Coverage:Kaotoxin Kollektor Series-Ausstellung

Our friends at Kaotoxin Records have recently announced the first of what will become a series of exclusive high end physical content, available to buy direct from them and in limited numbers. Our metal master Gary Lee gives us the skinny!













French indie metal label, Kaotoxin, have proudly released their first 'Kollektor Series' release in the form of Ausstellung, a two song split release featuring The Lumberjack Feedback and We All Die (Laughing). Both could arguably be considered two of the labels most genre bending, eclectic and unique artists. However, before we discuss the artists, let's discuss the release in general.

The idea behind the 'Kollektor Series' is to create limited releasing by teaming up with people in other creative fields and offering these releases to the public for those collectors who have a desire to collect interesting physical releases. I believe Kaotoxin havevhit the nail on the proverbial head here. The release was created in conjunction with French photographer/artist Mathieu Drouet, who created an exhibition wherein musical artists were asked to create music to accompany the 12 pictures Drouet had chosen for his exhibition. The songs were intended to be an audio rendering of the story and emotion captured within the picture. 12 individual artists were chosen, one supplying a song to accompany one of the 12 chosen pictures and thus these two songs and Ausstellung were born.

The first track from this release is by The Lumberjack Feedback, an instrumental five-piece consisting of 2 drummers, a bassist and a guitarist whose motto is "low and heavy!" This is also their first major release on the label, having released their EP Hand of Glory (2013) and the digital EP Noise In The Church (2014). Below is A Whisper To The Thunder taken from Hand Of Glory, the video also saw contributions from aforementioned artist M. Drouet.

The track they contributed for the exhibition (and has found release on Ausstellung) I, Mere Mortal is a rolling wave of crushing emotional darkness with just the type of relentless drumming you would expect from a drummer pairing. The riffs are large enough to combat the low end assault and the distortion and feedback becomes a nihilistic melody, the absence of notes creating the most wondrous of sounds. You can judge the song for yourself here if you like what you have heard then you will be pleased to know that the band are releasing their first full length album later this year.

The second band that features on the release, We All Die (Laughing), are a two piece band, featuring former 6:33 vocalist (from 2013's The Stench From The Swelling) Arno Stobi and multi instrumentalist Déhà. The contribution made by the duo can be heard here and is a dark jazz variation of their song Thoughtscanning, which was originally released in 2013 on the album of the same name. This gentle and brooding track features dark and foreboding melodies, which is a perfect counterpoint to the crushing doom that came before it. For those interested, you can find the original track, in its 30 minute  entirety below.

                                          

Overall, this release is certainly an intriguing one, both on a musical and a physical scale. The chance to own a release that is limited to only 100 copies is enticing, whereas the music is complex and thoughtful. The release also comes in a digital form for those that don't have the space, or are only interested in the musical aspect of this release. Personally, I think this is a great start to the exclusive line of Kaotoxin releases.

Article By: Gary Lee (@thewheelbear)

Purchase Ausstellung here:
Physical release 
Digital release 


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