Altered Zones

At midnight last night, while the moon shone down upon empty streets and innocent children slept soundly in their beds, Excepter released upon the world a collection of rarities from the years 2002-2004 for digital-only download on their Bandcamp. Led by the ever-enigmatic John Fell Ryan (SETH, No Neck Blues Band), Excepter have been pillars of the New York experimental and noise scene since their formation in 2002. Using an artillary of vintage synths, drum machines and effects pedals for their recordings and explosive live shows, Excepter at once mine the primitive impulses of a human wrenched from history, while also sounding like some reductio ad absurdum of all its debris.

OD includes early compilation tracks, their first podcast called STREAM 01, and a couple of previously unreleased Excepter numbers. Included on this collection is the stand-out track "Are U War 2?," which was previously available on the 2003 compilation, Kult 48: The Dark Mix. Initial programming and recordings of the track took place as JFR and bandmate Macrae Semans watched the television broadcasts announce the beginning of the Iraq War. Ephereal and haunting cries devolve into howls, and then into meek pleas to "don't send me over" while synths bubble and stutter like menacing spirits within you. The result is an amazing rendering of the immensity of war, in all its horrible mechanics.

Also available for download and streaming from the site is the digital release of Excepter's debut LP, KA which features fan favorite "Shattered Skull," and two extra tracks not seen on the release, "Vacation" and "AG." Equinox-- live material from 2009 that was previously released on limited run cassette-- is also packaged with KA. Skip over to their Bandcamp and grab it all. --Daniel Gottlieb, Altered Zones