Death Card

I am happy to share a new 5-song EP from my solo project MOONKNIGHT. It's titled "Death Card" and you can stream or purchase it below.

These 5 songs came together rather quickly, in fact it was during the mixing/mastering phase for the next full-length "Valinor" that the creative impulse hit me and I started recording this EP. It took about 2 weeks from beginning to end. I feel these songs represent the "classic" MOONKNIGHT sound, and stylistically they fall somewhere between "Toplov" and Ligeia".

Thanks for listening,
~Horus

Theremin Works

I first learned about the wondrous instrument known as the theremin through the film, "Theremin: An Electronic Odyssey". The sheer weirdness of the instrument, as well as the tale behind the man that invented it, captured my imagination and made me very curious. The year was 2002, and I had lived in Los Angeles for just over a year when my 30th birthday came around. My ex-girlfriend surprised me with a hell of a present; she got me a theremin on eBay. I dove right in and starting making strange sounds with it, adding tons of effects and zoning out on its peculiar frequencies.
By that time I was also getting involved in local experimental music and comedy performances. My theremin came in handy. I had a noise band with Sandor, future drummer of Harassor, that was called Urethra Franklin (we later changed the name to Democrisy), and a solo experimental project called Attakkr. I also performed with our comedy/musician friend Brently.

I think hearing the theremin has an interesting effect on people, naturally drawing them in. There's just something about the sound it makes that is oddly alien and familiar at the same time. It seemed that everybody wanted my theremin in their act...I was even invited to be on the Ellen Degeneres Halloween episode (was it 2005? 2006?) with my theremin, and I was in a skit with Ellen where she tried to play it.
Anyways, as time went on my theremin, which was a cheaper model, started to have technical issues like shorting out, and I also didn't want to be pigeonholed as the "theremin guy", so I started backing off from using it, and it wound up in my closet for many years.
Recently, my friend Brian in the Louisville, Kentucky sludge metal band Stonecutters, asked me to record a brief intro for one of their upcoming songs. I dug the old theremin out and dusted it off. It still had the same technical issues but I was able to make it work. I added some reverb, echo, and tremolo and started zoning out again like the old days. I had so much fun recording the intro for Brian that I just kept going until I had enough material for an EP.
That's the story behind our new release, JAMES BROWN III "Solo Theremin Works". Stream and download it below, and look for the cassette edition coming soon.
Thanks for listening!

MY TOP 10 RELEASES OF 2013

James/Horus here...everyone else is doing this so why don't I?

2013 was a fantastic year for metal releases, so many good ones that it was difficult to narrow it down. So here they are in (almost) no particular order, along with my 2 sentence reviews of each:

VOIVOD – Target Earth

Amazing and refreshing return from my all-time favorite band, full of creativity and soul. It instantly claimed a spot next to my favorite VOIVOD records.

GRAVE UPHEAVAL – Untitled

The murkiest and cavernousiest death metal record of all-time. Makes “Onward to Golgotha” sound like power metal.

INQUISITION – Obscure Verses For the Multiverse

The perfect culmination of form and a graceful step forwards for this Satanic duo. Glorious riffs from master craftsman Dagon.

BÖLZER – Aura

Insanely unique Swiss band, it’s rare to have a band burst forth with this much personality and style. To me they sound like old NEUROSIS playing atmospheric death metal.

CLOUD RAT – Moksha

Shoegaze grindcore, emo power-violence, whatever you call it I absolutely love this band and this record. The Neil Young cover chills me to the bone.

BEYOND – Fatal Power of Death

Excellent German death metal, hard hitting with a great atmosphere. This one grew on me big time and now it’s been playing on repeat for weeks.

DARKTHRONE – The Underground Resistance

These guys aren’t just paying homage to the great sounds of the 80’s…they are taking those styles and aesthetics and writing some truly great and well-crafted songs. My favorite is “Valkyrie”.

JESU – Everyday I Get Closer To the Light From Which I Came

If you like the previous JESU material this will not disappoint. The prolific Mr. Broadrick always delivers and this is some of his best material thus far.

MORTIFERA – Bleüu de Morte

A great new album from this French depressive/atmospheric black metal band. Slower tempos than previous releases but still totally raw and creative.

KNELT ROTE – Trespass

Pitch black terror! KNELT ROTE crafts a horrifying amalgamation of black/death metal and bestial grindcore into the most fearsome and intimidating release of the year.

MOONKNIGHT / MOLOCH Split 7" OUT NOW

RBR014 - Rising Beast proudly presents this split 7" release of depressive black metal. The ever-prolific MOLOCH from Ukraine delivers a new song titled "Die letzten Strahlen der Sonne verblassen in der Kalte der Apathie" that continues the great tradition of cold, raw and angular despair you have come to expect from the tortured artist Sergiy Fjordsson. MOONKNIGHT returns with "Night Creature", a bleak, depressive dirge which is the first new song since 2012's "Ligeia" and the first material to feature live drums courtesy of Andorkappen aka LORD TIME. Cover art on the MOONKNIGHT side courtesy of artist Johnny Ryan, MOLOCH cover art and overall layout by Sergiy Fjordsson.

Limited pressing of 250 copies on black vinyl. Heavy stock pro-printed folding covers with black inner sleeves. Released by Rising Beast Recordings. Labels and distros please get in touch for wholesale/trade.

www.risingbeast.bigcartel.com

THE BUNNY GAME Original Soundtrack Preview

Rising Beast Recordings presents THE BUNNY GAME Original Soundtrack, coming January 31st 2013 - RBR012 - THE BUNNY GAME is an indie horror film and the debut of writer/director Adam Rehmeier. This brilliant but controversial film has been banned in the UK but just saw a wide release on DVD and Blu-ray after premiering at numerous festivals and screenings around the world. The film stars Rodleen Getsic (who also co-wrote the film) as a down-and-out prostitute turning tricks in downtown LA. Her daily routine is depicted with an unflinching and unwavering starkness, a detached yet voyeuristic glimpse into a brutal form of existence. Despair turns into savagery and madness once she is picked up by a trucker (Jeff Renfro), who takes her captive and subjects her to series of increasingly bizarre forms of physical and emotional torture.

Rising Beast Recordings is proud to present the official soundtrack release of THE BUNNY GAME. This all-new auditory experience was arranged, edited and sequenced by director Adam Rehmeier just for this release. 60 minutes of music from the film, expanded and seamlessly blended for a sonic journey that is cinematic in scope. Score by Adam Rehmeier. Includes songs by HARASSOR and additional score by James Brown III.
Limited edition of 200 copies. Pro-duplicated cassettes with pro-printed folding j-card inserts.
www.risingbeast.bigcartel.com

UPDATE 12/04/2012

Greetings, just a quick summary of what's been going on lately...

The MONOMAKH cassettes have been a huge hit and we have blown through most of the 200 copies. A large chunk of these went out to many various distros around the globe. We anticipate it selling out here at the label shortly after the New Year. For those interested, Cale Schmidt (the mastermind behind MONOMAKH) has his main band ALTARS, who are currently recording their debut full-length album. They have also recently released a split cassette with HEAVING EARTH, which was released by Nihilistic Holocaust in France. We will be receiving a limited number of these and adding them to the distro soon.

The 3rd full length from my band HARASSOR titled "Night On My Side: The Bruno Sessions" is nearly sold-out on LP, but we still have some cassettes left. Meanwhile, we have been busy recording our next LP (title TBD) at Seahorse Sound Studios in Los Angeles. Basic tracking has been completed, overdubs and mixing remain. This looks to be a big step up for us production-wise, but also in song writing with a batch of new material. We are looking to hit the road spring 2013 in support of this new LP, to be released by Dais Records.

DARGAR is also finished with basic tracking of a large group of new songs, and just a few vocal overdubs remain. From these new recordings we will be putting together our side of a split LP with DEMONOLOGISTS on Whispering Eye, as well as another full-length (label TBD). The new material is a vast progression from the first album...

It's been quite awhile since the last MOONKNIGHT release "Ligeia", which is now sold-out...however we've been very busy with a collection of new material. Expect some announcements soon...

The next release on Rising Beast will be THE BUNNY GAME Original Soundtrack cassette, which we expect to be available by end of January 2013. THE BUNNY GAME is an indie horror film and the debut of writer/director Adam Rehmeier. This brilliant but controversial film has been banned in the UK but just saw a wide release on DVD and Blu-ray after premiering at numerous festivals and screenings around the world. The film stars Rodleen Getsic (who also co-wrote the film) as a down-and-out prostitute turning tricks in downtown LA. Her daily routine is depicted with an unflinching and unwavering starkness, a detached yet voyeuristic glimpse into a brutal form of existence. Despair turns into savagery and madness once she is picked up by a trucker (Jeff Renfro), who takes her captive and subjects her to series of increasingly bizarre forms of physical and emotional torture.

For the official soundtrack release of THE BUNNY GAME, an all-new auditory experience was arranged, edited and sequenced by director Adam Rehmeier. It consists of 60 minutes of music from the film, expanded and seamlessly blended for a sonic journey that is cinematic in scope. Score by Adam Rehmeier and James Brown III, with songs by HARASSOR.

Lots more in the works, we are looking forward to 2013 and our future endeavors. The assaults will never end...

www.risingbeast.bigcartel.com

NEWS UPDATE

HARASSOR - new full-length "Night On My Side: The Bruno Sessions" LP and Cassette editions are in production. This batch of songs was produced and recorded fall 2010 by Bobb Bruno (BEST COAST) in his downtown LA studio, and mastered by Roskva from LIGHTNING SWORDS OF DEATH. LP is limited to 300 copies on black vinyl, cassette limited to 200. Featuring some old songs and a bunch of new ones, this stands to be the best representation of HARASSOR thus far. Meanwhile, we've been busy working on new material for the next release, which we plan to start recording soon. We still have copies of the "Self-Titled" and "Hater of Man" cassettes, although they won't last much longer...

DARGAR - recording is well underway for a planned split with DEMONOLOGISTS (label and format TBD) as well as a new full-length on Rising Beast. The new material is different from the debut release...some of the harsh noise and chaotic elements remain but the sound has greatly evolved and expanded into funeral doom, death metal, shoegaze, post-punk and more...we are eager to reveal more about this exciting project...

MOONKNIGHT - "Ligeia" CD edition is nearly sold-out. Cassette edition just released on Universal Consciousness and is now available. New full-length "Valinor" has been in the works for some time, to be released on Chondritic Sound later this year. Basic tracks are recorded and awaiting vocals and final mix. The new material has more in common with "Toplov" than "Ligeia", with depressive black metal, straight up thrash songs, more shoegaze/post-punk, and even elements of death metal creeping in.

LORD FOUL - we still have copies of the CD and LP editions in stock, as well as t-shirts. Production is underway on the cassette replica version. I've had many people over the years ask about getting an original copy of the cassette demo from 1993. These are very scarce and hard to come by. So I decided to "re-create" the demo exactly as it was done before. Everything is done by hand, from dubbing the cassettes to applying the labels, photocopied covers, and hand-numbering each copy myself. Nothing "professional" about it! This is strictly limited to 50 copies, just for the die-hards! Coming very soon...

http://www.risingbeast.bigcartel.com/