Joachim Nordwall + Aaron Turner : Malign Seeds

I had no idea what to expect when I blindly ordered the album Malign Seeds by Joachim Nordwall and Aaron Turner. I’m a fan of SFI Recordings who had released a beautiful vinyl pressing of the record, and since I dig most of the artists they work with I figured it was a no-brainer. Am I feeling any buyer’s remorse after purchasing and receiving said album? Nope. Am I still trying to get to the record’s gooey center and understand it a bit more? Yep.

A little background for inquiring minds: Joachim Nordwall is a “Swedish musician, curator, creative producer, marketing director and nightclub manager based in Gothenburg. He runs the iDEAL label”. And Aaron Turner is an “American musician, singer, graphic artist, and founder of label Hydra Head & Sige Records. He is most widely known for his role as guitarist and vocalist for the post-metal bands SUMAC and Isis.“

Each bring a breadth of musical, creative, and artistic knowledge to the table. The idea for this collaboration was to have Turner share guitar recordings with Nordwall, then in turn Nordwall would cut and paste it into something completely different. It’s the type of musical and creative collaboration done remotely that can offer up great rewards when the right creatives come together. While this proved interesting, the album we know as Malign Seeds truly started to take shape when Nordwall would add beats to these guitar parts.

This sort of rock and roll deconstruction has given us Malign Seeds, an album not for the pop cycle connoisseur or metal dude looking for pummeling riffs. Malign Seeds is for the open minds and open ears of those searching for something not so easily defined. You may never crack the code on this one, but you’ll have a great time trying.

Malign Seeds sounds more like the soundtrack to some late-60s experimental film. “Henry” is booming, cavernous, and intimidating; truncated guitar stabs, metal ringing like cracked bells, and the feeling of walking thru some chasm between space and time. “The Bath” has squealing guitar lines, a slow single electronic beat, and noise of the screeching variety. One ominous guitar note brings to mind some cosmic version of a Sergio Leone western.

Elsewhere “Regulator” opens with a guitar squealing through a Frequency Analyzer while Turner adds an ominous voice that seems to be whispering from some other dimension. “Longhead” is the longest track at over 7 minutes, and it feels like an exorcism of sound. Distortion, menacing voices, and a build up to something akin to The Evil Dead, live at Pompeii.

Malign Seeds is not for the weak of heart. It’s a steady climb into a world of chaotic sound and harsh sonic landscapes. But those that seek something a little different, Joachim Nordwall and Aaron Turner have something for you.