HEATHEN HARVEST
Music invokes debate. Our own personal loves driving us to stand up and be counted. The arguments forever ongoing as we strive to impose our own perceived excellent taste upon others whilst taking a perverse glee in knocking down any suggestions that dare go against our own individual selections. Thankfully we live, in part, in a fairly civilised part of the world. In certain other countries these arguments could end up with someone receiving a knife in the gut or a bullet to the head. Which takes musical fanaticism to the ultimate level. Dying for the love of music. A very strange reason to shuffle off the mortal coil.
Then you listen to a release like ‘brakeHEAD’ and the idea of bleeding for your obsession doesn’t seem so strange after all. I’ll quite happily spill the odd quart of claret to defend my corner where this release is concerned. Just a quart mind. Even I draw the line sometimes. But before I get to the main body of the review…which is after all what you are waiting for…here’s four short personal stories that are all linked with ‘brakeHEAD’. Enjoy:
a. When writing for another website I had the distinct honour of reviewing the three track demo version of this release. The effect of hearing the music the artists had , so far, created put me into spasms of sheer delight. I just couldn’t stop myself playing it. I wrote my piece and concluded it by stating ‘ "BRAKEhead" is a phenomenally majestic piece of dark ambience and noise that will leave you totally awe struck. The visceral raw power of the electronics is a thing of untamed beauty that heralds in a new era by which others must now be judged against’. And I meant every word. Still do.
b. After the official release of ‘brakeHEAD’ came out a certain mail order company used my words in their catalogue description of it to help sell it. Not that ‘brakeHEAD’ ever needed that help. The pedigree of the release was never in any doubt when you realised who was behind the release. Kristoffer Oustad of the black metal band V:28 and Peter Nyström of Megaptera…and so many other legendary acts. Allow yourself a sharp intake of breath. Now…breathe out and…relax.
c. I ended up contacting Peter for his contribution to the ‘Review of 2006’ piece…which if it hasn’t appeared by now will be appearing on this website very soon. He chose as one of his selections a Megaptera release. A fine choice. But I reminded him that although that was a worthy selection he had unfairly overlooked ‘brakeHEAD’. His reaction was typical of this unassuming genius. He had forgotten about it!! What a fantastic response. The monumental recording of the year and it had slipped his mind. Amazing.
d. It will therefore come as no surprise to you that ‘brakeHEAD’ was my own choice for Record of the Year 2006. Nothing else came even close to matching it.
The vignettes have been told. My views already apparent. ‘brakeHEAD’ has redefined and rewritten the masculine muscle Industrial music handbook. Their jet stream leaving everyone else trailing far behind in their wake. The four tracks, 38 minutes, of colossal sounds were skilfully crafted from analogue synths, drum machine, processed guitar and additional effects and samples. The basic tools may be the same as everyone else’s but its how you use them that ultimately counts. Hearing ‘brakeHEAD’ is the sonic equivalent of peering into Joseph Conrad’s ‘Heart of Darkness’ and coming through the insane journey alive at the end. ‘Exterminate all the brutes!’ The music searching and reaching for a climatic ending as its merciless assaults pounds and grinds the ears in ever increasing nerve shredding ways. The evil intent of the barrages showing through even the quieter passages. ‘The horror! The horror!’ The dying words of Kurtz reinterpreted in all their glory by the final musical notes of the recording. Apocalypse 2006. Coming to a home near you soon.
Hyperbole? Not one word of it. Never. ‘brakeHEAD’ totally consumes the soul and mind. Makes you glad to be alive and part of the aural experience. I’ll gladly take anyone on in an argument over this release. Until you’ve lived through it, experienced it first hand, your words are worthless. Not worth the waste of air you expel. You know nothing. I, on the other hand, live for this recording and will defend this release to the bitter end. Just remember…never take a knife to a gun fight. I’m armed and fucking dangerous. Just like this release.
RE GEN
Rating: 4/5
Masterfully stark and rhythmically charged post-industrial soundscapes by this Scandinavian duo.
The music behind the duo of Peter Nyström and Kristoffer Oustad is not light, it's not easily digestible, grooving, or even the type of thing you'd play for uplifting the spirit. Nope, nothing could be further from the truth. This music is sinister, dark, entrancing, and driven. The brakeHEAD EP is the soundtrack of traveling in some sunless underground military-industrial complex a la Half-Life. From the very start of the first track "biTer," the sound of distorted feedback noise is molded and shaped, keeps getting bigger and evolving so much to the point that you are engulfed in the darkness all while being lulled into a trance by the tribal reverberated drums. These aren't techno beats or dance grooves. These are big heavy slab kicks, oil drum rhythmic toms, and just the industrial drum sounds that made all the rivet-heads rummage through the junkyard to complement their drum machines. In an era where the term "industrial" is more of a fashion statement, these guys are truly making contemporary post-industrial music in the true sense of the genre. They craft each stark composition with layers of deep, low, rumbling drones, noise sweeps, and clanking drums along with the AM radio effected dialogue here and there. The ambience is set by the swelling noises and the scrapyard drum beds that act as a focal energy point to carry each track as they build up and fall down into broken rubble. Musically, the only comparison would be to take Mark Spybey and Chris Vrenna and lock them in a dark room for a day; the end result would be something similar to Kristoffer Nyströms Orkester. This is one of the best new releases in the dark post-industrial genre that I've heard in awhile. Crisp production, well done drum beds that accompany these sunless aural nightmares is what really sets this CD above the endless sea of experimental noise music. This duo manages to keep a consistently bleak soundtrack on all four tracks and to keep their own identity, not trying to sound like anyone else. This is a highly recommended release for any fans of post-industrial, dark ambient, and experiment noise music.
SIDE LINE
What ever started as a kind of post-gig improvised session between Peter Nyström (Megaptera, Negru Voda) and Kristoffer Outstad (V:28) now ends in an official CD release on Malignant Records. Both artists achieved 4 tracks, starting with the mind-blowing “Biter”. This is an impressive industrial piece that goes on for 8”. The mix of ambient moods and industrial chainsaw rhythmic is simply sensational and reminds me to pure industrial collectives of the 80s. This piece has been elaborated in a genius way, reaching a climax! After this exceptional debut-cut both artist seem to loose themselves in the long durations of buzzing soundscapes. Both pieces are quite diversified, but can’t surprise the same way. The last cut “Asphalt flowers” is again a move into the heavier realms of industrial music. This is just another incredible piece of neo- industrial sound. This duo excels in the composition of industrial music in the truest tradition of the style while their ambient parts are less convincing!
SOUNDSECT
Rating: 4/5
Kristoffer Nyströms Orkester was birthed from the minds of Kristoffer Oustad (V:28) and Peter Nyström (Megaptera). After some successful collaborative sessions between the two artists, they decided to work on an album. brakeHEAD is the result.
The tone of brakeHEAD is set from the opening track “biTer (deep cut edit)”. A wash of sonic noise gently breathes over a continuous ritual drumming. The piece is one that slowly builds, with some ambient electronics swirling in for added affect. Near the halfway mark of this 8 minute track the beats start to change slightly as some mildly distorted samples start to find their way out of the drone to reach the surface. The track plateaus as the noise moves to the background and a sense of calm is slowly formed.
This tranquility is quickly dispersed when “high_level_input - slow_speed_output (well done)” unleashes its caustic wall of machines gone awry. As the army of machines march away, the listener is left in a cold and dank abandoned factory where he is only joined by the sounds of running water and the occasional clang of metal. He can still hear the wail of the machines far off in the distance as someone futilely tries to repair this damaged place.
The 19:32 epic “extenDEAD konnektion (shortended diskonnekted version)” is a constant rolling of chaos that is built up, then restrained and pulled back only to have another pattern of noise form and go through the same cycle. This piece is a long string of vignettes that are connected by their textures and auras. Eventually, a serene atmosphere rinses over the last section of the song as it slowly dissipates into the æther.
“asphalt flowers (kontinentalische norswedische ordnungsverkriftung mix)” closes the album. On this track I hear Kristoffer Oustad’s influence the most. The guitars are strongest and at their most discernable. The gloomy sound is only added on by the samples of Iraq war news clips the fade in and out of the distortion.
Even though brakeHEAD is a fairly short release, clocking in at just over 38 minutes, it is a damn strong one. If this release didn’t slip through my fingers last year it would have easily made it in my own personal Top 10 of the year list. Thankfully Nyström and Oustad are back together in the studio working on another album, hopefully it will be as mindblowing.
INK 19
It's easy to imagine brakeHEAD being born during a post-gig improvised session by Scandinavian noise artists Peter Nystrom and Kristoffer Oustad. The sounds generated throughout the album's four tracks are nervy and frazzled, the result of too much narcotics consumption, but they all also inevitably give way to the calm fade of a new day breaking and sleep following. It's an odd combination of sounds, and it makes for a very compelling listen. The disc opens with "biTer," which feels like a field recording of after hours at a foundry. Sinister metallic assaults and spooky synth undercurrents haunt every rusted second of this track, careening through the metalworks at an unstoppable gait. It's worthy of soundtracking the climax scene of The Terminator.
"high_level_input_slow_speed_output" is introduced by blistering white noise and a complete lack of melody. Only a chugging rhythmic pulse beating deep below the surface keeps it remotely in the realm of song. A slow fades into silence and arrhythmic clanks of metal on metal usher the track out.
The album's 19-minute centerpiece, "exenDEAD konnektion," is perfectly in keeping with the 1980s horror film soundtrack theme the duo has pushed on the first two tracks. Oscillating synths and low rumbles of aggressive guitar noise interact with a variety of spooky effects thrown into the mix while voice samples thread quietly though the noise. The voices continue on "asphalt flowers" where heavy echo and an ominous, sustained chord cuts through the molten effluence left clinging to this track after it's been scoured clean.
Although it's bound to be borderline unlistenable to most of the public, brakeHEAD is what contemporary industrial music should aspire to reach. It's frightening, abrasive, despondent and in some ways surprisingly calming. It's music that feels comfortable with the image of dark surroundings and black leather, but is far from being defined by the genre's stereotypes.
AUDIODROME
Il progetto è la collaborazione tra Peter Nyström (Megaptera, Negru Voda) e Kristoffer Oustad (V:28), il cui incontro ha favorito anche la pubblicazione del live di Megaptera. Il primo vi ha messo le sue improvvisazioni con drum machine e synths analogici, il secondo si è occupato della produzione, del mixing e dell’artwork "d’epoca", che rappresenta maestranze di una non ben identificata fabbrica. È già successo in passato che Peter, spartano anche per quanto riguarda l’equipaggiamento, si sia appoggiato agli amici per tutti gli altri aspetti della registrazione di un disco. Di fatto, questo brakeHEAD potrebbe essere una mutazione imprevista di Negru Voda per come sa essere diretto, rumoroso e spesso caratterizzato da percussioni inesorabili/devastanti, solo che suona in maniera egregia e non lo-fi.
La migliore delle quattro tracce è "high_level_input - slow_speed_output (well done)", che inizia con una brevissima cantilena prima di polverizzare le casse dello stereo, ricreando una specie di catena di montaggio infernale, per poi acquietarsi/inquietarci con una chitarra quasi black metal, processata e posta in sottofondo (come accadrà anche nel quarto pezzo, e qui ci dev’essere lo zampino di Kristoffer). La meno efficace è "extenDEAD connection", troppo monotona nei suoi venti minuti (su 38 di disco!), nonostante sia paradossalmente una shortened version.
Si tratta di un’uscita da prendere almeno in considerazione, per come tenta di dare un senso tragico di apocalisse industriale: una volta c’erano i fiori del male, adesso ci sono i fiori d’asfalto.
SMOOTHER
A collaboration between Peter Nystroms and Kristoffer Oustad, “Brakehead” is filtered analog noise with drone blended in to perfection. Bleak and majestically painted with aural touch-ups this is one of the darkest albums you may encounter. Industrial noise that was recorded with very few overdubbing in the studio. Loud clanging thunderous rhythms sound off in the background as the building crescendo of noise peaks slowly and then refuses to let go. Some of the four songs are abrasive from the get-go, while others build up to something fantastic. Improvisational noise at it’s very best.
GUTS OF DARKNESS
Rating: 6
Malignant a été bien avisé d'éditer officiellement ce CDr extrêmement limité. Non seulement parce qu'il concerne un projet réunissant Peter Nyström (Megaptera/Negru Voda) et Kristoffer Oustad (V:28), deux compères de longue date, mais surtout parce le séisme qu'est "brakeHEAD" n'aurait jamais connu les honneurs du niveau maximal de l'échelle de Richter de nos hi-fi domestiques. Il faut croire que la mienne est masochiste à un point que je n'aurais soupçonné tant j'ai du mal à retirer ce disque de la gueule menaçante de ma platine CD (ou alors il s'agit de moi tout simplement, mais là n'est pas le sujet). Si la base de "brakeHEAD" consiste à faire du neuf avec du vieux, il s'en faut beaucoup pour que le duo d'allumés aux commandes de ce rouleau-compresseur ne soit qu'une énième variation sur le thème imposé par les disciplines de Nyström et Oustad. Industriel de la vieille école certes, mais à la puissance décuplée par la tecnhologie actuelle et un soin particulier apporté aux atmosphères. Le son est limpide et rond, agressif sans être insupportable. Un équilibre extrêmement intelligent dont le point orgue est sans nul doute "extenDEAD konnektion" qui 20 minutes durant parvient à maintenir l'attention en variant les séquences dans une progression assez remarquable. Les murs noise enveloppent sans phagocyter le reste, les rythmiques sont utilisées avec parcimonie et bien qu'assez basiques suffisent à conférer à "brakeHEAD" un caractère épique certain. Interférences, boucles diverse, samples de voix surgissent de partout dans des crescendo/decrescendo malicieux et assaillent sans coup férir ("High-level..." est à ce titre une tuerie). Une collaboration plus que réjouissante, un véritable uppercut dans l'estomac bedonnant des feignasses du genre et LE disque industriel de l'année, rien de moins.
NECROWEB
"Brakehead" hat eine ganz spezielle Geschichte, denn hierbei handelt es sich nicht nur um eine Kolaboration von Kristoffer Oustad (V:28) und Peter Nyström (Megaptera, Negru Voda), sondern auch um ein zum größten Teil improvisiertes Musikwerk. Aus den einzelnen Sessions, in denen die beiden Künstler einfach so drauf los musizierten, sind die nun vorliegenden 4 Tracks entstanden, die vom Aufbau her leicht an Synthesizer-Werke wie "Are You Sequenced" von Klaus Schulze erinnern, musikalisch jedoch eine wesentlich unkonventionellere Schiene fahren. Mit knackigem Bass und ordentlich Noiseanteil katapultiert der achtminütige Opener "Biter" den Hörer in die Industrial-Noise-Welt von Kristoffer Nyströms Orkester. Wer jetzt eine Krachorgie erwartet, wird enttäuscht werden, denn KNO haben sich auch beim Dark Ambient bedient, flechten geschickt Melodien unter die Beats und kreischenden Drones. Das ganze Konstrukt ist überaus rhythmisch angelegt, streut ab und zu auch mal kurze Synthesizer-Passagen ein und nimmt dem Track so die Härte aus dem Noiseanteil. "High_Level_Input - Slow_Speed_Output" ist da wesentlich direkter und aggressiver, setzt auf einen markanten Noiseanteil mit wuchtigen Bässen, um dann abrupt in einer Dark Ambient Passage auszuklingen. Bei "Extendead Konnektion" hingegen wurde der Rhythmusanteil deutlich herausgenommen, die Beats fehlen komplett, dafür gibt es mehr Synthesizer sowie immer wieder an- und abschwellende Noiseelemente über den neunzehnminütigen Verlauf zu hören, dennoch bleibt der Track im Gesamten wesentlich ruhiger als seine beiden Vorgänger. "Asphalt Flowers" beginnt sehr ruhig, steigert sich dann jedoch rasch in aggressivere Gefilde und greift auf ein Konzept des Openers zurück: kreischender Noise, der von einer markant-dominanten Melodieline untermalt und somit leicht entschärft wird.
Mit "Brakehead" ist dem Projekt Kristoffer Nyströms Orkester eine kleine Perle für Industrial- und Noise-Fans gelungen. Angelehnt an die Synthesizer-Musik besticht das Album durch seine, insbesondere für Noiseverhältnisse, enorme Rhythmus- und Melodiebezogenheit. Wenn beim improvisierten Musizieren solch ein gutes Werk heraus kommt, dann stimmt die Beziehung zwischen Musiker und seiner Musik. Wer neben Industrial und Noise auch noch mit besagter Synthesizer-Musik was anfangen kann, der wird um dieses Album nicht herum kommen. Zu hoffen bleibt nur noch, daß die beiden Skandinavier das Projekt weiterführen, es wäre zu schade, wenn die offensichtliche Kreativität von Kristoffer Nyströms Orkester im kleinen Kämmerlein ihr Dasein fristen müsste.
Anspieltipp: Biter
GOTHRONIC
Rating: 8.4
If I were to review this album in three words, they would be 'Short but powerful'. And if this doesn't appeal to you (knowing my background and love for really strong powerelectronics) please go and read something about synthpoop, because ... This album is wicked, raw, brutal and agressive YET it has sincere moments of symphonics and eerie atmospheres.
Kristoffer Oustad (V:28) and the always surprising Peter Nystrom from Megaptera / Negru Voda layed down the basics for this magnificent (malignifent?) piece of work during some collaborative sessions and the outcome was that good that they decided on working on this album.
Four tracks of which three kinda short, yet still long enough to create the atmosphere and one almost 20 minute masterpiece entitled 'extenDEAD konnektion' make it so that you're pinned down in your seat, praying ... Euhm, no ... Hmmm ... Begging for more!
CHAIN D.L.K.
Rating: 4/5
Kristoffer Nystroems Orkester is a Swedish duo formed by Peter Nystroem (Megaptera, Negru Voda, Obscene Noise Korporation...) and Kristoffer Oustad, member of a black metal band called V:28 that I have never listened to. Icy cold Sweden... vintage industrial photos in the layout... Make your bet about how this sounds like... Joking apart, this is a brutal, yet surgically meditated work of punishing beats and scorching noise frequencies, with a top-notch sound quality (mastered by Control's Thomas Garrison at Misanthrope Studio, which guarantees some extra brutality) and a skilful composition. Think of Negru Voda's latest limiting the dark ambient influences to a minimum and emphasizing the cold march-like feel of the rhythmic part (Des Esseintes could be a good comparison too). Not my favourite style in the industrial field, but this is surely as good as it can get. Four tracks, 38 minutes.
BLOOD TIES WEBZINE
Overall Rating: B
Composition: B
Sounds: B
Production Quality: B+
Concept: B-
Packaging: B+
Kristoffer Nystrom’s Orkester is a collaboration with Peter Nystrom of Megaptera/Negru Voda fame and Kristoffer Oustad of V:28, the latter of which is a name unknown to me. What we have here is pretty much what’s to be expected; heavy analog noisy drones, militant industrial rhythms, and the occasional creepy delayed sample all in the true Scandinavian style. This is really a very solid disc that is a little heavier then most of the Negru Voda output with most of the tracks being a bit more droney then usual.
“Biter” opens with a heavy distorted analog power surge that uses a filter cutoff to high effect creating a rhythm, which is then accented and soon lead by heavy industrial drumming. This track, along with most of the others on the release have a heavy CMI style vibe to them which is a formula that really never fails with me. The militant style rhythm sounds a little too drum machine like for me but it’s really right on the edge so I can accept it as a heavier industrial pounding if I listen to it from that angle. The movement in the layered sounds compliment the rhythm well, so it totally works, and is what I would expect from such veteran artists as these. The end of the track brings a sample from the Lynch film Mullholland Drive which doesn’t completely work for me as it reminds me too much of the movie and is about such things as dreams becoming reality. The concept just doesn’t really seem to match with the sounds, which remind me more of heavy industrial scapes, post apocalyptic atmospheres, and torn-up war fields.
“High_level_input – slow_speed_output” has heavier rhythms attached to a forceful noise blast of heavy distortion. About half way through the wall of noise fades out to present some nice eerie ambience of floating melodies and dripping water layered together. Again, I’ve heard this before but it’s solid stuff tried and true so it works.
“extenDEAD Konnektion” makes up the bulk of the album running roughly 20 minutes but this time being more devoid of any rhythmic center though the synth noises and heavy pads can become rhythmic in themselves in a way. As “improvised” as the record is touted to be in the promo sheet it really doesn’t sound that way which isn't a good or a bad thing, but the tracks have structure and that aspect is definitely a major player here because the sounds are nothing new, but very well produced.
“Asphalt Flowers” is my favorite track here by far, why I’m not really sure as it has a similar feel to the others especially Biter, but it has a great melodic line that is tactfully rendered over a simple, sparse metallic rhythm with political echoing samples that all mesh together into what I would consider a “token” death industrial track exemplifying the mastery that Kristoffer Nystrom’s Orkester employs less often then I would like. But this is an excellent closing track that is too much of a teaser, I really wish this was the major track on the album.
Overall you really can’t lose with a release like this, tried and true methods by artists who have released nothing less then solid material. If you need a healthy dose of euro-styled death industrial then I suggest checking this out. It also might be a good starting point for people looking to get into the Scandanavian side of heavy electronic music.
AURAL PRESSURE
(Review of the "BRAKEhead" CDR)
Stop the presses! Hold the front page! Aural Pressure has a scoop. Ground-breaking headline news. Read all about it! Read all about it! With your interest suitably awoken it has to be said that this is the first…and probably last…pre-release that will ever be reviewed on this site. The line has to be drawn somewhere so it starts and ends here now. Yes you read that right…this is a pre-release. To be issued on the Malignant Record label sometime in 2006...date to be confirmed…this review acts merely as a warm up to get the juices flowing. When you eventually get your grubby mitts on a copy have a mop ready. You’ll need it.
Kristoffer Nyströms Orkester is a duo comprising Kristoffer Oustad of the Norweigan black metal band V:28 and Peter Nyström of Megaptera / Each Dawn I Die / Instant Cold Commando / Negru Voda / Obscene Noise Korporation (I think that’s them all) fame. Comprising 3 tracks "BRAKEhead" is a slightly more caustic Son of Megaptera and amalgamation of all the good bits from all the aforementioned acts. The first track ‘biTer’ sets the tone perfectly with a sub 8 minute piece of a swirling whirlwind of dense electronics over a rapidly pounded beat and fuzzy echoing sample. The gauntlet laid track two, the 5 minute, ‘high level input’ starts off as far harsher affair where the wall of claustrophobic sounds comes crashing down until all that remains are the slowly clearing clouds of dust particles over running water and metal bashing at its best. Which just leaves the mighty ‘extenDEAD konnektion’ to complete this unholy trio of tracks. At just under 20 minutes in duration all the stops are pulled out as pure sonic noise patterns are formed then destroyed repeatedly before being rebuilt into something completely different. It eventually ends with a dispassionate sample over subdued…compared to what’s gone on before…electronics.
"BRAKEhead" is a phenomenally majestic piece of dark ambience and noise that will leave you totally awe struck. The visceral raw power of the electronics is a thing of untamed beauty that heralds in a new era by which others must now be judged against. When it eventually gets released there will possibly be a change to the cover art and track titles, this came in a home made cover and CDR with the titles hard to differentiate, but the music will, thankfully, remain unchanged. Pre-order your copy at the soonest opportunity and get ready to rumble along to Kristoffer Nyströms Orkester.