Music - 18.03.2026 - THE BODY, PUCE MARY, MOGWAI, ELEND

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Scott Walker (1943-2019)

On The Verge | 28.05.26

Celebrating its 30th Anniversary on my birthday, today, Merzbow 'Pulse Demon' showcases a more psychedelically-flavored follow up to some of Merzbow's more brain-pummeling releases that came before. Extremely sight-confounding artwork compliments the lucid squalls of Merzbow's electronic assaults, which Alexander Lloyd Lindhart writing for a 2003 review on Pitchfork went as far to say that the album's packaging was "more valuable than some people's lives."

Scott Walker's 'The Drift' was released 20 years last 8th May. Scott has been gone for over 7 years now but his immense body of work stands the test of time, especially this album which raised an eyebrow or two back then, especially if considering that this is such an experimental - and at times difficult listen - and it was Scott's first album in eleven years, following 1995's Tilt, at the ripe age of 63 years old.

Ambient jewel 'Plume' by Canadian composer and record producer Scott Morgan under the alias Loscil turns 20 years old this 22th May. Filling in for Belgian second wave black metal, Ancient Rites 'Blasphemia Eternal' completed 30 moons this past 12th May.

'Pulse Demon' Artwork

974. SCOTT WALKER - The Drift (2006) - Cossacks Are (in mix 34)

973. MERZBOW - Pulse Demon (1996) - Tokyo Times Ten (in mix 129)

972. ANCIENT RITES - Blasphemia Eternal (1996) - Total Misanthropia (in mix 3)

971. LOSCIL - Plume (2006) - Motoc (in mix 7)

Frost, Satyr, Kveldulv. Satyricon Press Photo for Nemesis Divina 1996.

On The Verge | 22.04.26

Satyricon 'Nemesis Divina' is 30 years today. When Satyricon released their third album in 1996, their status as one of the most significant and creatively vital bands in Norwegian black metal was already beyond dispute, but Nemesis Divina was no ordinary record or just another step along the road to infamy. From its uniquely vibrant and impactful artwork, which broke every rule in the black metal handbook with its vivid colours and refined aesthetic core, to the supremely confident, idiosyncratic songs and individual performances that heralded a newfound sophistication and a freshly incisive vision, Nemesis Divina almost single-handedly took black metal from its voluntarily shadowy and obscure origins into the glaring spotlight of the international metal scene. It showcased a band that finally had the skill and the musical intuition to back up the undeniable potency of their artistic vision. Sonically devastating and compositionally meticulous, songs like ‘Mother North‘ and ‘The Dawn Of A New Age‘ redefined what black metal was capable of, while proudly retaining the genre’s ageless essence and aesthetic values. (...)

Nemesis Divina Cover Artwork (clean)

On The Verge | 22.04.26

Spektr 'Near Death Experience' is celebrating 20 years next 6th May. Forget what you heard about experimental black metal. 'Whatever the Case May Be' may well be one of their most notorious tracks, bringing together two far-fetched and deeply antagonistic parts in a song that starts with an intriguing avant-jazz vibe but quickly descends into the rawest black metal assault laying bare the bipolar nature of Spektr's music, steeped in a concept of continuous experimentation and the exploration of light and dark in music, but unlike anything else. There's no smooching with acoustics or ethereal ambient passages, just plain in your face awe-inducing aesthetics and delivery.

Finally two albums that helped define the 80's while I was getting to grips with new music. Both celebrating 40 years around this time: The Wolfgang Press 'Standing Up Straight' this 1st May and And Also The Trees underrated masterpiece 'Virus Meadow'.

970. SATYRICON - Nemesis Divina (1996) - Du Som Hater Gud (in mix 3)

969. SPEKTR - Near Death Experience (2006) - Whatever The Case May Be (in mix 80)

968. THE WOLFGANG PRESS - Standing Up Straight (1986) - Hammer The Halo (in mix 1)

967. AND ALSO THE TREES - Virus Meadow (1986) - Maps in Her Wrists and Arms

Cover Artwork for 'Play The Music of Twin Peaks' (2016)

On The Verge | 16.04.26

Xiu Xiu 'Plays the Music of Twin Peaks' is 10 years today. Australia’s Gallery of Modern Art commissioned Xiu Xiu to reinterpret the music from Twin Peaks for their David Lynch: Between Two Worlds exhibition. Since then, the band has performed select concerts all over the globe culminating in a proper studio album of the compositions.

"It’s difficult to overstate the cultural impact of Twin Peaks 25 years ago. Transferring his art-house cinema ethic to the small screen, David Lynch’s cerebral, surrealist murder mystery series towered like a desert skyscraper over the wastelands of mainstream US TV drama. A large part of the series’ appeal lay in the hypnotic, spectral soundtrack that won a Grammy for its composer, Angelo Badalamenti. Invited earlier this year to reinterpret that music for a Lynch retrospective at the Gallery of Modern Art in Brisbane, Californian avant-noise trio Xiu Xiu have now taking their work on a world tour." (...)

Indian 'Guiltless' was released 15 years ago last 12th. I’m not sure if the passing of drummer Bill Bumgardner in October 2016, aged 35, precipitated the end for this unique doom/sludge band but they have certainly lost focus regardless of a follow-up album (From All Purity released in 2013), and a reunion gig in 2018. Guiltless is a very special album in my collection, it’s the kind of album that brings great memories of a good period in my life - despite the crushing nature of the music and the ominous lyrics - so I used a bunch of tracks in mixes and playlists that I revisit often. I can’t quite understand how this is already 15 years old!

A defining milestone in my music education, Unwound 'Repetition' turned 30 years last 9th April.

Finally Deathprod 'Imaginary Songs from Tristan Da Cunha' is also celebrating 30 years. Deathprod is the project of Norwegian composer Helge Sten, who is also a founder member of Norwegian improvising group Supersilent and has produced records by Motorpsycho, Susanna, Jenny Hval, Arve Henriksen and others. Tristan da Cunha in the South Atlantic is the world’s remotest island. If you want to visit for more than one day, you have to wait a year until the next boat arrives to pick you up. Imagining life in such a lonely and cut-off environment opens up a space for Deathprod’s yearning set of electronic SOS calls that are destined never to quite reach out through the airwaves.

969. XIU XIU - Plays the Music of Twin Peaks (2016) - Blue Frank/Pink Room (in mix 54)

968. INDIAN - Guiltless (2011) - Banality (in mix 20)

967. UNWOUND - Repetition (1996) - Lowest Common Denominator

966. DEATHPROD - Imaginary Songs from Tristan Da Cunha (1996) - The Contraceptive Briefcase II (in mix 114)

Album cover artwork for 'No One Deserves Happiness' (2016)

On The Verge
18.03.26

The Body 'No One Deserves Happiness' is 10 years today. "On No One Deserves Happiness, The Body’s Chip King and Lee Buford set out to make “the grossest pop album of all time.” The album themes of despair and isolation are delivered by the unlikely pairing of the Body’s signature heaviness and 80s dance tracks. The Body can emote pain like no other band, and their ability to move between the often strict confines of the metal world and the electronic music sphere is on full display throughout No One Deserves Happiness, an album that eludes categorisation. More then any of their genre-defying peers, The Body does it without softening their disparate influences towards a middle ground, but instead through a beautiful combining of extremes. No One Deserves Happiness is an album that defies definition and expectations, standing utterly alone." (bc)

Elend 'Les Ténèbres Du Dehor' was 30 years last Friday 13th. I remember listening to the highlighted track below when it was included in a Nuclear Blast sampler back in 1996, squeezed between Godgory and Darkseed... god forbid. This is the second album in a trilogy, concerned with the fall and descent of Lucifer into Hell (as seen in Milton's Paradise Lost). With an impeccable sense of atmosphere and drama, Elend achieved a real sense of beauty and darkness within the framework of complex and difficult compositions. French musicians have a propensity for the avant-garde and just when symphonic black metal was starting to make waves, here's a very interesting take on that sonority, take away blast beats and raw production (check Igorrr if you want blast beats included). The vocals are provided primarily by two soprano singers - Eve Gabrielle Siskind and Nathalie Barbary - and their vocal contribution is nothing short of mesmerising. The two main composers behind Elend, Renaud Tschirner and Iskandar Hasnawi contribute vocals too, by way of whispers, spoken word, and very frightening growling. The highlighted track is a lossy file, even though a 320 mp3, nothing less than flac can do this justice.

Puce Mary's The Spiral is celebrating 10 years next 30th and Mogwai divisive Mr. Beast celebrated 20 years last 6th. This brings a lot of memories, summer festivals, a much younger self. I return to some of these songs sometimes, specially 'Travel is Dangerous?', for the fond memories of trying a hand at forcing pre teens on good music against the evil of bubblegum pop all around.

Lee Buford and Chip King aka The Body. Photo by Zachary Harrell Jones

957. THE BODY - No One Deserves Happiness (2016) - Wanderings (in mix 28)

956. PUCE MARY - The Spiral (2016) - No Memory (in mix 39)

955. MOGWAI - Mr. Beast (2006) - We're No Here (in mix 34)

954. ELEND - Les Ténèbres Du Dehor (1996) - Dancing Under The Closed Eyes (in mix 13)

Artwork for October Language

On The Verge
08.02.26

Belong 'October Language' is 20 years old today. The album was assembled, composed, and produced in Dietrich’s bedroom studio, however, the inspiration for the songs goes well beyond the walls. The album encapsulates their hometown of New Orleans, at once bathed in sunlight and colors, yet dripping in decay and a rich sadness. It is a record that attempts to display the beauty in things that are worn, decayed or destroyed. Following in the tradition of bands like My Bloody Valentine and Gas, guitars, synths and other musical sources are wrenched from their typical tones, revealing themselves in bright shards of distortion. Melodies are similarly enveloped in a sort of aural atrophy, forever repeating their blurring calls. At the end, all that remains is a noise so potent it leaves the sonic equivalent of the sun’s imprint on a retina.

Also worth noting these great albums celebrating major milestones in the first weeks of 2026, Tehni's Maaët is 20 years, Burzum's Filosofem is 30 years and Big Black's Atomizer is 40 years.

Turk Dietrich and Micael Jones aka Belong (top) and Tenhi (bottom)

953. BELONG - October Language (2006) - I Never Lose. Never Really (in mix 82)

952. TENHI - Maaäet (2006) - Varpuspäivä (in mix 101)

951. BIG BLACK - Atomizer (1986) - Kerosene (in mix 2)

950. BURZUM - Filosofem (1996) - Dunkelheit (in mix 3)

Oliver Martin (1986-2026) RIP. Martin died earlier this year aged 39. >>

Monastery of Salzedas, Portugal (Image © Jorge Sampaio)

A Filthy Pig

On The Verge
30.01.26

The last great album by Ministry turns 30 years today. Their 6th long play is my second favourite after Psalm 69. It may not have rave hits such as Burning Inside or Thieves from 1989's 'The Mind Is a Terrible Thing to Taste', but Filth works better as an album for me, having grown tremendously with the passing of the years, gradually removing itself from the entrapments of the sound of an era, and after all this time still sounding captivating, head and shoulders above contemporaries such as Prong or White Zombie, but failing to improve on a tired formula, soon to mutate into nu-nonsense. There are a lot of albums released in 1996 that are very important to me, from ambient to black metal, musique concrete to post-rock. This was the year I got married and moved to London. It was a year full of discoveries and experiences, specially in an exponential increase in music intake, in and outside the house, fuelled by a new reality of commuting in a big city, working in retail, the megastores (HMV on Oxford Street), in the anteroom of the mp3 and the digital domain.

Public Image Limited divisive 'Album' is 40 years this 27th January. I was lucky to witness some of these tracks played live back in the day, in the Pavilhão Infante De Sagres in Porto on the 16th September 1989. I remember the band's vivid, colorful suits, chaotic performance in a rather small stage, and a skinhead fight breaking out in the surroundings prior to the gig, which makes for a surreal hodgepodge. I am not a fan of solos, but the highlighted track 'Ease' may have one of the best ever, courtesy of one Mr. Steve Vai.

The other tracks are taken from albums that are celebrating 10 years this last week of January, they are all excellent but a special mention to Roly Porter's exquisite Third Law, a utterly innovative album of future electronic music.

Roly Porter (top) and Nina Kenich aka ALLSEITS (bottom)

949. MINISTRY - Filth Pig (1996) - Filth Pig (in mix 38)

948. SPEKTR - The Art to Disappear (2016) - That Day Will Definitely Come (in mix 10)

947. ROLY PORTER - Third Law (2016) - Mass (in mix 73)

946. ALLSEITS - Chimäre (2016) - October (in mix 30)

945. P.I.L - Album (1986) - Ease

945. HJARNIDAUDI - Pain:Noise:March (2006) - Part III: March (in mix 19)

944. ARCANA - Dark Age of Reason (1996) - Angel of Sorrow (in mix 15)

943. KEVIN RICHARD MARTIN - Sub Zero (2022 - Remaster 2026) - Destroyed (in mix 106)

942. ULCERATE - The Destroyers of All (2011) - Burning Skies (in mix 27)

The Ape of Naples, original artwork by Ian Johnstone

On The Verge
02.12.25

The Ape of Naples, was released 20 years ago today. Its the final studio album by English band Coil. Produced by Peter Christopherson following the tragic death of bandmate and partner John Balance in 2004, it contains reworked and remixed material from the previous 10 years. The album was dedicated to Balance's memory. "Featuring songs recorded in final days of John's life, as well as material originally recorded at Trent Reznor's studio in New Orleans, and now substantially re-arranged by Peter Christopherson, this album is sure to be seen as the 'classic' Coil album of all time, and is not to be missed under any circumstances." Threshold House"

This miserable year of 2025 is coming to an end and so its time to wrap up and handpick the best music for posterity. The year was so bad in so many ways but there was so much good music, it brings to mind 2020, an even worst year, downright bleak for so many but held together by the hope of a few getting together to produce art statements that will be remembered along the mess and the tragedy.

Below are 3 tracks from some of the best albums this year, making the forthcoming year end lists of honor.

AYA

941. COIL - The Ape of Naples (2005) - A Cold Cell (in mix 41 - Infinite Fog)

940. AYA - hexed! (2025) - hexed! (in mix 92 - bc)

939. GNAW THEIR TONGUES - The Genesis of Light (2025) - Part Three (in mix 93 - Consouling)

938. ABUL MOGARD - Quiet Pieces (2025) - In a Studded Procession (in mix 89 - Soft Echoes)

"Not a lot of people know this, but Balance and Sleazy would always say grace before a meal, and they would always give thanks to the Goddess. They did that almost as long as I knew them. I kind of liked that. So it was about those energies that only really come out in the dark, that are less blatant and present and in your face. It was a process, it wasn’t a sharp delineation."

in 'Drew McDowall talks Musick, magick and sacred materiality', The Wire Interview

King Yosef

Klein

On The Verge
21.11.25

This 17th November marked Dissection Storm of the Light's Bane 30th anniversary. A major achievement and a true classic, heightened by its sheer power and 10/10 perfect delivery over controversy and disavowal by some who cannot separate art from artist, this is a top 10 album in my collection.

Another black metal masterclass, already a classic in many regards and arguably one of the best Black Metal albums of the 00's, Deathspell Omega's Paracletus turned 15 years last 9th November.

King Yosef released a great album in 2025 called Spire of Fear and he is coming to tour Europe from 16 Jan to 6 Feb with Youth Code and Street Sects in support. No Portugal dates included.

Been listening to Klein's new album Sleep With A Cane on repeat. Dreamy, feverish experimental electronics from the maverick South Londoner.

937. KING YOSEF - Spire of Fear (2025) - Molting Fear (in mix 101 - Bleakhouse)

936. KLEIN - Sleep with a Cane (2025) - Family Employment 2008-2014 (in mix 98 - Klein)

935. DISSECTION - Storm of The Lights Bane (1995) - Night's Blood (in mix 3 - Dissection)

934. DEATHSPELL OMEGA - Paracletus (2010) - Apokatastasis Pantôn (in mix 19 - NoEvDia)

On The Verge
15.11.25

Sometime in January 2025 I sent an email to Kevin Gan Yuen of bay area noise extremists SUTEKH HEXEN. This email was just a 'Hello, this is the guy who's been engaging with you on IG'. Then I realised that since I started posting mixes at the start of Covid 19, I had featured SH tracks in 7 mixes. Its up there with all time favourites such as Coil, Autechre and Sunn o))).

So around May I asked Kevin if he'd be interested in putting together a playlist of his favourite music for a new mix, the first guest curated entry in more than 5 years and 100+ mixes. Clocking at almost 2 hours, this is a surprising compilation of songs, and a novel challenge: stitching together such a disparate medley goes against the grain of my mix routine which is mood/genre specific. I'd never mix breakcore with black metal (maybe Igorrr) but there's always a first.

Going through the songs, there's hymns of teen angst reveries and romance, forever classics and as you'd expect, a bunch of contemporaries of Sutekh Hexen. A list became a mix, it weaves between dreamy and ominous, classics and the unknown, the enjoyable and the unsettling, a testament to Kevin's rich tapestry of influences and sensibilities, balancing what is in his own words: 'that grey area which is the shadow from the light'.

Listen to the mix here.

Images are courtesy of Kevin's personal photo collection, curated with significance to what is presented in the mix.

Pause

Tracklist

1. Wooden Veil – Wooden Veil (2009) – Church Scream – start
2. The Breedling – A Straunge And Terrible Wunder (2026) – Aftermath – 07:05
3. Uhushuhu, Creation VI – Light Owls (2018) – It Was before Silence – 11:30
4. Mouchoir Étanche – Kommuniqué Zéro (2020) – Kommuniqué Zéro – 21:26
5. KMRU – Peel (2020) – Klang – 31:45
6. Lustmord, Dave Lombardo – Paleomagnetic Resonance (2026) – Paleomagnetic Resonance – 36:47
7. Theodor Kentros – Trystero (2024) – Caveat Emptor – 44:05
8. Moon-Li 历 – Figures From Another Time (2026) – Lamentation song – 50:54
9. Scorn – Evanescence (1994) – Slumber – 58:55
10. Dead Voices On Air – Mothcomma (2026) – Kembali – 01:02:56
11. Nonconnah – The Gloom & The Glowing (2017) – Only Darkness Beyond The Frame – 01:08:00
12. Winters In Osaka – Molded to Crawl (2009) – Through Twilight – 01:11:20
13. Brunhild Ferrari – Errant Ear (2025) – Capriccio for Velasca – 01:17:16
14. Dave Phillips – A Collection of Degenerations (2025) – Grateful – 01:20:06
15. Infidel ? / Castro! – Bioentropic Damage Fractal (2005) – Bedridden – 01:25:44
16. Japanische Kampfhörspiele – Split with Ação Direta (2026) – GPGP – 01:35:21
17. Peter Broderick, Gabriel Saloman Mindel – Peter Broderick + Gabriel Saloman (2014) – Lament For Philip Seymour Hoffman – 01:37:56
18. Yellow Swans – Out Of Practice IV (2026) – Aby Road – 01:43:30
19. Caїna – Gentle Illness (2019) – My Mind is Completely Disintegrating – 01:48:43
20. MZ. 412 – Earthen: A Cold Spring Sampler (2018) – Ulvens Broder – 01:55:45
21. Our Love Will Destroy The World – Stillborn Plague Angels (2009) – Stillborn Plague Angels / Pink Hollow Paradise – 02:01:04
22. Outro – Goblin – Suspiria (1977) – Suspiria – Originale (edit) – 02:19:45

Duration: 02h 22m 15s

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