Happy New Year and such

All right, year end blah blah, new years blah blah blah. 2010 was pretty "meh" but at least it was better than 2009 right? Fuck that year.

I am going to take this opportunity to promote all the shit I will be working on getting out this coming year

WIRE WEREWOLVES

"Coil of the Pale Mist", split & collaboration with one of our favorite artists, LUASA RAELON. Dark ambient meets dark metal. Recording is complete, just saving up the cash to get this bitch to press.

"From Beyond What Shadows Bring", the seemingly cursed debut full length. 4 years of work and writing so far. The re-recording (yes, "re" as in second time around) is near complete and getting this thing out this year is priority numero uno. Features guest noisers HIVE MIND (in his second collab with us) and THE RITA. Also, featuring jaw dropping artwork from my best freind, the late great Daniel Kraus. If any of you have been to our myspace page you have seen this monstrosity. I'll tell the complete crazy story behind this album when it is finally DONE.

We also have some live recordings, including our infamous "noise" set from the SNAKES ALIVE record release party, that we would like to see the light of day as well.

BACTERIA CULT

"split 7inch w/ ACTUARY". Our first vinyl appearance will be a split release with one of our favorite noisters, LA's ACTUARY. If you haven't heard them, they are a 3 piece harsh psychedelic noise group. Good shit and a great pairing in my opinion. Blue wax! All recordings are done and is going to press soon!! Mr. Dodge will be working on a special painting for this release, and if it looks half as good as our concept ideas it will be the greatest thing ever.

"3-way split CD w/ BLUE SABBATH BLACK CHEER & JUHYO". Stoked for this one, BSBC are AMAZING and fucking scary, and JUHYO rule too so this should be one fucking weird release. I believe all the recordings are done so this should go to press soon too!

other than that, we have a shitload of unused recordings, so hopefully we can crank out another full length this year too.

CIRCUIT WOUND

"4 way split 2xcs" Phage Tapes, a killer noise label I have worked with in the past is going to put out a 4 way split between myself and A SNAKE IN THE GARDEN, SKIN GRAFT, and BOAR. All harsh noise! Should be sick!

"Brains on Backwash Vol. III" compilation. This will make my 4th or 5th appearance now on 905 Tapes? These compilations are pretty killer, all are on long 90 minute tapes and feature a plethora of experimental and noise artists. The clincher though is that there is no track spacing! As in no silence in between tracks or anything. Who starts and ends where? Who am I listening to right now? Who cares! 90 minutes of unstoppable mind melt.

Other than those, no other plans for CW as of yet. Although I have 2 full lengths done, one made for CD, and one specifically made for vinyl. Som of who's recordings even date back to the old 2006 Glendale studios. Maybe they will actually come out? In addition to those I wouldn't mind a few of my older, more limited releases, getting the reissue treatment.

SOLO WORK

I've mentioned briefly that I was going to start a "solo" project, as in play under my own name, Jay Howard, as opposed to CW or another band name. Well, I have a ton of recordings done and they could be sort of described as a mix between some of the quieter CW moments mixed with Bacteria Cult's abstract tendencies. Makes sense I guess. No official release plans yet.

If any random labels are reading this and want to help out with any of the above releases, get in touch!! Or if you don't run a label, but want to help out, then head to my label Sentient Recordings and pick up some jams! Every penny counts! thanks!

Now I am going to do something totally original, that no one else has ever done. Ever. Ready?

BEST OF 2010 LIST

I know I am missing a bunch, but my limited budget this year prevented me from picking up as much music as I wanted to, but I'm pretty positive that the new SWANS and DEATHSPELL OMEGA albums would make the list if I had a chance to hear them yet.

OK, Without further ado, here we go. In no particular order:

Burzum - Belus (deal with it)

Weapon - From The Devil's Tomb

Gnaw Their Tongues - L'arrivee.....

Relay For Death - Birth of an Older, Much More Uglier Christ

Snakes Alive -s/t (OK, so I am biased on this one, whatever)

Dødsengel - Mirium Occultum

Portal - Swarth

V/A - On the Powers of the Sphinx (Nightbringer, Aluk Todolo, Saturnalia Temple, Nihil Nocturne)

Blasphemophagher - ...For Chaos, Obscurity, And Desolation

Admiral Angry - A Fire To Burn Down The World (still biased)

Ex.Order - Shuchu Ryoku

Nekrasov - Extinction



AWESOME REISSUES

Morbid Angel - Formulas Fatal To the Flesh LP. Finally some well deserved wax for this underrated classick. Morbid Angel discography on vinyl that much closer to being complete! Does anyone know if Entangled in Chaos was ever released on vinyl?

Peste Noire - Folkfuck Folie LP. My favorite French Black Metal Hooligans!

Immortal - Pure Holocaust LP. One of my favorite Black Metal albums ever, and the only good album in my opinion by these fucking goons.

Nyogthaeblisz - Apocryphal Progenitors Of Mankind's Tribulation LP. Good to see this get some respectable packaging. So I sold the originals to some suckers on ebay, and bought this one. No razor blades in this edition though. Bummer. The noisecore of the Black Metal world, these dudes make your average raw black metal bands sound like Opeth. So fucked it almost borders on being avant-garde.

Smell & Quim - The Christmas Album + A Sod's As Good As A Wank To A Blind Arse CDs. I was just gonna say the entire Industrial Recollections catalog, but that label started in 2009, so I can't. For those who don't know, IR is a label specializing in reissuing CD versions of ancient Noise and Industrial cassettes from yesteryear. Which is like my favorite shit EVER. Check out the Macronympha or Contagious Orgasm ones if you need proof. I wonder if this label takes requests? Because I could provide 'em with a nice list if need be. Anyways, these did come out this year and I'm stoked because I can't get enough of these English weirdos. They make some of my favorite noise/whatever ever. their early stuff is super creepy but their later stuff is weird and funny. But I love all of it. Blood, Piss, and Shit. Kill it, Fuck it, Then Kill it!

Dismember - Like an Ever Flowing Stream LP. The GOD of Swedish Death Metal albums!! So stoked to get this one on vinyl. Extra bonus points for providing bonus tracks of Carnage (aka Dismember before they were Dismember, featuring Mike Amott from Carcass!) outtakes. EXTRA bonus points for the vinyl sized artwork of Dan Seagrave's masterpiece of an album cover. YES!

Ultra - Roman Holiday LP + 7inch. Another one of my favorite experimental groups. Hard to describe this stuff, but it rules. A truly uncategorizable band, but without being one of those pretentious "look how many genres we can play" kinda bands. The piano parts were always super creepy to me. Maybe I'll just let their bio do the talking: "Experimental/noise US outfit Ultra creates deeply anxious collages of sound and voice in a mixture of fear and beauty. There are some places where they scream their faces off, but mostly it is the nature of the sounds themselves: hordes of insects, demonic sighs, electric buzzes, rumbles, creaking that gets under your skin and into your head, whether you want it to or not." aptly put.



OK, your turn, what were your favorites this year?