Bunkur
Bludgeon (LP) 2003 Deserted Factory
Crush, pulverise, mangle, destroy... Ultra-Doom has arrived by the hands of the Dutch "crushinators" Bunkur. A one-track sonic assault that knows almost no rival is unleashed upon unsuspecting listeners. Khanate, Grief, Winter are bands that come to mind when listening to this now already cult outfit. Still, while being very familiar and comfortable with all those bands, they couldn’t quite prepare me for what I was to hear from Bunkur. Bunkur already made quite a name for themselves due to the Dutch Doom Day 2, without ever having released any material. Being clocked in obscurity until that fateful day at the DDD2, most people could only guess how they sounded. But once you have heard them, you won't easily forget them. The music is amongst the most crushing Sludge/Death/you-name-it-Doom there is. Ultra-Doom seems to be the most suitable term to describe them. The band sounds heavy and twisted, but due to the vocals they don't come across too tortured (like for example Khanate). The vocals are twisted, sick, semi-screamed grunts but still remain quite easy to listen to. Personally I find this quite a big plus point. It's painful for the soul, but not for the ears. The only downside I can find to this record is perhaps its length. The massive length of 65 minutes is quite a sit-through and the music stays quite constant through the whole album. This however can also be considered a plus point, depending on how you look at it. It's not an album you will put on and consciously analyse every single minute of. But it's a perfect atmospheric work designed to suck the life out of any room (and I mean that in a good way!). Bunkur simply is Ultra Doom... NO! Über-Doom! Not for the faint of heart. This is meant to destroy your soul!	1. Bludgeon Approx. 65 minutes
Reviewed by: Aldo Quispel
Church Of The Flaggelation (Split Cassette) 2004 Catacomb Music
The Irish Label 'Catacomb Music', which springs from the same well as the 'Abandon All Hope' magazine, makes its debut with this extreme Doom compilation, a four-way split of Stabat Mater, Bunkur, Malasangre and The Sad Sun. Finnish Doom enigma Stabat Mater is relatively stingy with releases, and even more so with information. Not only is their field for band info completely empty, we don't even get a song title this time. What we do get is some trademark extreme Doom, which follows in line of the previous split releases and the promo which circulates on the internet. The band provides us with heavy, dirty riffing, obscure vocals and a chaotic ending to a relatively short song. Although this is again not the most intense or original Doom, Stabat Mater always manage to please me with their material. I'm still waiting for that surprise though... Bunkur is of a wholly different character. These Dutch mammoths crushed friend and foe with their immensely long and crushing debut, the aptly named 'Bludgeon', and are back with a vengeance. I must admit I wasn't too impressed with the first release, but I think the band succeed a lot better with this new track. Clocking well over 30 minutes, "Devolve" is another one of those giants. The stretching out of song structures and riffs so that the melody is barely perceptive is something that goes against your musical common sense, but Bunkur make it into an art. While still leaning very heavily upon the style developed by Winter, the band is shaping its own niche in today's extreme Doom scene, and will probably keep on growing. Malasangre is a relatively unknown band from Italy, and they play a style of doom that fits in perfectly with the rest of this release. This is their first release in three years and it's quite a huge track. Expect some very heavy riffs, sick vocals, out-of-tune keyboards and fitting samples in this obscure mix of dirty and Doom. Simply good! But the highlight of the compilation is "Seas That Swallowed The Night...". The Sad Sun is a collaboration of Stijn van Cauter and E.M. Hearst and that is clearly audible. This project combines elementes from, among others, The Ethereal, Torture Wheel and Until Death Overtakes Me, and the result is over 19 minutes of uncompromising, crushing and bleak Funeral Doom. Distorted screams and leads rend your tinniti, while you are beaten into submission by the underlying mass of pure musical weight. I'm getting metaphorical again, so you know it's gonna be good... I urge S. and E.M. to churn out some more of this horrible, yet appealing bile. There isn't much to conclude. You get all of this, formatted in a professional MC release, for only 5 euros or $7 including shipping. Don't hesitate and strike while you can. Contact Catacomb Records on this adress: intothecatacomba@lycos.com.	Stabat mater: 1. (untitled) Bunkur: 2.Devolve Malasangre: 3. Revelation CCXXXIX The Sad Sun: 4. Seas That Swallowed The Night... Approx. 65 minutes
Reviewed by: Oscar Strik