Terje Rypdal - Lux Aeterna (2002)

Previously on OPIUM HUM:
Terje Rypdal - Bleak House (1968)
Jan Garbarek with Terje Rypdal - Esoteric Circle (1969)
Terje Rypdal - Terje Rypdal (1971)
Terje Rypdal - After the Rain (1976)
Terje Rypdal, Miroslav Vitous & Jack DeJohnette - S/T (1979)
Terje Rypdal - Descendre (1980)
Terje Rypdal, Miroslav Vitous & Jack DeJohnette - To Be Continued (1981)
Ketil Bjørnstad, David Darling, Terje Rypdal & Jon Christensen - The Sea (1995) + The Sea II (1998)

A breathtaking work of jazz-informed contemporary classical that's unlike anything else I've posted by Mr. Rypdal. Some of the most haunting, sublime sounds he's ever made.

Track listing:
1. 1st Movement - Luminous Galaxy
2. 2nd Movement - Fjelldåpen
3. 3rd Movement - Escalator
4. 4th Movement - Toccata
5. 5th Movement - Lux Aeterna

No, they couldn't believe it was you
But I knew

Also listen to:

Steve Tibbetts -
Northern Song (1982)

Zbigniew Preisner - Diaries of Hope (2013)

Pouppée Fabrikk - Rage (1990)

Pissed-off Swedish EBM. The core sound consists entirely of drums, synth-bass, and vocals, with some subtle atmospheric elements added here and there, making for a minimal, punk-leaning sound.

Track listing:
1. Retrospect
2. Circumcision
3. Shapeshifter
4. Distraction
5. Incinerage
6. Death
7. Keine Zukunft
8. Youth
9. Selfdestruct
10. No Way Back
11. Watch Your Sex

Dismembered quietly

You should also listen to:

The Klinik -
Face to Face (1988)

Placebo Effect -
Galleries of Pain (1992)

Patologicum - Hecatomb of Aberration (2003)

Polish grind-y brutal death. Simplistic, extremely heavy guitars, formless gutturals, sloppy drumming, and a few long-ass horror movie samples, including one from Bad Taste.

Track listing:
1. Extremely Deforminded
2. Rectal Love
3. Bloody Adventures
4. Castration Anxiety
5. Massive Neck Injection by Infected Junkie
6. Vaginal Pus(sy)
7. Hacken-Creutzfeld Jacob
8. Famous by Urge
9. Tragedy in Supermarket
10. No Meat, No Eat
11. Condemned to Rot
12. Genital Vapor
13. Against Tolerance
14. Pavulon Ambulance

A walk among the corpses
Fills my heart with pride

You'd also like:

Dead Infection -
A Chapter of Accidents (1995)

Chainsaw Dissection -
Malodorous Decomposition (2005)

Autumn - The Hating Tree (1997)

Perfect goth-rock. Lush guitars, muscular rhythm section, soaring lady vox, and an enveloping, nocturnal atmosphere. Happy Halloween month, by the way. Due to my life being a pile of shit, I won't be cranking out the spooky hits as I have in previous years, so make sure to go through the archives for previous Octobers if you want more.

Track listing:
1. How It Came to Be This Way
2. A Waiting Time
3. Even Now
4. ...Of Moondrop Tears
5. Desert Winds of Jezebel
6. Resurrection
7. Oceans
8. The Well
9. Atrophy
10. Seconds
11. The Hating Tree

When candles and incense are not enough
To dispel the death I die every day

Listen to these, too:

This Ascension -
Tears in Rain (1989)

Static Movement -
Visionary Landscapes (1999)

A-Soma & the Unlightened - Nothing Comes to Mind (1999)

Dark, extremely strange music. Synthesized orchestral arrangements, classically-inspired acoustic guitars, surreal poetry, some moments resembling deconstructed new wave, and generally unsettling vibes. I've been wanting to post this for years, but the prospect of actually having to describe it has been daunting. So in the interest of the greater good, I just decided to half-ass it, like always.

EDIT: Apparently A-Soma is not an alias for Nemo Jones, so I have deleted that bit. I got that information from Discogs but enough of you seem certain that it's wrong that I'm gonna believe y'all. Thanks to those of you who were able to convey this information without being fucking dickheads about it.

EDIT #2: Looks like the information on Discogs has been fixed now as well, and since A-Soma had been listed as an alias for Nemo Jones for years now, I'm guessing that it was one of y'all that corrected it. So it looks like there's a happy ending after all.

Track listing:
1. This
2. Train
3. Vortex of Blades
4. Ethyl
5. Dark Sphere
6. Satellite Dance
7. Giant Leaves
8. Draps Bruts
9. Conundrum
10. Sky Face
11. The Canals of Mars
12. The Botanist's Servant
13. Falling Down Holy
14. Frozen Fields
15. Amniotic Shore
16. The Box
17. Scorched
18. Morning Light
19. Mineral Worship

There's no such thing as purity

You'd probably also enjoy:

Eerie Von & Mike Morance -
Uneasy Listening (1996)

The Residents -
Animal Lover (2005)

Abramelin - Abramelin (1995)

Australian death metal. Sounds like they couldn't decide between Florida and Stockholm, so they combined the two, added some subtle-but-crucial progressive elements to cover their tracks, then covered "Cantara" by Dead Can Dance just to be safe. If the part after the little drum break in "Grave Ideals (Nekromaniac)" doesn't have you feeling like the white people in the fancy restaurant in that Chapelle Show sketch with John Mayer, you probably have something wrong with your mosh gland.

Track listing:
1. Misfortune
2. Grave Ideals (Nekromaniac)
3. Spiritual Justice
4. Humble Abode
5. Stargazer (The Summoning)
6. Stargazing (Stargazer II)
7. Depraved Afterlife
8. Invocation
9. Cantara [Dead Can Dance cover]

You'll soon become a part of us

Similar listening:

Inverted -
The Shadowland (1996)

Nominon -
Diabolical Bloodshed (1999)

The Muffs - Alert Today Alive Tomorrow (1999)

Previously on OPIUM HUM:
The Muffs - Happy Birthday to Me (1997)

RIP to Kim Shattuck, one of the greatest songwriters ever to grace the world of pop punk. Here's The Muffs' excellent, bittersweet fourth album, in which they largely stick to their established sound while branching out juuuust a bit -- there are a couple of ballads, and "Dear Liar Love Me" is pretty fucking weird. Thanks for all the great music, Kim.

Track listing:
1. I Wish That I Could Be You
2. Silly People
3. Another Ugly Face
4. Prettier Than Me
5. Clown
6. Your Kiss
7. Numb
8. I'm Not Around
9. Blow Your Mind
10. Room with No View
11. Dear Liar Love Me
12. In
13. Jack Champagne

Until you hate you will never know what love is
Until that day you will never feel a thing

You should also hear:

The Queers -
Love Songs for the Retarded (1993)

Matthew Sweet -
Kimi Ga Suki (Raifu) (2003)

Odraza - Esperalem Tkane (2014)

Anxiety-ridden Polish black metal. Angular guitars, linear, intentionally disjointed songs, and vocals that sound more like a sorcerer shouting curses and incantations from on high than anything relating to music.

Track listing:
1. Niech sie dzieje
2. Wielki Mizogin
3. Esperalem tkany
4. Cicha 8
5. Gorycz
6. Prog
7. Tam, gdzie nas nie spotkamy

Abortion of humanity

Also listen to:

Genius Ultor - Nic Co Boskie
Nie Jest Mi Obce (2014)

Tortorum -
Katabasis (2014)