Here is a solid little release from the less prolific Karlheinz named quite appropriately because The Calm and the Storm features one long self titled track that alternates between near-silence and blasts of harsh noise. Although the concept strikes me as being reflected with little subtlety in the composition it works as an exploration into the contrasting sounds and moods.

Being born in my youth's stomping grounds, Indiana, Karlheinz knows all too well the deranged things that can be brought to mind from being born in the middle of nowhere and subjected to closed minds on a daily basis. 

This was the text of a flier I handed out when I played at O'Briens on December 27th.

During the mid-1990's, I wrote music reviews for a local music rag named Lollipop. Since I always use pseudonyms for everything, I wrote under the moniker of "Smak" - if you read the Foetus or Crash Worship reviews, you may remember me. Two years after I started writing, I resigned, and while cleaning out my room I found the never-published resignation letter.

Not much has changed after all these years.