In the last few years as I have navigated the realms of Neo-Psyche and purveyors of Krautrock-inspired music there are a handful of bands that have stood out as masters of the arena. Two of these bands hail from Canada and we get both of them on this excellent split co-release from NoiseAgonyMayhem (Canada) and Cardinal Fuzz (Europe). Released earlier this year as a cassette we now get the vinyl release of this mind-bending journey featuring one long track from Nanaimo BC’s Anunnaki. and two lengthy tracks from Ontario’s TBWNIAS.
Anunnaki’s track “The Archaeus Cycle” has been trimmed down to 23 minutes from the 30-minute digital release. The song explores multiple moods and approaches from screaming guitars with distorted effects to delicate electronics exploring some vast cosmic journey before kicking into high gear to close things out with pounding drum rhythms and hypnotic head banging guitars in a frantic flurry of chaos and mayhem.
TBWNIAS contributes two tracks to their side. “Mimas’s Cosmic Battle” kicks things off with some ominous bass and the familiar haunting free form trumpet. As the bass revs up you just know that all hell is going to break loose any minute and the anticipation builds and creates a definite tension in the air while we wait for the explosion. 7 minutes in liftoff commences as the guitar builds and the pace quickens and the chaos is released. “Face Down In The Kraut” follows with a more Motorik influenced piece with some staccato guitars recalling Joy Division’s “Incubation” before again melting into the chaos.
Two excellent bands and three excellent tracks. This one is going to see some serious time on the turntable. It doesn’t get much better than this.
Release date is Dec 4th on Cardinal Fuzz (Europe) and NoiseAgonyMayhem (Canada) with a few copies floating around at various shops for preorder.
