Silence Of The Old Man - Carencia De Ausencia EP (2010)

And a side project from the guitarist of Auka Runa (Chile).

 

The beginning of Silence of the Old Man goes back to a side project aukko, composer, producer and guitarist for bands like Rune aukko (Folk metal experimental) and IN / SANE (Metal insane).
This side project was born in the year 2007 with the first models, and bore the name Silence of Lament, then the models were inclined to Black Doom, more environmentally sustainable.
For the time and Rune aukko projects, is hampered further by creating this project, so that by the year 2009, aukko decides to take the models and restructure with a new sound that was something special, so it was decided create the project with the name Silence of the Old Man, it was locked, and not wanted to reveal what was working, by 2010 it began recording the EP, Lack of Absence, and gives birth to this Post Black Metal Shoegaze and transforming the genre into something aesthetically acceptable, and similarly trying to leave South America in the sights of foreign labels for bands and projects to be heard in Europe, Asia, and North America.

- Quote http://silenceoftheoldman.blogspot.com/ ("Biografia" - rough translation from Spanish).

Though Auka Runa themselves are yet to have any official release, their guitarist has managed to put together his first release, an EP, for his promising solo project, Silence Of The Old Man. And for a solo project, the quality of this release is impressive.

Musically, this is reminiscent of post-BM stuff, and maybe you can thrown in that shoegraze word in there too. Definitely comparable to the more cleaner and well-produced Cascadian (style) BM. For those into that type of BM, it really is pretty impressive. It's amongst the first of this kind of BM I've seen from that part of the world, and I welcome it wholeheartedly. Auscencia is a real stand out song, but it's a fairly solid EP all round.

Great EP, and I'd recommend keeping an eye out for the full length Lack of Absence in future.

Album Name: Carencia De Ausencia EP

Band: Silence Of The Old Man

Genre: Post-Black Metal/Shoegaze

Year: 2010

Country: Chile

Track Listing:

 

1.	Intro	00:23
2.	Cicatriz De Olvido	08:21
3.	El Silencio De Los Lamentos	07:00
4.	Colapso	03:53
5.	Tiempo De Miseria	08:08
6.	Ausencia	08:17
7.	Outro	02:54
Total playing time		38:56

 

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Tzitzimine - Extli Xochitl EP (2008)

Death Metal from Mexico.

In Aztec mythology, a tzitzimitl (plural tzitzimimeh) is a deity associated with stars. They were depicted as skeletal female figures wearing skirts often with skull and crossbone designs. In Postconquest descriptions they are often described as "demons" or "devils" - but this does not necessarily reflect their function in the prehispanic belief system of the Aztecs.

The Tzitzimimeh were female deities, and as such related to fertility, they were associated with the Cihuateteo and other female deities such as Tlaltecuhtli, Coatlicue, Citlalinicue and Cihuacoatl and they were worshipped by midwives and parturient women. The leader of the tzitzimime was the Goddess Itzpapalotl who was the ruler of Tamoanchan - the paradise where the Tzitzimimeh resided.
The Tzitzimimeh were also associated with the stars and especially the stars that can be seen around the sun during a solar eclipse. This was interpreted as the Tzitzimimeh attacking the sun, this caused the belief that during a solar eclipse, the tzitzimime would descend to the earth and devour human beings. The Tzitzimimeh were also feared during other ominous periods of the Aztec world, such as during the five unlucky days called Nemontemi which marked an unstable period of the aztec year count, and during the New Fire ceremony marking the beginning of a new calendar round - both were periods associated with the fear of change.
The Tzitzimimeh had a double role in Aztec religion: they were protectresses of the feminine and progenitresses of mankind. But they were also powerful and dangerous, especially in periods of cosmic instability.

 - Quote wikipedia ("Tzitzimine")

Eztli

From open-dictionary.com - the free dictionary.

Nahuatl

Noun

eztli

1. blood

 - Quote open-dictionary.com ("eztli")

Xóchitl (Spanish pronunciation: [ˈʃotʃitɬ]), a hispanicized version of xōchitlNahuatl pronunciation: [ˈʃoːtʃitɬ], (flower), is a feminine given name somewhat common in Central and Southern Mexico...

- Quote wikipedia ("Xóchitl")


Tzitzimine is a Death Metal band hailing from DF, Mexico. They have prehispanic influences in their music, less strongly evident than other prehispanic Metal bands, though apparently their prehispanic musical manifestations are more lyrical than instrumental.

This is fairly fast-paced and brutal Death Metal. Overall, I quite like it. Great riffs with nice harsh vocals. However, it's a short release (it's an EP), and the production could be slightly better.

One note on the quotations above, I couldn't find a translation of the word "extli", not outright anyway. Though I got the expression it is a variation of the word "eztli". My Nahuatl ain't perfect.

Tzitzimine @ myspace

Album Name: Extli Xochitl EP

Band: Tzitzimine

Genre: Death Metal

Year: 2008

Country: México

Track Listing:

1.	Tzitzimine	05:01
2.	Te Espero en el Infierno	04:37
3.	Maldita Perra	02:10
4.	Extli Xochitl	03:33
5.	In Miquixtli Cenca Mahuiztli	05:46
Total playing time		21:07

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Tad Piecka - Discography

And here's the person behind the amazing Petrychor project.

Fingerstyle guitar inspired equally by folk traditions and modern orchestral composers, following in the footsteps of traveling solo musicians.

Other projects he is involved in include Tremolite, Beware of Safety and Petrychor.

- Quote last.fm ("Tad Piecka")


So as I said, Tad Piecka is the person behind Petrychor. I found out a little while ago, and have been checking out his solo stuff, some such as I present here. However, it's confirmed as being him behind Petrychor now that he has created a Petrychor section at his official website.

Tad Piecka's solo acoustic music is in one word, majestic. It's completely instrumental, very melodic, soothing, and quite diverse. He uses a few different instruments here, blends folk styles (American and Irish according to him), and his fingerstyle and finger picking is a real stand out here.

It's truly beautiful.

It's funny, even before Tad Piecka put up info about Petrychor on his website, upon discovering him as the protagonist of Petrychor, when I heard his solo acoustic stuff, I could hear and feel the parallels in the music instantly. His style really is unique, and if listening the acoustic elements of Petrychor is something you would be into, definitely check this out.

And remember he has some other interesting musical projects too.

Official website
Tad Piecka @ bandcamp (Download for free here, or pay what you want)

Fingerstyle guitar and harp guitar pieces composed in Boston and various towns in Ireland, inspired by many different styles of folk music. Everything is live without overdubs.

This album was used as the source material for my electronic EP, Castles Rebuilt.

- Quote tadpiecka.bandcamp.com ("On Cunning and Castle Building")

Album Name: On Cunning and Castle Building

Band: Tad Piecka

Genre: Folk

Year: 2008

Country: USA

Track Listing:

1.	Little Boom	02:24
2.	Oso Delicioso	04:17
3.	A Thin Layer of butterscotch	03:36
4.	Snakes	04:38
5.	Slow Beacon Calling	05:37
6.	Commons	04:40
7.	Bring Up	01:28
8.	Quixotic Conundrum	02:29
9.	Killarney	02:39
10.	The Trees are Like Sentries	04:07
11.	Rattle	04:40
Total playing time		40:35

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Unlike On Cunning and Castle Building, this EP was put together with a singular theme in mind. Inspired mainly by traveling music, all of the tracks are fingerpicked, save for Kittyhawk which is mostly tapped. As always, everything is recorded live without overdubs. 

 - Quote tadpiecka.bandcamp.com ("A Feather to the Cheek is Comfort to the Vine")

Album Name: A Feather to the Cheek is Comfort to the Vine

Band: Tad Piecka

Genre: Folk

Year: 2008

Country: USA

Track Listing:

 

1.	Intro	00:41
2.	The Gift of Elocution (Part I)	05:23
3.	A Feather to the Cheek is Comfort to the Vine	03:35
4.	Ojo	01:59
5.	The Gift of Elocution (Part II)	06:17
6.	Kittyhawk	05:51
7.	Shoehorn	02:49
Total playing time		26:35

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More American and Irish folk played with modernist techniques, a touch of Philip Glass, and my oldest fingerstyle song finally rerecorded (Porblem No. 17).

 - Quote tadpiecka.bandcamp.com ("Stars Are Stars and Yours Are Yours")

Album Name: Stars Are Stars and Yours Are Yours

Band: Tad Piecka

Genre: Folk

Year: 2009

Country: USA

Track Listing:

1.	Stars Are Stars and Yours Are Yours	04:50
2.	A Feather to the Cheek Is Comfort to the Vine	03:13
3.	Porblem No. 17	04:26
4.	Nary a Nastier Dish	06:42
5.	Farishta's Folk I	04:41
6.	Farishta's Folk II	04:19
7.	We Call Each One by Name	02:33
Total playing time		30:44

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At Dusk/Idolater - Split (2010)

And here I present you with two bands from Santa Cruz, California (USA), At Dusk and Idolater.

 

At Dusk is a one-man project headed by Korihor. The songs on this split musically are some sort of a mix of your standard lo-fi BM and some DSBM, additionally with a bit of ambiance. For me, their last song on the split is the high point. The combination of ambiance and faster/heavy BM really drew me in. Themes in this music are a strong appreciation for nature, or "nature worship", and not surprisingly given the name adopted by the single member of this band, vehement anti-Christianity.

Korihor is a prominent skeptic mentioned in The Book of Mormon, in Alma 30. Korihor successfully preached ...that there could be no atonement made for the sins of men, but every man fared in this life according to the management of the creature; therefore every man prospered according to his genius, and that every man conquered according to his strength; and whatsoever a man did was no crime.
Korihor is directly referred to in The Book of Mormon as an Anti-Christ, because he claimed there will be no Christ. Despite a freedom of religion, Korihor's views and teachings alarmed the clerical government, who felt that his views were dangerous to their society. Under his teachings, people had begun to ignore the laws of the land (which were based on the religious beliefs of their society). Under arrest before a high priest, during a hearing for his apparent blasphemy and for causing social discord, Korihor offers a speech in his own defense. Korihor is turned over to higher authority and later gets into an argument with the chief judge and governor, Alma, about the existence of God. Alma refused to accept Korihor's arguments and Korihor finally demanded that Alma show him a sign from God or he, Korihor, would not believe in God. This culminated in Korihor being miraculously rendered deaf and mute, upon which Korihor confessed, in writing, ...I always knew that there was a God. But behold, the devil hath deceived me; for he appeared unto me in the form of an angel, and said unto me: Go and reclaim this people, for they have all gone astray after an unknown God. And he said unto me: There is no God; yea, and he taught me that which I should say. Cast out, Korihor became a beggar and was later trampled to death by a group who had separated themselves from the main Nephite society.

- Quote Wikipedia ("Korihor")


Idolater, another one-man project, and is also a fairly lo-fi production, amongst other similarities. A markedly rough vocal style, and perhaps less ambient (and less DSBM). Lyrically, perhaps a more intense anti-Christianity than At Dusk, and I feel the lyrical similarities end there.

Idolater actually has the two songs on this split on a full length, Black Sexual Blasphemy. As I've read elsewhere on the matter, it's a bit more of a "teaser" in that way, as opposed to a proper split.

For those into more dark/lo-fi stuff.

Album Name: At Dusk/Idolater - Split
Band: At Dusk/Idolater
Genre: DSBM/Black Metal
Year: 2010
Country:
Track Listing:

At Dusk
1.	Invocation of Ancient Power	03:10
2.	Colder Than the Merciless Snow	06:28
3.	End of Being	05:02
4.	My Flesh, A Pittance	05:32
5.	The Profaned Temple	05:29
6.	Forsaken, Betrayed	07:30
Idolater
7.	Lux Et Luxuria	06:38
8.	The Passion In My Heart	05:25
Total playing time		45:11

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