File under: we kid you not. It appears that a shipment of copies of Black Lung's new album ("The Soul Consumer", adn136) and EP "The First Tender Cut", adn135) has been seized by the Australian autorities and will not be released under further notice.

It's not the first time that David Thrussel / Black Lung has a run with the power that be, and Australia doesn't seem to take kindly to cannibal jokes, so I guess one could expect that with a background story such as the one used for "The Soul Consumer", a few eyebrows might be raised. Isn't it a bit absurd, though?

Anyway, read below for Black Lung's statement about this, and note that a brave Australian fan confirmed that he actually received his ordered copy of "The Soul Consumer". So some parcel are actually let through down under.

"It would appear that in recent weeks Australian Customs have seized a large number of new Black Lung CDs and LPs. Both the new album "The Soul Consumer" and the new 12" "The First Tender Cut" have been refused entry to Australia and seized by Australian Customs. David Thrussell is no stranger to controversy, his previous Black Lung album "Full Spectrum Dominance" ruffled many feathers both in the U.S and Europe.
See here: http://www.side-line.com/reviews_comments.php?id=43706_0_17_0_C
And here: http://www.side-line.com/news_comments.php?id=44174_0_2_234_C
And here: http://www.side-line.com/interviews_comments.php?id=44173_0_16_0_C

Also in recent weeks the home of Thrussell's close friend and associate Richard Wolstencroft was raided by the Australian Federal Police.
See here: http://www.theage.com.au/entertainment/movies/zombieporn-festival-directors-home-raided-by-police-20101111-17omu.html

What this all means we don't know. But we can't help but wonder if there is a connection to the unusual circumstances and philosophy behind Thrussell's latest Black Lung recording project "The Soul Consumer" the liner notes for which are reproduced in full below:

David Thrussell first tasted human flesh five years ago, late one night in Kiev, Ukraine. Since that time Thrussell has been preoccupied by two obsessions - to taste that sweet human flesh again one day and to make a record while subsisting entirely on a diet of human flesh. This is that record. Recorded over a three week period in a safe-house deep in the south of France (a charming villa, in fact, just a few miles from the Andorran border) Thrussell and his minders secured the human flesh (much of it given willingly) via relationships established on a coded internet forum devoted entirely to that topic (the address of which cannot be provided here for obvious reasons). The flesh donors were often present during recording sessions and made significant contributions to mood and ofttimes the songwriting process itself. Unfortunately none survived to see the actual record release. Thrussell says he has now resumed his conventional vegan eating habits and that this recording project was a one-off (for the time being) attempt to alter his consciousness and creative outlook and record the results for posterity and your listening pleasure."
David Thrussel, December 2010.

Update on December 18th, with this email from an Australian customer:
"Just saw the Black Lung news. I'm in Australia and can confirm I have received my copy of both The Soul Consumer and The Tender First Cut!"
So we guess that if you are not called David Thrussel or Black Lung, your parcels should go through.