DEAD ANGEL E-ZINE
Just a partial list of the contributors should give you a hint as to why you need this: Troum, Unearthly Trance, Thuja, House of Low Culture, Ruhr Hunter, Francisco Lopez.... The histories of said artists should clue you in, as well, to the nature of these proceedings. It's all about the drone, baybee! More accurately, it's about dark and sometimes forbidding exercises in dark-ambient grimness. The liner notes pay respect to all the right gods (Theater of Eternal Music, Phill Niblock, Terry Riley, etc.), and while the compilation is definitely paying obesiance to these gods and newer ones like Earth, Abruptum, and Maeror Tri, there are plenty of surprises along the way. The first one is the opening track from Ruhr Hunter ("in memory with blackest wings i fly"), which is not only one of the best tracks on the disc, but marries drone and Krautrock with such skill and elegance that I can't fathom why Ruhr Hunter isn't more well-known. Troum's "uswena" is a drifting swirl of subdued guitars, bass, mouth organ, voices and other effluvia, none of which is really recognizable as anything other than the sound of the cosmos reverberating. " Unearthly Trance add elements of dissonant violence to their shuddering ritualistic drone, conjuring up fatalistic visions of rituals at dawn leading to blood running down the hills. (think they should just start covering Hermann Nitsch and get it over with -- or better yet, start staging Nitsch rituals.) Thuja adds a bit of primitive scratching and clanking to their brooding drone on "Cave FloorHouse of Low Culture throws in noise and glitch electronica on "A.T. Drone Home," and Scot Jenerik's "Of A Dead God" begins with minimalist noises and near-silence that gradually builds to a near-fury then dissipates, only to coalesce again in pained drones like radio towers malfunctioning. Israel's Chaos As Shelter builds up an impressive wall of cycling drone on "nihil," but it's the Lopez track at the end ("Untitled 133") that will really get your attention (and wake your ass up, if you dozed off while buried in drone) -- loud, chaotic noise washed clean by the healing power of reverb. Ten tracks, all good, and ultra-swank packaging (design courtesy of Aaron Turner at Hydrahead). Pour yourself a fat cup o' drone and bathe in it, that's what I always say...

OUTBURN #26
"Record Of Shadows Infinite is a mixed bag of experimental music of the drone design. The most intriguing tracks stretch the boundaries a bit, showing an effort beyond the familiar. Ruhr Hunter's "In Memory With Blackest Wings I Fly" opens with stark, desolate tones that build to a kind of forest symphony in which the essence of nature is echoed by bleak drones and chiming bells like dew on tree leaves, dripping like tears... It's exquisite and moving music. Amon's "Drone/Evidence/ Foundation" is a stunning, dense drone that mutates as the track progresses; it's power lurks under the surface, in the back, amidst the layers that make up the density of the aforementioned drone - brilliant. The drone in Chaos As Shelter's "Nihil" seems to swirl and slowly pulse, lending it an air of unease. Francisco Lopez, well known for less dynamic material, lets loose on the weird aggro drone, "Untitiled #133", which sounds like he's distorted a metal band's music into incoherence. Good stuff abounds...."

WORM GEAR
"This is a ten track compilation with a general focus on "drone." Ruhr Hunter opens the collection with a subtle drift, that utilizes sparse percussion, clean tonal melody and chimes as it builds toward a plucked string melody to close. Troum, deliver their unique style of minimal but strangely lush textural drifts accented with a spacious melodic thread. Unearthly Trance is up next with a sluggish and roomy guitar dirge mixed with some ambient drones and, complimented nicely with a disembodied, almost chanted vocal approach. Thuja , are new to me, their track combines environmental recordings with some dirty atmospherics, minimal percussive elements and ambient guitar. House Of Low Culture, uses deep pulses, quiet static crackles and oscillating analog tones and grit that build and diminish ultimately ending in an agitated hum. Scot Jenerik uses slow hi frequency wafts of sound to envelope the chirps, glitches and peculiar tones. Amon contributes their trademark wash of bleak and stirring Dark Ambient, deep, low tonal elements with reverberating details buried in the swells. Chaos As Shelter, offers some slow pulsating grimy textures and subtle electronics. Beneath The Lake, build their boiling organic drones and sprinkle them with a steady dissonant string melody. Francisco Lopez closes out the collection with a combination of a high pitch tone, white noise, electronics and a grindcore song blasting within the mix that was recorded live on a radio show. It all builds to a mighty wall of sound and males for the noisiest and most animated portion of the entire release. A fitting end. All of these tracks are pretty minimal and rather quiet for the most part, which strikes me as an odd contrast with the busy and bright colored artwork, but the booklet contains some nice quotes that relate to the theme as well as little blurbs about each of the contributing artists."

DIGITALMETAL.COM
"In addition to hosting some of indie metal's coolest bands (Spickle, Totimoshi, Dove), Maryland's Crucial Blast label has a soft spot for noise, from ambient to ear-splitting, and Record Of Shadows Infinite is a stellar compilation along the lines of Relapse's Release Your Mind series. 'In Memory With Blackest Wings I Fly' from Seattle's Ruhr Hunter journeys through ambient space before descending bells and an acoustic guitar chord fade in, the latter a cross between Robert Fripp's League Of Crafty Guitarists and Led Zeppelin's 'The Battle Of Evermore'. Featuring ex-members of Maeror Tri, Germany's Troum glides in from deep space while clinging to an accordion with the resonant, Thomas Koner-like 'Uswena'. With a seven-inch on Southern Lord, Long Island's Unearthly Trance checks in with the doomy ambience of 'Scarlet', while San Fran experimentalists Thuja shuffle across the ceiling of heaven with 'Cave Floor'. Muffled, rippling bass drones ebb and flow then flicker out in a crescendo of power electronics in 'A.T. Drone Home' from House Of Low Culture, a/k/a Aaron Turner of Isis, Old Man Gloom, The Lotus Eaters, et al. San Fran's Scott Jenerik follows a similar time structure but uses jingly bells, low-gain synth chords, and slight oscillation on 'Of A Dead God'. Italy's Amon cuts through sub-space with icy thrusters firing on 'Drone/ Evidence/ Foundation', while Israel's Chaos As Shelter approaches Merzbow in chill-out mode with 'Nihil'. Wisconsin's Beneath The Lake softens the drone with distant tones creeping across otherworldly deserts in 'Hong Kong', one of the album's low-key highlights. Spain's Francisco Lopez ends the album on a harsher note with 'Untitled #133', as if he plugged speakers into a broadband cable. Expert liner notes truly set off the whole package, so switch on Record Of Shadows Infinite, tune out the chaos of life, and descend into the unclassifiable oblivion."

CRUCIAL BLAST INDUSTRIES
"It has turned out to be an incredible release, and the finished product is going to be a personal high point for me. I'm in the process of compiling the liner notes right now, listening to "In Memory With Blackest Wings I Fly" and I just wanted to say, that this is one of the most moving pieces of music I've ever heard. Thanks so much for making this awesome contribution to the project! Your track is going to open up the compilation, as I feel it will make the most dramatic introduction to the release."

STONERROCK.COM
"Remember that news article about scientists discovering that a black hole was generating what amounted to a B-flat note, and that it had been droning on for billions of years? Well, so did the folks at Crucial Blast. They gathered together a group of musicians, including Unearthly Trance and Aaron (Isis, Old Man Gloom) Turner's House of Low Culture, to create this compilation that celebrates the art of the drone. That said, it's almost impossible to review this piece as a compilation of separate tracks performed by different artists. There are, of course, noticeable differences in style and structure from one song to the next (Ruhr Hunter's opener is distinctly reminiscent of "Tubular Bells", for example, and House of Low Culture's "A.T. Drone Home" is an exercise in volume and repetition), but since this is drone music, it's individually and as a whole about slowly unfolding aural experiences. A close comparison is probably Gavin Bryar's The Sinking of the Titanic. While Titanic was one composition that grew increasingly layered as it progressed, the ten tracks on Record of Shadow Infinite do the same due to the ambient qualities of each song. The progressions are subtle, but even if you don't always consciously notice them, you definitely feel them.It would be easy to describe the record as background music (save for a couple of noisier tracks), but that's not doing it justice. Theres more than enough going on within each song, and Record of Shadows Infinite is as fitting a tribute to that intergalactic B-flat as any."

INDUSTRIAL NATION #21
The core of this collection explores dark ambience of a drone inspired nature, though there are few jolts from the periphery that keep you on your toes (though not always with worthy results). The best tracks can be described as dark but with color, as if channeled through a prism. Ruhr Hunter's "In memory With Blackest Wings I Fly" deftly juggles sparse instrumentation to cultivate a mood reminiscent of the darkest of forests, where light of the sun is but a rumor. Troum's "Usewena" sounds as though it is emanating from the scratchy throat of an engine that has been adrift within deep space for a long time. A sense of paranoia is also present, as if the engine has gained sentience and is uncomfortable with it's circumstances. Thuja's "Cave Floor", though rather jumbled, sounds as though it was recorded in a subterranean environment. A current of gurgling sounds adorn Beneath The Lake's "Hong Kong", lending it a charcoal etched swampy feel upon which a simple guitar line is drawn. All around, Record Of Shadows Infinite is mostly good stuff for any drone enthusiast to check out, just be aware that I said "Mostly".