(2017-2018)

    The 2017 roster of releases was announced in January, with a total of fifteen full-length albums planned for the new year, covering a wide spectrum of “extreme” sounds, from brutal deathindustrial to frenetic black metal. Thus far, albums by HUSERE GRAV, LONGPIG (featuring Josh Yelle of KINTAAN/LVMMVX, Andy Grant of THE VOMIT ARSONIST, and Chris Potenza of CYST), and SIRE have been produced in the first few months of this year. Going into production five days from this writing is the self-titled debut full-length album by THE HOLY CIRCLE, featuring Terence Hannum of LOCRIAN, released on June 6. ANNIHILVS hosted SIRE in New York on July 1, 2017, releasing a cassette by opening act CASAS at that show.

    Although APEX FEST VII in NYC was cancelled due to the various concerns over bringing European acts into the country, in early August we will be celebrating the label’s 20th anniversary with an event in Providence. Plans are well underway for a festival in October at the Garner Arts Center, a pre-civil war textiles mill converted into a destination for a myriad of visual arts, film, and performance. THEOLOGIAN continues to record for Cadabra Records, including Lovecraft’s “The Call of Cthulhu,” “the Haunter of the Dark,” and “The Outsider.”
A cassette for Danvers State Recordings called Forced Utopia is in progress, and a full-length album titled Contrapasso has been in the works for nearly two years.

    I have begun to dissolve relationships with longtime collaborators and “friends” whose presence in my life has been either toxic or one-sided, and plan to largely withdraw from my activities as an event organiser, however this does not mean the end for this label, merely an important step forward, unfettered by those who do not share my goals. I have many plans in the works, and by no means am I prepared to quit. The election of a fascist to our nation’s highest office did not help to salve my deep depression, and I continue to struggle with my place in this world. Currently unemployed and on the dole, rather than collapsing into a gelatinous ball, I am doing my best to push forward with these endeavours.

    Early in the 2017, Gretchen and I commissioned my longtime friend Jorden Haley (Bird ov Prey), who has created a great many graphics for both the label and my various projects, to create the “Hystagram,” a symbol combining the Baphomet/Satanic seal with the female reproductive organs. Jorden produced a series of enamel pins, which we then sold online. Proceeds from the ANNIHILVS edition of these pins were donated to RAINN in Trump’s name. Jorden also donated his proceeds, from pins as well as shirts bearing the same icon, to other charities.
I then produced a series of t-shirts bearing the text, INDUSTRIAL MUSIC IS PROTEST MUSIC, printed by Sage Weatherford’s Forest Passage Printing company. It had been my plan to donate the proceeds, minus production costs, to Earthjustice, however we did not sell enough from the initial run to allow for this. A second run is currently available. There are ways that those of us who feel powerless can still contribute, and I fully intend to continue in this direction.

In addition to the above-mentioned releases, the following albums were realised between 2017 and 2018:

WORMS IN WOMEN AND CATTLE. SICK ROAD DIGIPAK CD-R

SKINCAGE. UNIMAGINED SPACE DIGIPAK CD-R

KINTAAN. S/T DIGIPAK CD-R

The future is merely a series of opportunities waiting to happen...