material: like creating twisted sculptures from burnt wreckage.

Q: You again asked several guest artists to contribute to the album. Tell us a bit more about the input of other artists, which became like a common thread in the different works you’ve released? How does it happen and do you handle some specific criteria to ask other artists?

Damian: For me some of the spoken parts were inspired by interludes and narratives from the past from people such as Gira and Rollins, and loved how spoken interludes worked with the flow of the album, not to mention live… the connection between spoken and sung lyrics was so cool to me. I loved their books too: “Black Coffee Blues” and “The Consumer” for examples.

We would work with the people over time and develop the sound design to work with the material. It develops a lot as you discuss life and ups and downs. One discussion was about insomnia. We have done this since “Buried Steel” too, with people like Syan on “5 Steps Adrift” and Daniela v.k too, check out “Every Single Lie”.

The piece with M. Liebeskind –engineer for Oxbow, Melt Banana, 16-17 -is something from late night phone discussions and is very eerie actually: about two people on a tram talking to each other without moving, like a B&W film, or painting by Magritte, with a feeling of menace. It’s hard to get the same feeling in a musical piece if you follow.

Similarly Stephen from Tunnels Of Āh and his work… but I don’t want to talk too much more as it is down to the movie that plays in the mind of the listener.

I am also inspired by Mary Ocher who works in music in a way that transcends normal ‘songs’. She is awesome live.

Andy: I go back to the early 80’s Birmingham power electronics scene with Stephen from Tunnels Of Āh. He, along with all the other contributors, ‘get’ khost so they know the score immediately.

Q: I’ve always experienced your works as a mix of different influences, but in the end it always reveals a dark, obscure and event tormenting sound! What’s hiding behind this ‘terror sound’ and what inspired and/or drives you to compose this kind of music?

Damian: This connects to the ‘menace’ point, above. If that’s there then there would be the sort of unease that films from a different era presented… as they used old technology like analogue sound, had different acoustics, lighting, film stock, video stock… that could be low budget horror from 70s; “Lets Scare Jessica To Death” for example, it could be certain scenes even in films like “Dirty Harry”, like when he is confronted by the rogue cops in ‘Magnum Force’ in an underground carpark… it could be certain scenes in Polanski films, like “Rosemary’s Baby” when Rosemary realizes that the older couple are not right or normal (pierced ears), or when she’s in the phone booth and someone has his back to her outside… and in his version of “Macbeth” where dawn comes up and the castle is bathed in red light… not to mention scene with Banquo’s ghost! Or it could be overt stuff like “Evil Dead”, Korean/Japanese horror, moments in the early ‘V/H/S’ franchise… or my personal faves, “Paranormal Activity” 1-3. So it’s usually things from unexpected sources.

And the “World At War”-series. The sound/music on that is enough to stop anyone in their tracks.

Andy: Back when I was a kid there was a TV series called “Armchair Thriller” which scared me to death. There was one particular episode that included a faceless nun which was terrifying to me as a young kid. The first movie however that gave me nightmares was “The Wizard Of Oz” which in itself wasn’t a scary film, but had that underlying unease to it which is something that we’re definitely into. Not overtly horrific or scary but disconcerting and uneasy.

Q: Khost definitely is a live project! You already did an impressive number of live performances in very different countries. So I can easily imagine you must have been frustrated –and still are, because of the restrictions due to Covid 19. So what have you been doing during the lockdown? And how do you transpose your sound and work from the studio towards the stage?

Damian: We continue to work on “23_12”, which is inspiring. We did a live to air/stream at beginning of lockdown. We recently did an hour long mix, full of interesting moments. On a personal front have also done a side-project called TRIAL, industrial-thrash-metal.

Andy: We’ve had quite a few shows and festivals cancelled this year which has been a great shame. We have however been able to work on new material some of which will appear on a split EP to be released later this year or early next year.

Khost live is a different beast altogether. We’ve had all sorts of unexplainable occurrences during live shows -lights failing, laptops refusing to boot, sound cutting out, which all adds to the unease.

Damian & Andy: Merci beaucoup!

Inferno Sound Diaries

I have been working for over 30 years with Side-line as the main reviewer. My taste is eclectic, uncoventional and I prefer to look for the pearls, even if the bands are completely unknown, thus staying loyal to the Side-Line philosophy of nurturing new talents.

www.side-line.com

Genre/Influences: Death-industrial, drone, doom.

Format: Digital, CD.

Background/Info: Andy Swan and Damian Bennett are back on track unleashing the fourth album from their Khost project. They got some help from guests like Stephen Mallinder (Cabaret Voltaire, Wrangler), Eugene Robinson (Oxbow), Stephen Ah Burroughs (Tunnels Of Ah) ao.

Content: Khost has accomplished a new sonic assault, which takes off with heavy drones and hard, industrial guitar sounds plus deep, growling vocals. The sound often moves towards the edge of pure noise, but remains accessible. The tracklist features a few, short intermezzos, but globally speaking “Buried Steel” has no relief. From bombastic drum sections in the purest industrial style to echoing drones, the tracks are holding you by the throat. I noticed a few cuts with some more electronic sound treatments while the most surprising passage is the one featuring trumpet sounds (cf. “Judgement Is Infallible” and “A Non Temporal Crawlspace”). The last song is a remix by Mothboy.

+ + + : Khost has already achieved some heavy, blasting works, but “Buried Steel” appears to be their most accomplished work to date. Those sonic terrorists are mixing different ‘heavy’ influences together, creating a monstrous sonic album. I also like some rather unexpected details like the trumpet sound on the aforementioned “Judgement Is Infallible” and “A Non Temporal Crawlspace”. It injects something authentic to the work, but this sound also has something mysterious and cold-like. Khost stands for rough and unpolished work, which is the right approach for this kind of music.

– – – : I think that some cuts could be a little bit more elaborated by injecting some extra sounds, this way reaching something different from other projects dealing with a similar music style. That’s precisely what I like at “Judgement Is Infallible” and “A Non Temporal Crawlspace”.

Conclusion: Khost creates an imaginary state of sonic terror… and I like it! This work is without a shadow of a doubt their best album to date.

Best songs: “Last Furnace”,“Judgement Is Infallible”, “We will Win”, “A Non Temporal Crawlspace”, “Intravener – In Dub Mothboy Remix”.

Rate: (8).

Artist: www.facebook.com/khostband

Label:  www.coldspring.co.uk / www.facebook.com/coldspringhq

Inferno Sound Diaries

I have been working for over 30 years with Side-line as the main reviewer. My taste is eclectic, uncoventional and I prefer to look for the pearls, even if the bands are completely unknown, thus staying loyal to the Side-Line philosophy of nurturing new talents.

www.side-line.com

Genre/Influences: Industrial-doom, death-industrial, industrial-metal.

Background/Info: Hailing from Birmingham (UK), Khost has gained a serious reputation in a rather short lapse of time. Andy Swan and Damian Bennett released some real noticeable productions while they did some massive live performances. The apotheosis probably was when Justin Broadrick (Godflesh) reworked the work of Khost on the “Needles Into The Ground”-album (2016). Khost is now back on track with a somewhat intimate work, which was inspired by some personal drama like sickness and one near-death-experience.

They’ve asked a few guest musicians who by the way are already familiar with Khost. Eugene Robinson (Oxbow), Syna, Daniel Buess and Jo Quail already contributed to the “Corrosive Shroud”-album (2015).

Content: Khost is not exactly music for sensitive souls. The mix of heavy screams, dark and oppressive atmospheres, heavy industrial elements and drones and metal music all together create a rough sonic creation. You now and then will notice some unexpected elements such as a kind of esoteric chants and sweet female vocals.

The entire work remains driven and controlled by hard and merciless industrial-doom & metal music.

The last track is a remix of “Coven” by Adrian Stainburner (Israel).

+ + + : It didn’t take that much time to Khost to become experts in their genre. The music style is pure crossover featuring different influences, which might appeal to lovers of doom-metal music, but still to death-industrial. The sound is constantly recovered with heavy sound layers and oppressive atmospheres leading the listener into a vision of horror. I sometimes get the impression that Khost is starting there where their town mate Justin Broadrick is stopping. But on the other side I also like the few, more sensitive elements –such as the contribution of Jo Quail, running through the work.

– – – : Khost is one of those formations composing music for extreme souls! It means that it’s not exactly the kind of accessible release. Speaking for myself, it took some time to get into the sonic aggression created by this combo.

Conclusion: Khost are truly sound terrorists composing sonic bombs, which can provoke a serious brain damage!

Best songs: “Cloudbank Mausoleum”, “Redacted Repressed Recalcitrant”.

Rate: (7).

Band: www.facebook.com/khostband

Label: www.coldspring.co.uk / www.facebook.com/coldspringhq

Inferno Sound Diaries

I have been working for over 30 years with Side-line as the main reviewer. My taste is eclectic, uncoventional and I prefer to look for the pearls, even if the bands are completely unknown, thus staying loyal to the Side-Line philosophy of nurturing new talents.

www.side-line.com

Genre/Influences: Dark-ambient, industrial, power-noise, experimental, noise, ritual, cinematographic.

Background/Info: A label sampler always offers an opportunity to familiarize with the different bands from the roster. I noticed that Cold Spring is celebrating its 30^th anniversary this year so you can imagine this British label and distributor has a great history. “Pyre” got released end 2016 and features a sonic spectrum from the latest- and forthcoming release on the label.

Bands: Troum, Khost, La Breiche, Skullflower, Penny Rimbaud’s L’Académie Des Vanités, Tunnels Of Ah, Sutcliffe Jugend, Tenhornedbeast, Sun Ra/Merzbow, She Spread Sorrow, Coil, Common Eader King Eider, Trepaneringsritualen, Henrik Nordvargr Björkk, Dave Ball + Jon Savage.

Content: This sampler featuring 15 bands confirms the fine nose of label owner Justin Mitchell to sign original- although often ‘extreme’ artists. Cold Spring is a label for experienced fans of experimental-, noise-, power-noise-, drone-, dark-ambient- and other related genres. This sampler is an exciting mix of different genres, but still a mix between long-time established and recognized artists on one side and a few new, upcoming talents on the other.

+ + + : It all depends of your personal taste and favorite music styles, but globally speaking I like the great diversity on “Pyre”. The tracklist has been progressively built up and finally moving into a brilliant final part with tracks from Troum, She Spread Sorrow, Common Eider King Eider, Henrik Nordvargr Björkk and Dave Ball + Jon Savage. It also remains a particular and I dare to say emotional experience to re-discover the genius of Coil.

– – – : There’s no real minus on “Pyre”, but it for sure remains the kind of music you can’t share with everybody.

Conclusion: Cold Spring is a label that has no longer real surprises for all music lovers familiarized with the label roster, but “Pyre” clearly proves 2016-2017 will be remembered as being a great vintage!

Best bands: Troum, She Spread Sorrow, Common Eider King Eider, Henrik Nordvargrg Björkk, Coil, Dave Ball + Jon Savage.

Rate: (8).

Label: www.coldspring.co.uk / www.facebook.com/coldspringhq

Inferno Sound Diaries

I have been working for over 30 years with Side-line as the main reviewer. My taste is eclectic, uncoventional and I prefer to look for the pearls, even if the bands are completely unknown, thus staying loyal to the Side-Line philosophy of nurturing new talents.

www.side-line.com

Genre/Influences: Industrial, power-noise.

Background/Info: This is a very special work by Justin Broadrick (Godflesh). He totally reworked the last year released album of Khost entitled “Corrosive Shroud”. I guess there are many links between both artists. They’re both hailing from Birmingham (UK) and already played at the same concerts. This is the first Godflesh album that has been released on Cold Spring, which is for sure because of the original Khost-album. Three tracks from “Corrosive Shroud” have been taken while Khost composed an extra cut for this Godflesh work that has been exposed to the sonic treatments of Broadrick.

Content: The work starts pretty industrial-like revealing crashing noises and drones. Quite progressively Godflesh moves towards harder treatments supported with dark and anxious atmospheres plus some ghost-like vocals. Justin Broadrick finally joins a real power-noise inspired sound on, which he added some guitars.

The ‘new’ song entitled “Deathsset” doesn’t sound much different, but totally fits with the global progression running through this work and the familiar Godflesh sound.

+ + + : The work stands for an impressive noise canvas that has been progressively built up until reaching a climax. Godflesh stands for an extreme sonic experience although it’s quite accessible because he can’t be totally labeled as one music genre. There’s a great symbiosis between the industrial ingredients and the great, arsenal of noises. This is a particular release and I can imagine a real privilege for Khost to see Godflesh reworking some of their own stuff.

– – – : I regret there aren’t more songs off the Khost-album that have been reworked into the Godflesh sound formula.

Conclusion: More original than remixes and definitely more creative than cover versions, “Needles Into The Ground” became a kind of sonic surgery transforming the original piece into a new industrial and noise texture.

Best songs: “A Shadow On The Wound”, “Inversion”.

Rate: (8).

Band: www.godflesh.com / www.facebook.com/Godflesh-11374368195

Label: www.coldspring.co.uk / www.facebook.com/coldspringhq

Inferno Sound Diaries

I have been working for over 30 years with Side-line as the main reviewer. My taste is eclectic, uncoventional and I prefer to look for the pearls, even if the bands are completely unknown, thus staying loyal to the Side-Line philosophy of nurturing new talents.

www.side-line.com

Out in a few weeks is the “Needles Into the Ground” vinyl/CD which contains material by the Birmingham based experimental metal act Khost reworked by Justin Broadrick of Godflesh.

The original Khost material has been taken from the act’s second album “Corrosive Shroud”? Broadrick then extracted what he needed for his work whilst in pure Godflesh mode.

In addition to these 3 pieces, Khost has also added a new track. You can order this release on vinyl (available here) and on CD (available here).

You can listen to 2 tracks below:

Bernard - Side-Line Staff

Chief editor of Side-Line – which basically means I spend my days wading through a relentless flood of press releases from labels, artists, DJs, and zealous correspondents. My job? Strip out the promo nonsense, verify what’s actually real, and decide which stories make the cut and which get tossed into the digital void. Outside the news filter bubble, I’m all in for quality sushi and helping raise funds for Ukraine’s ongoing fight against the modern-day axis of evil.

side-line.com