Hair Police- Mercurial Rites (2013)

My knowledge of Hair Police is extremely limited. I had a copy of Constantly Terrified back in high school, but it got borrowed and never returned. Since than I had not listened to any Hair Police until I recently heard Mercurial Rites came out.

Mercurial Rites is hard to classify. The soundscape is filled with harsh squeals and looming tones, but I wouldn't necessarily classify it as 'noise'. Rather it is as if Hair Police were trying to make ambient instrumentation but attempted this by dredging an assortment of noise releases. The sound is haunting, and not in the Halloween kind or way, but instead in the playing Silent Hill 2 in the dark kind of way.

Some of the instrumentation is quite reminiscent of older Wolf Eyes, specifically their album Slicer. If you have made your way through Wolf Eye's catalog, you may realize that this is a great point to be compared to.

The vocals on Mercurial Rites fall somewhere between the intense whispering style of older Sightings music and the overdriven effect screams of Whitehouse. While at times the vocals do hold the music back slightly ('We Prepare'), tracks like 'Scythed Wide' turn out a perfect representation of what Hair Police were trying to achieve. I found that the more minimalistic the vocals were, the more they fit the mood of the music and the better it overall sounded.

Overall, I found myself mildly enjoying the album until I got to the second half. From 'Dilate and Inhabit' on, Mercurial Rites was engrossing, and it is because of these tracks I keep going back and am taking the time to share it with you. 

Stream the album Here 

Diamond Terrifier- Kill the Self that wants to Kill Yourself (2012)

If you liked Colin Stetson's New History of Modern Warfare, or if you simply enjoy seeing the extreme uses some people implement on the saxophone, than Diamond Terrifier may be a good 2012 release for you.
This album makes you question whether it is a saxophone or synthesizer many times during its playthrough.  It is brooding, and at times dissonant, and while Sam Hillmer does not follow Colin's schtick or Humming while playing, he does create unique soundscapes through the use of pedals.  Hillmer's Sax can make drones, swirls, and analogue tones which are all quite impressive.

Unfortunately, there is no links to a full album preview legally available at this time, though I am going ahead and emailing for permission to upload the album to youtube/mediafire/ asking him to create a bandcamp.
Until then, you can purchase the album Here, and listen to a studio track Here and a live track (which I recommend) Here.