Recorded together and originally conceived as a double-CD back in the dark ages of 1995, Carved Into Roses and Infinityland find the transitioning from the heavy riffs of Skullflower’s early days to a more free-form sound that continues to drive Matthew Bower’s many guises (Total, Sunroof!, Hototogisu, Mirag, etc.) to this day. The revamped lineup of Bower, Stuart Dennison, Russell Smith (of UK scuzz legend Terminal Cheesecake) and Phillip Best whacks away at both styles simultaneously, with lumbering hooks meeting rainbows of coruscating feedback. Both records start with lengthy, two-chord modal jams, anchored by the guest organ of Simon Wickham-Smith. “Pipe Dream” and “The Idiotsburgh Address” sport structures that wouldn’t have been out of place on a 1960s Pharoah Sanders album, but with the spiraling sound of Bower and Smith’s guitars tearing up the sound bed. The two-guitar / no-bass configuration sounds at times like a UK version of The Dead C. “White Fang’s” slashing riff and Michael Morley-style vocal are a tip of the hat to the New Zealand band’s (essentially contemporaneous) key works. Elsewhere, the classic drone and low-end menace of “Abraxas” and “Blood Orange,” the galloping drum signatures on “Metallurgical King” and the live mayhem midway thru Carved make it clear that this was a real working outfit that laid down a distinct statement of purpose and identity on these two records. The Singles disc collects both sides (over 50 minutes) of the four 7-inch records that were released around the same time and made largely by...
3XCD $19.50
11/08/2011
MP3 $17.99
11/08/2011
"All must bow before the pagan wall of drone..." So reads the opening line of Skullflower's website. Hearing their tortured, distorted, and eerily shamanic sounds emanate from the stereo for the first time in the early '90s was truly a revelation. IIIrd Gatekeeper and Obsidian Shaking Codex are two of my all-time favorite albums and have been extremely influential on the way my brothers and I approach guitar-based heavy music. To grab an instrument, drive a loud amplifier to its physical limit, and ride the drone into oblivion is ecstasy, and Matthew Bower has been showing us all how it is done for 20-odd years. Strange Keys to Untune Gods' Firmament evokes Wagnerian sonic bombast, a Nietzchean worldview, and a warlike cry of rebellion against the false, encased in a whirlwind both psychotropic and psychoacoustic. Each spin brings new themes to the forefront. Not easy listening by anyone's standards, Strange Keys is not for the faint of heart--but those willing to submit and immerse themselves in the deep, thick waters of self-transformation will be greatly rewarded. --Steve Von Till (Neurosis / Neurot Recordings)
2XCD $17.50
02/02/2010
MP3 $14.99
02/02/2010
CD $12.00
11/20/2007
***The latest from British trance-noise legend MATTHEW BOWER under his SKULLFLOWER banner. A black-void beaming of utterly destroyed drone rock and crushing amplifier obliteration that rains down black ash and punishing blasts of feedback skree upon the listener.
CD $12.00
09/12/2006
MP3 $0.00
09/12/2006
***NOW AVAILABLE!!! The latest from long-running freeform noise-rock powerhouse SKULLFLOWER. Orange Canyon Mind finds the seminal outfit continuing their pursuit of the eternal riff and absolute subjugation to the power of feedback and distortion. Heavy.
CD $8.60
07/25/2005
MP3 $0.00
07/25/2005
*** Most mellow and spacey SF release - and the last until their reactivation in the 2000's. The music here is an authoritative re-working of some of the ideas that first surfaced on their Argon CD (released by Freek). The modal structures and experiments with bowed instruments and horns that surfaced on that record are redefined and sharpened in terms of sound quality and execution, providing an extremely fulfilling listen for both the SF acclimated and the novice alike. The 40 minute "The Pirate Ship Of Reality Is Moving Out" was recorded live to DAT at a concert with Richard Youngs on extra guitar, and is the only SF live recording of such high fidelity. Also has very nice full color Matt Bower artwork all over. 4 tracks, 78 minutes.
CD $12.00
01/08/2001
MP3 $9.90
01/08/2001
CD $12.00
08/26/1996
MP3 $9.90
08/26/2000