08MAY2013_LCM_OAKLAND_CA

VHOL

Under heavy influence of French comic artist, Philippe Druillet and cold/dark outer-space.  Design and layout for the debut CD from VHOL, the LP edition will be in-progress shortly through Profound Lore as well. The cover art  is by the talented John Cobbett, along with the design and layout handled by myself. 

Above: the original sketch that John had worked on --once he completed the illustration, I scanned it, touched it up, and contributed my own details to the piece.. the interior of the digipak is the same form, deconstructed. We really wanted a cold/sterile/hostile presentation, so went with a high-gloss board, Pantone metallic silver printing on black to emphasize this. Below: the digital mock-up

From Profound Lore: 
"VHOL, the new group comprised of vocalist Mike Scheidt, guitarist John Cobbett, drummer Aesop Dekker, and bassist Sigrid Sheie, have completed work on their self-titled debut album.  One that has been deemed as one of the most anticipated metal albums of the year.  Anticipated out of the curiosity of what VHOL is going to sound like and the pedigree at the band’s disposal with the members’ respective repertoires already at hand.

Initially formed by Cobbett and Dekker to create music together again post-LUDICRA fallout, VHOL would take shape quickly.  When Cobbett and Dekker were thinking of a vocalist, their first choice was easily Mike Scheidt of YOB and Scheidt immediately accepted to join the contingent without even hearing a note of music. Rounding off the lineup on bass would be HAMMERS OF MISFORTUNE/AMBER ASYLUM keyboardist/bassist Sigrid Sheie respectively.

When the initial idea of VHOL surfaced, one of the initial intentions was to write music of a faster nature.  Not to necessarily continue where LUDICRA left off, but VHOL would eventually become a vehicle for the respective musicians to further explore their musical roots a bit more.  By combining elements of old-school punk, dbeat hardcore, classic old-school metal (a good combination of traditional classic metal ala Judas Priest and speed metal in the “Kill ‘Em All”/”Show No Mercy” vein), and a touch of outsider black metal, VHOL have created a sound unlike anyone in metal today. One that is raw, primal, fierce, triumphant, and ultimately face melting. This fact solidified even more by Scheidt’s distinct vocal delivery where he expands his vocal capabilities into the beyond.

Recorded by Greg Wilkinson in conspiracy with Cobbett at Earhammer Studios in Oakland and mixed by respected engineer/producer Randall Dunn in Seattle, tracklisting for VHOL goes as follows:

1. The Wall
2. Insane With Faith
3. Plastic Shaman
4. Grace
5. Illuminate
6. Arising
7. Set To Await Forever

VHOL will officially be released April 16."

You can listen to a sample track of this ripping album HERE.

SUTEKH HEXEN - "Become" 12"EP

"SUTEKH HEXEN "Become" 12" EP. Originally released on 1/4" tape reel by Auris Apothecary, "Become" centers on vortex, repetition, and inducing trance-like states. This release serves to bridge the gap between "Behind the Throne" LP (2012) and "Monument of Decay" EP (3rd quarter 2013). This release has been remastered for vinyl by James Plotkin and will be presented in HEAVY Stoughton tip-on jackets, featuring lavish metallic gold and black offset printing, and 2 vinyl colorways. Adorned with brand new artwork and layout by Kevin Gan Yuen with source photography by Patricia Cram."

Available soon from KOTM (HERE)

09 APRIL // 10 APRIL

R.I.P. PHIL HERZ

AVAILABLE NOW:

"Shipping first week of March..

This exciting release features two new songs by Sutekh Hexen and remixes of those songs by the prolific Andrew Liles.

We will present this double LP in a gatefold with spot varnishing. 
The B and C sides feature a 7” cut onto a 12” lacquer with etched outer edges.

Standard Edition LP limited to 393 on 200gm Black Vinyl. 
Limited Edition LP limited to 93 on 200gm Royal Haze Vinyl.

Pesanta Urfolk 025

Also available: 
(MERZBILD: cassette edition) 
(AURORA BOREALIS: deluxe CD edition)"

And the sessions have begun...

OGHAM "I"

Photos courtesy of Thorsten Marc Soltau

"Ogham is the collaborative duo of Thomas Martin Ekelund and Kevin Gan Yuen, whose project takes its title from the name for an Early Medieval alphabet known for obscuring runic inscription. Linguistically, the etymology of the word ogham is unknown; its origin may stem from the Irish og-úaim 'point-seam', a seam made by the point of a sharp weapon.  

Ogham, much like the arcane set of letters it derives its inspiration from, fissures at the seams of sound.  Recorded in San Francisco by way of Gothenburg, “I” [C77] discloses two movements in an extended composition and, in doing so, a cathartic exploration of sound within dead language.  “I” [C77] combines electroacoustic impulses with raw tonal permutation en route to sinister drone. This cassette is the first part of a trilogy to be released on Merz.  

Gip e tised in faidche, dia m-ba gascedach, geis fair ar thecht dind faidchi cen chomrac n-oenfhir do fhuacra. ["Whoever comes to this meadow, if he be armed, he is forbidden to leave the meadow, without requesting single combat."]"

SUTEKH HEXEN "LARVAE" LP gatefold design

Finally posting the layout for the revered "Larvae" LP on Handmade Birds. This was a collaboration between Dwid Hellion and myself. We wanted to continue the bleak grayscale theme with our presentation, but pushed the aesthetic a bit and printed the logos, lyrics and some visual elements using spot UV (clear ink); a very striking addition.

HERE is a quick clip of Dwid demonstrating what I mean.

Sutekh Hexen - "Breed in Me the Darkness: the Second Coming mixes by Andrew Liles"

2xLP gatefold + center label + sticker design // inner photography: A.E. Csaky // photography + packaging design utilizes spot varnish (as hinted in this mock-up). 

Visually, the artwork conceptually supports the formless and unforgiving energy of nature, rebirth, and exploring realms within an idealistic world.

Further inspiration: I had an interesting experience several months ago at Sibley Volcanic Regional Preserve, where I silently walked a labyrinth at the base of several rocky slopes under the moon. Let's say that from the start, I was unsettled with the feeling being watched. As I proceeded towards the center of the labyrinth, I heard tiny pebbles descending from above the Eastern slopes; perhaps an acknowledgment of our own vibrations throwing off the sync of the environment. Upon reaching the center of the labyrinth, the wind became still, and a cascade of loud sounds echoed in the valley, only this time: not pebbles, but boulders and entire slabs of the canyon walls came crashing down as I stood there in the center of the labyrinth, perplexed. Fixated towards the source of activity, realization sparked within me that the West was meant to collapse.. 

Three formats available: 
Pesanta Urfolk (2xLP) 
Aurora Borealis (deluxe CD) 
Merzbild (CS)

"It is with great honor and privilege for Sutekh Hexen to announce a very special EP, featuring four new tracks. Two original tracks by the band and the source-material of said tracks, remixed by multi-instrumentalist Andrew Liles (UK). With an extensive catalog of solo-works and as a key-contributor to such sonic luminaries as Nurse With Wound and Current 93, we knew that we were in good hands.

We could not be happier with the final results: absolutely stunning compositions, navigating multi-faceted territories, based on the eternal themes of darkness and the light, to be experienced in three distinctive packaging-presentations: All LP/CD/CS editions feature the haunting photography of photographer A.E. Csaky (Vancouver, BC), and the design of Kevin Gan Yuen."

Thanks for reading.

SUTEKHHEXEN.ORG

SUTEKHHEXEN.ORG is now live. 
Thank you for your support! 

Ai Weiwei

 

Katabatik Winter Solstice 2012 set w/AC Way

creep out by R. Jobes

§

SUTEKH HEXEN

"There are in the abyss architects building great temples - spaces accessible to those who have the mind and fortitude to transgress the seen and pass into the unseen. There are those who know foundations, and those who further know adornment, where the subtle and the profound gnash their teeth. Amid splinter and nail, among cavern and spire, we find the black temples of Sutekh Hexen.

Here, finely woven shrouds of static hang from clattering bones. On blinding pyres, offerings convulse, open into screams. The labyrinth collapses as soon as its center is found, and when you are offered this chance to catch your breath - take it. You will soon find yourself blindfolded, fingering crossroads, filthy with the marks of shadows older than the sun.

But savage territories yield, ultimately, to a grace of their own, discernible to the eye refined. Herein lie the guts of Sutekh Hexen's power. These are ruins reimagined, anarchic entities restrained -- though they twitch in their bindings and blister beneath our gaze. A way has been cut, yet we see that it is faceted, that it will never betray anything so evident as a single path. As bottomless as the abyss is, neither does it have a crown. The empyrean here is severe, the pits heaving and rich. The greatest subversion affected, then, by Sutekh Hexen, is the making unknown of the known, of offering a body upon which you may scratch and scratch until your nailbeds bleed and still believe you're digging at something holy.

And for all that is here profane, dead sacred are the rites of each of these offerings. These are no self-referential mirrors intended to seduce the ego. Instead, each demonstrates, unflinchingly, an encounter with those rare entities that have the power to haunt the haunted. Slippery are these altars, like honeyed knives to bone.

Grind that ear upon the temple door, and hold your teeth in your head. This exorcism's going to find its way back in. Receive it. Let it leave a mark."

- Patricia Cram 


TWITTER: https://twitter.com/patriciacram

WEBSITE: http://patriciacram.com

"7:10:12"

"First ever for a 7" on a 12" so I've been told! It's been done with 10"/12" I believe"

Preview of the etched sides (B and C) of the forthcoming (xMass release) SUTEKH HEXEN "Breed in Me the Darkness: the Second Coming mixes by Andrew Liles" 2xLP on Pesanta Urfolk. Completely insane. Each LP has the 15m-19m remixed track on on

e side by Mr. Liles and a 6m track on the other by us.. which allotted the outer LP matrix-space for audio grooves and the etching on the outside. Apparently, our idea for this release is a first ever. Cool! 

TWELVETWELVETWELVE

Ϟ

SUTEKH HEXEN // 14 August @Hemlock // Captured by Doug Kaplan 

"He was in ww2 and came back with that post war syndrome and died young. We were told he also was a very strong dragon dancer"

Der Weg einer Freiheit

Merch design(s) for Bavarian Black Metal band Der Weg einer Freiheit. Check them out HERE.

AAX-077 : Sutekh Hexen - Become [1/4" tape on 5" reel]

31.10.12 - Midnight on All Hallow's Eve...

RELEASE : AAX-077

artist: Sutekh Hexen
title: Become
format: ¼" tape reel - 5"
copies: 99 hand-numbered copies

music: An entity which needs no introduction, SUTEKH HEXEN have been tainting everything in their audio path with bleakness and decay for almost 2 years now. Embracing this concept wholeheartedly and twisting it into a new manifestation,Become is 2 side-long pieces of saturated, seething harshness dubbed onto recycled vintage reels of ¼" tape. Each reel has been hand-selected from a stockpile filled almost exclusively with an assortment of antique radio programs, muddied classical orchestrations and doomsday sermons about the book of Revelations. The level of audio decay is entirely dependent on the previous life of each tape reel, varying between typical tape characteristics to extreme degradation where the source material is nearly unitelligible.

To enhance the ritualistic nature of participating in the transforming audio signal, the packaging becomes a candlelight projector, the illuminated sygil flickering and dancing at the whim of the wind; an appropriately uncontrollable aspect to match the individually differing experiences that each recycled reel becomes for every listener.

NOTICE: Become has been dubbed onto recycled reels of vintage tape stock which has previously been played an unknown amount of times in possibly despicable conditions. An assortment of audio ailments such as dropouts, warble, pitch-bending, static, crackle, hiss & extreme frequency shifting are to be expected, and all flaws which may arise are entirely condoned as adding cohesion to the release concept.

packaging: Reel boxes painted gloss black with hand-cut square viewing window for transparent projector slide. Cover, instructions and insert laserjet printed in black onto black cardstock. Recycled tape spooled onto new clear 5" reels with Sutekh Hexen logo rubber-stamped onto face. Reels serial-numbered on side two in black ink. Entire box contained in clear plastic sleeve. Also Includes 2 tealight candles in ziploc.

Released October 31st, 2012 CE.

Tracklisting:A1 - 15:00 - Five Faces of Decay
B2 - 14:48 - The Voice : The Void
--------------------
Runtime - 29:48 - Minutes

Purchase from Auris Apothecary HERE.

View the promo video HERE.

Stream the album HERE.

Servile Sect - "SVRRENDER"

The artwork/design for the vinyl release of Servile Sect's companion album to their previous full-length "TRVTH"released on Handmade Birds earlier this year. This release will be out VERY SOON. Please check out the links below for more info:

"Some of Servile Sect's most accomplished and oppressive sounds to date. The original limited cassette edition, being released Summer Solstice, 2011 on Handmade Birds. Servile Sect released the "Trvth" LP, to tremendous critical acclaim, and it sold out rapidly.  Come, Winter Solstice, 2011, they return with a companion to the "Trvth" LP. "Svrrender" is the most exciting material yet from SS, and dare we say it...our favorite. If you are still hunting for a copy of "Trvth,"."

servilesect.com
kingofthemonstersrecords.bigcartel.com
handmadebirds.com/store/HB-033.php

Inspiration: cosmic mysticism, residual effects from LSD, NASA and fantasies of extra-dimensional travels. All relevant themes to the SS aesthetic and on-going mission.
Process: Appropriated 60's sci-fi paintings, NASA satellite imagery and iPhone photography of Xmass lights while on a long Winter walk in Clovis, CA (2010).