As the seasons change, and the colors of autumn leaves briefly flare like blood and fire, only to be sapped of life and scattered by cold winter winds, it’s not uncommon for our thoughts to turn darker as the days become grayer. Daily tribulations seem magnified, grim memories push back to the surface, reflections on what might have been crowd away hopes of what might be. At such times, some of us search for music that catches these moods, plumbs their depths, and enshrines them in sound with the kind of emotional intensity they require.

And that’s just what Ah Ciliz and Chiral accomplish, each in their own way, on the album-length split we’re premiering today. Named Origins, it will be jointly released on November 6 by two fine labels, Canada’s Hypnotic Dirge Records and Mexico’s Throats Productions. I have some introductory thoughts about each band’s tracks on the split, followed by a stream of all the music. Continue reading »