From the late 60’s The Red-Light Bandit stands as one more experimental re-telling of a true crime case. The film features a fragmented narrative and darting structure, mixing elements of crime thriller, satire, and anarchic artiness. It was based on the case of João Acácio Pereira da Costa- who in São Paulo in the 60s committed four murders, seven attempted murders, and seventy-seven robberies, receiving a sentence of three hundred and fifty-one years, nine months, and three days in prison. Here from Severin is a Blu-Ray reissue of the film- taking in a 2k scan, a few extras, and a selection of short films.

The Invasion is an early 2000s alien epidemic sci-fi thriller, featuring  Nichole Kidman as a  Washington, D.C psychiatrist who starts to notice something a miss with both her patients and her estranged husband.  In the cast, she’s joined by Daniel Craig (latter-day James Bond) as a Doctor friend- for a nicely pacy and paranoid-edged ride of a film.  Here from Arrow- both in the UK and stateside- is a new Blu-Ray release of the picture-taking in a new print, a new commentary track, and a few other new/old extras.

From the early ’70s, A Symphony For Amaranths is a larger jazz orchestra-focused album. It moves from tone shifting/ mood vary composition, to more dramatic/ theatrical poem-weaved pieces.  Neil Ardley- was an influential  English jazz musician and composer, whose body of work largely dates from the 70’s.  Here from BGO Records is a CD reissue of the album- featuring a remastered mix, a bonus track, and a fifteen-page inlay booklet with a new write-up about the album/its composer.

The rather wonderfully monikered Dan Hicks And His Hot Licks were an American band who largely operated between the late 60s and 1970s. They brewed up an idiosyncratic/ at times playful blend of cowboy folk, jazz, country, swing, bluegrass, pop, and gypsy music. Here from BGO Music is a two-CD set bringing together three of the band's albums from the early 70’s- taking Where’s The Money?, Stinking Rich, The Last Train To Hicksville…The Home Of Happy Feet.

Christmas horror is virtually a genre in itself. And by Santa, there have been some greats. Silent Night, Deadly Night Parts 1 and 2,  Christmas Evil,  Gremlins (?) and of course the best of the bunch proto-slasher, Black Christmas. It always feels like a bit of a win-win for horror fans around this time of year - coming off the back of Halloween going straight into the festive season and director Airell Anthony Hayles’ recent holiday horror, Advent fits the bill rather nicely.

Mother Mallards Portable Masterpiece Co. is a live synthesizer band founded by David Borden, that has taken several forms over the decades, beginning in the late 60's.  This two disk collection is an anthology reflecting back upon their various eras.

Originally released as part of Severin’s excellent The Eurocrypt of Christopher Lee, a collection featuring five of the classic horror movies Lee made in continental Europe during the 1960s and 70s. Sherlock Holmes and the Deadly Necklace was originally released in 1962, it was a Franco/ German / Italian production with an English star (Lee) and an English director, a man Lee worked with on a number of occasions, Terence Fisher (Horror of Dracula, Curse of Frankenstein and  The Devil Rides Out). 

Beezel is a 2024  horror film regarding a soul-sucking & flesh-eating Witch. The film's story is told over a time frame of sixty years- blending together filmed and found footage. The picture nicely blends a sense of hovering dreading, with moments of both creepiness & darting horror,  and a few neat touches of shock ‘n’ gore.  Here from Epic Pictures is a Blu-Ray release of the film- taking in a short making of, and two short films by the picture's makers

Daiei Gothic is a Blu-ray box set bringing together three classic Japanese ghost story films. The pictures date from between the late 1950s and mid-1960s- moving from a samurai drama/ supernatural crossbreed, snow-bound witch meets romantic drama, and a ghostly love story.

Amid the revival of the 80s aesthetic – heavy chorus effects, suffocated synth washes, ethereal vocals – the ability to effectively distinguish the genuine from the genuflected is nearly impossible. I have to admit that this entire genre is one that quite intentionally passed me by in its heyday, almost surely a result of my own narrow-mindedness when it came to anything that had electronic beats thrown into the mix. Well, Tactical Pagan (aka Andy Swan et al.) has put forth a kind of life raft of sorts for those of us who missed the boat, and for those who wished its journey had never come to close. Recorded directly to 8-track and mastered by label head and critical figure in the UK version of this story, Justin K. Broadrick, this eponymous debut revives the specific media technology that brokered dark wave, electro music of the 80s, while updating its most critical elements. 

No Sides Records presents True Scale: Live 2014-2019 CD by Hideous Replica. The Brooklyn duo of Dan Hintz and Frank Rose record and perform using only iPods and their amplifiers. Despite being active for a decade and having many recordings available on their bandcamp page, True Scale appears to be their first widely available physical release. 

Demons Dance Alone was the 27th album from The Residents. Released in the year 2002, it offered some of the long-running US project's most tuneful/ approachable, at times emotionally charged material- with much of their more difficult edges stripped back, for a quirkier, at points melancholic vibe.  From Cherry Red/ MVD audio/ New Ralph here is the next in the 'Preserved Series’ which sees the labels releasing the ultimate edition of Resident albums- with each album getting a classy new remastering, and loads of rare/unreleased material. This is a three-disc CD set- that brings together the original album, demos, bonus tracks, and live takes on the material.

The Polydor Years is a two-CD set bringing together one EP and one album released by British new wave artist Peter Godwind, with each disc also taking in a fair few bonus tracks be they single mixes, remixers, or instrumental takes on album tracks. Mr Godwind’s take on the New Wave is fairly moody/dramatic, though the steady snaping ‘n’ bounding electro beats and jaunting synths are never too far away.

Here from 88 films is a Blu-Ray boxset bringing together the three films from the notorious Guts Of  A Virgin trilogy. The Japanese mid-1980s pictures blend often rape and torture touching softcore with horror and crime thriller elements, for intense, bizarre and quirky cinematic rides. This, I believe, is the first-ever release of these films in the UK- with each picture having its own disc, featuring a clean and bright scan, with new interviews with the director for two of the films.

From 2023 Starve Acre is a blend of folk horror and downbeat drama. Set in the 1970s, the British production has the pace ‘n’ flow of the films from the decade it’s set in- slowly stirring together low-key dread & glum drama. Later adding into the mix we have elements of the supernatural creepy, with a few blood & jarring moments of violence. From the BFI  here is a new release of the film- either coming as a DVD or Blu-Ray-  taking in a commentary track, and a good selection of other extras.

To say The Blair Witch Project, is both influential and impactful is truly an understatement. Among the many things it did- it inspired and informed a whole film genre, changed the way we viewed the internet, and truly blurred the lines between fact and fiction. But beyond all this is a perfectly crafted slow burn, building up its feel of dread, panic, and unease- it features a highly believable/well-picked cast, and an inspired use of showing little or nothing, to trigger primal fear/imagination. Here from Second Sight Films is a new Blu-Ray boxset- featuring two cuts of the film, a new two-hour & half documentary, commentary tracks, outtakes, and more- with the set coming presented a one hundred and eighty-five-page hardback book with archive production materials, new essays and an additional book ‘Heather’s Journal’.

Diaries of Destruction is the collaboration of composer and guitarist Elif Yalvaç and bassist Jordan Muscatello, on the surface a joining of Turkish and British minds, but actually encompassing the majority of Europe through their collaborations, inspirations, and travels. Showcasing the more experimental end of drone metal, Elif's guitars and Jordan's bass form a thick and resinous tribute to their shared interests and inspirations, utilizing effects and electronics to further their aims. Dark but not without hints of light, DoD II is a somber affair that uses its thickness to invigorate and challenge, its emotional component is able to shine through and directly communicate to the listener. Whether referencing the Welsh tradition of Mari Lwyd, the Icelandic phrase "Þetta Reddast,” or reminiscing about Jean Claude Van Damme films, DoD II carries the heart and soul of its composers, and the dirges and exultations of their inner workings

Village Of Doom is an early 80’s Japanese crime drama based on one of the country's worst spree kills- The Tsuyama Massacre. It occurred in a small rural village in 1938, with thirty villages being killed by a twenty-one-year-old Mutsuo Toi - who had once showed so much promise. Much of the film’s one hour and forty minute five runtime regards the build-up to the massacre- so the film is best seen as a character study- come psychological unfolding, though we do get brutally bloody resolve. Here from Unearthed Films, is a Blu-Ray release of this lesser-known Asian true crime film- with a commentary track and a few other things.

This rather impressive-looking double-bill Blu-ray set from Film Masters features two early 60s neo-noir titles from the early 1960’s- Door-To-Door Maniac which features none other than Johny Cash in its lead, and the sightly sleazier Right Hand Of The Devil.

From 1972 The Italian Connection (La Mala Ordina) is the middle entry in director Fernando Di Leo’s poliziottesco ‘Milieu Trilogy’. Here from Radiance Films/ Raro Video is a remastered 4K Blu-ray release of the film, featuring a good selection of extras.

Here’s a quirky self-titled album from House of Gold, a band based in Montreal playing the compositions of Isaiah Ceccarelli. Ceccarelli sings and plays drums and synth on the album, accompanied by Eugénie Jobin on vocals and synth, Frédérique Roy on vocals, piano, and synth, and Katelyn Clark on organetto, piano, and synth. The instrumentation should alert you to the fact that this might not be a standard band recording; furthermore some of you might recognise Clark and Ceccarelli as the names behind the excellent Landmarks album released on Another Timbre a couple of years back, which combined organs, synths, and percussion in drones and deep listening. So, with that in mind, we have an album of often obtuse songs which don’t always hit home, but remain engaging nevertheless.

Triple Music takes one on a trip into textural detailed, but fragilely ebbing & flowing electro-acoustic improv. The three-track album utilizes sound loops and pre-recording elements to which the three members of Muddersten arrange in a largely eventful, lightly glitching, though fairly mellow/pared-back manner.

Spektralmaskin (Spectral Machine in English) is a three-track journey into grey ringings, hauntingly warblings, bleak ebbings, and eerily tollings. The collaborative album brings together two Norwegian sound creators- guitarist and composer Jo David Meyer Lysne, and microtonal tuba player, composer, and recording engineer Peder Simonsen. 

Bass-heavy and deeply percussive, Samuel Rohrer's Music for Lovers is hardly the stuff of romantic fantasies, and that is very much Rohrer's point. While not really ironic, the love here is more bodily and brooding than tenderhearted and speaks to the connectedness of disparate parts – sound sources, approaches, techniques – which amount to a union of sorts. 

Destination Bermuda is twenty five track compilation, which as its title suggests celebrates the island territory in the North Atlantic Ocean known for its pink-sand beaches. The CD is from these masters of the retro compilation Bear Family Records- the tracks are from between the 1950s and 1960’s, with a focus on the largely more mellow side of things- moving between swing, mellow pop, easy listening calypso, lightly simmering organ music, laid-back doo-wop & rock ‘n’ roll, etc.

Killers is a mid-90s crime thriller/ dark satire, with subtle dabs of post-noir and horror. It regards two on-the-run media savvy killer brothers, who break into a seemingly normal suburban house- finding not what they quite expected…the film features some neat/ surprising twists, and touches of female flesh/ gore. Here from Synapse Films is a Blu-Ray release – featuring a new total uncut scan of the film, a commentary track, and a few other things.

Andrew Ostler practices what he preaches. At least, he does when it comes to music. As the man behind top Eurorack modular synths, Expert Sleepers, not only does Ostler make a point of using the equipment that he builds when creating his own sounds, but he also supports other artists who do too - courtesy of his label of the same name. In fact, it is this very label that is behind the release of Ostler’s latest orchestrally driven The Blind Sublime.

The cinematic exploitation trope of bringing together/ pairing of notable characters- be they superheroes and supervillains, classic monsters vs classic, or Mexican wrestlers- has been long held/often successful ruse. In this cheap ‘n’ sleazy crime-action caper this trope is at its all-time bad taste high- as we get a serial rapist and crazed bomber being brought together. The Mad Bomber ( aka  Confessions of a Dirty Cop, The Police Connection) is a shocking, fleshy, at points down-right ridiculous example of 70’s exploitation, which you can almost smell/ taste. Here from Severin, those resurrectors of cinematic tack ‘n’ oddity- is a singing 'n' dancing Blu-ray release of this grimly entertaining curio, taking in six hours of extras.

The Scavengers was the second roughie Western helmed by notorious US exploitation duo Lee Frost(The Defilers, Mondo Bizarre, The Black Gestapo) and Bob Cresse( The Harem Bunch, The Erotic Adventures of Zorro, & Love Slaves). It appeared in 1969 a year after their first shot at the genre the mean-spirited and nastily misogynistic Hot Spur. This film follows a group of filthy and hungry-for-the-flesh( be it any animal or female human) renegade confederate soldiers. And while it’s not quite as nasty/ unpleasant as the pair's first film, we get a fair bit of derangement, rape, and racial abuse. Here from Severin is a Blu-Ray release of the film- taking in an unrated & R version of the film, a commentary track, and a few other things.

The decidedly lengthy, and rather clunkily titled No Title as of 13 February 2024 28,340 Dead, is album number eight from this Canadian post-rock collective. It finds the band in a decidedly rough ‘n’ ready 1970s setting- in both its lose & crude production and its sonic pallet which heavily nods towards the more ragged guitar-bound side of both Neil Young and Popol Vuh, as well as general earthy/ rough instrumental country-rock vibe.

Face Value is an improv album that rewardingly shifts between darting angularity, glum moodiness, and pulse-pumping manic-ness. Transition Unit is a three-piece project- bringing together two Portuguese musicians saxophonist José Lencastre and pianist Rodrigo Pinheiro, with Belgian guitarist Dirk Serries.

Analog Deviation takes in two twenty-five-to-thirty-minute examples of wandering, sparse, at times abstract or noisy improv.  Tonus is a three-piece collective bringing together Dirk Serries- Archtop guitar, Benedict Taylor- Viola, and Martina Verhoeven- grand piano.

სუნთქვის გარეშე( Without The Smell ) is a two-track release from Georgia’s Owners Of Knowledge- who create walled noise, be it dense, textured,or mixing the two states. Both tracks featured come in dead on the twenty-five-minute mark – one is dense & textual detail-lined, while the other is crude/rough-shod textured roll- so a decent contrast.

Here’s a very aptly titled walled noise collaboration that brings together two dense, impenetrable, and deeply searing examples of the HNW form. Coming as either a C30, or digital release- it appears on Stockholm’s Ominous Recordings.

The beauty of the synthesizer has been enjoyed since its birth in the mid 20th century and its growth, evolution, and place in society quickly saw it as a wonderful instrument and useful tool. Both acts on this split cassette from No Sides utilize the synthesizer in differing ways, however both build atmospheric, instrumental pieces that capture wonderful, evocative, and cinematic vibes. New Jersey's ETVRNE puts forth a somewhat medieval sounding, Goblin inspired spread while NYC's IZOLAT brings about the hazy moors with its natural, wilderness feeling ambient.

HMOT is a Siberian artist who got his start back in 2012 releasing beat-oriented, dub-based music, but has now refined his style into a kind of esoteric and subtle experimental ambient that would not be out of place on many avant-garde labels.  It's a similar transformation undergone by an artist such as Shackleton.  There Will Come Gentle Rain is one of two new albums to be released in 2024, a short full length at 35 minutes.

Dogra Magra is a Japanese sci-fi horror movie from 1987 written and directed by Toshio Matsumoto (Demons, Funeral Parade of Roses and The War of the 16 Year Olds). The film stars Yoji Matsuda (Princess Mononoke, Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind and The Girl Who Leapt Through Time), Shijaku Katsura (Futarikko, Handsome Man and Ex Terebi), Hideo Murota (Kagemusha, Samurai Reincarnation and Original Sin), and Kyoko Enami (The Fall of Ako Castle, Gamera vs Barugon and Tsugaru Jongarabushi).

It’s fair to say that Exorcist II: The Heretic is one of the most problematic/ controversial/ at times downright puzzling of all sequences. The late 70’s film brings together a confusing African subplot, lots of flying by the wings of hornets footage, hamming it up/ overplaying it acting, and wacky science. Here from Arrow Video is a double disc Blu-Ray release of the film- bringing together two cuts of the film, two new commentary tracks and a new visual essay- as well as three archive commentary tracks, and a few archive extras.

What could be better on Halloween than an album that moves like a good horror narrative, a self-driven force that grows and amasses strength while never pointing toward an exit or safe escape from its clutches? Angelo Harmsworth's Without Blinking is just such a treat, for those who like a good smattering of darkness with their ambience. 

The Definitive Collection is a three-CD/forty-one track look back at  80’s to 90’s output of Kentucky's  Midnight Star. The six-piece upwards project mixed ‘n’ melded disco, funk, soul and R&B- making for a largely upbeat, buoyant, and pacy sound.

Appearing in the early 2000s Cheeky ( aka Tra(sgre)dire ) was the twenty-first film from cigar-chopping euro auteur Tinto Brass- who made erotically charged, at times arty genre films.  The film is a decidedly playful ‘n’ buoyant erotic comedy/drama, which finds an often no underwear-wearing Venetian twentysomething in London, hiring out an apartment & trying to get her conscientious/ studious boyfriend to join her in the UK. Like much of Brass’s work the picture titres on the edge of hardcore, but never fully drives in- instead, it uses fleshy tropes to edge its story. 

The Oblong Box is a late 60’s horror/period mystery that has it all. Voodoo, a lord with a chained-up demented brother, a premature burial, various dodgy dealings, body snatchers, a deranged slashing madman in a crimson hood, and a generally schlocky gothic horror air. It also features two key horror stars Vincent Price & Christopher Lee, and a good shifting pace. Here from the BFI is a Blu-Ray release of the film- taking in a new interview with Vincent Price's daughter, and a good selection of archive extras.

Released in the year 1987 Opus Dei was the third studio album from Slovenian/ Yugoslav avant-garde music collective Laibach. It was the band's first album to be released by the Mute label, and it saw the collective adding slightly more approachable/ at times camp/ pomp edges to their blend of martial industrial & neoclassical dark wave- though there were still the quirky/ weird touches here ‘n’ there.  From Mute, here we have a two-CD set- bringing the original album/ three bonus tracks, a sixteen-track live disc, and a twenty-eight inlay booklet.

Electric Wizard to many, are just another in the long line of underground occult horror-obsessed hard rock/metal bands that began with Black Sabbath and incorporated Atomic Rooster, Uriah Heep, Witchfinder General, Mercyful Fate, Saint Vitus, Cathedral and a host of others, however to the initiated they are so much more than that. They started out with the aim of being the most monolithically heavy, stoned rock band on earth, however they grew beyond those early aims into the biggest occult doom band on the planet. This book covers their rise to prominence and everything that has happened along the way during their 31-year reign as the chosen few.

Toteninsel ( translated to English as The Island Of The Dead) is the twenty-fifth album from Allerseelen- the Austrian project that brews up a highly distinct mix of Folk & Industrial music.  They often blend in other genres to their sound such as- bleak new wave/ post-punk, traditional Germanic folk, world music influences, avant-garde pop, jazz, neo-classical, etc.

After crushing hopes and blistering eardrums with 2020's Buried Steel, Khost took their time crafting a very worthy and heavy follow-up, Many Things Afflict Us Few Things Console Us. Building further upon their doom-laden industrial approach, Khost continues to beat down the hearts and minds of those subjecting themselves to their grim electronics. However, in true artistic fashion, the duo expands their sonic palette to include some varying new touches and new genre flirtations. But don't let the more groove-filled tracks throw you, Khost is still out to pummel their sound into your soul through your ears and leave you worn and smiling at the end.

In recent years the found-footage/ mock documentary genre has become largely stale, replaying cliches over & over again. But from time to time you get films that do something fairly fresh/ new with the form, and Late Night with the Devil is one such film. It regards a late 70’s US TV talk show, where the host seemingly talks with a real-life demon, via a damaged/ troubled teen girl. The film blends a well-painted/ realized backstory, low-key dread, and talk-show host parody/ satire, with moments of suddenly intense horror/ shock. Here from Second Sight Films is a UHD/Blu-Ray boxset, taking in a one hundred and twenty-page book, art cards, and six art cards.

When Tomorrow Comes is a 1939 drama from director John M Stahl. Here's a handsome remastered 2k edition of the film- with original mono audio, and a few extras from Indicator/ Powerhouse.

Tomorrow’s Fashions is a twenty-eight-track compilation focusing on the electronica side of the library music genre. Coming as either a CD or double vinyl release- the compilation is a wonderful varied sonic trip back to the early 70s to late 80s, and the world of Library music with a distinct electronic edge.

The House Of Horrors is a twenty-seven-track compilation focusing on groovy, creepy, cheesy 50s & 60s Rock ‘n’ roll, R&B, pop, and related genres- all primed for your Halloween party. The CD release is from fine folks at Bear Family Records- who truly are the gold-standard company when it comes to retro compilations, as they put so much thought/ passion into all they put-out, and this release is no exception.

Ozon's Transgressive Triple is a double Blu-ray set that brings together the first three feature films by queer French director François Ozon- which appeared in the late 90’s/ early 2000s. As the set title suggests all three films deal with transgressive themes/ content- moving from the middle-class satire of Sitcom, through to the crime drama meets skewed modern fairy tale of Criminal Lovers, onto the drama meets dark comedy/ farce of Water Drops on Burning Rocks.  With set taking in new scans of the films, and a few extras.

Babe, Terror, the alter ego of Brazilian producer/composer Claudio Katz Szynkier, has its roots firmly set in the alternative worlds of woozy electronica, ambient, sampling, jazz even noise-rock. His work to date delivers an enthralling journey through a sonic underground doused in intricacy, layering and deep complexity. And it is this trusted electronic aesthetic that forms the basis of Pescadou Gualapagouse, the Brazilian artist’s latest Babe, Terror release which marks a shift to the realms of modern classical and free jazz

A Quiet Place in the Country is a late 60’s blend of mystery thriller, Are-they-mad-or-not psycho drama, and uneasy/ arty horror/ ghost story. The Italian/ French production features Franco Nero and Vanessa Redgrave as its leads- each giving emotional & physically intense performances- as a painter, and his lover/ business partner. Here from Radiance Films, is a recent Blu-Ray release of the film- taking in an HD scan, a new selected scenes commentary track, and a few other new & archive extras.

SW4 9.4 is a new release from UK wall noise project Norfolk Trotter- aka long-term scenester Michael Ridge. It features a single near-on-hour slab of densely punishing HNW, which mixes rapid bass grind with a jittering static bound texturing- really giving one the feeling of going headfirst through a huge rubbish grinder.

Here we have a walled noise split bringing together Cincinnati’s Whore's Breath, and Uk’s Utterblight. Both sever up a twenty-minute wall, which offered up fairly different- brutalising takes on the genre.

Ensnare is a just over thirty-minute slab of grating, hissing, and cluttering walled noise from this highly prolific UK project.  There is most certainly a decidedly busy and detailed industrial vibe to this wall’s focus, which never lets up in its unrelenting attack.

By rubbing specialized body parts together, insects are able to sing their song and communicate with others of their species, most likely to rub other specialized body parts together. This is stridulation, and while the word may be new to some, the sounds produced in this manner would be recognised by almost all. Robert Schwarz was inspired by this method of communication and set about resynthesizing these calls and songs for Stridulations 1-14. Continuing with his work on previous releases, Schwarz further investigates the "spatio-temporal sonic patterns" of these stridulations, most notably in "swarm behavior and synchrony." Entomological inspiration is strong in experimental synthesis, and Schwarz utilizes natural sounds from field recordings along with created electronic sounds with great effect.

All triptychs must come to end, though the form is not equivalent to a trilogy, where rely on narrative coherence to bind their respective parts. For Harvestman's (aka Steve Von Till) final instalment in his trio of EPs whose releases are coincident with a particular phase of the lunar cycle – this one is the harvest moon – all of the ingredients found on the first two parts are present: dubby bass from Al Cisneros, drums, guitars, recorded snippets of a man's voice, and synths.