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HOLIDAYSNarkoleptik – Impuls Dominant (F.I.R., 2006) & So Sweet, So Perverse (Mask of the Slave Records, 2008)
In the states, unless you have a real interest, there's no way you'd've heard of Romania's "The Vampire of Bucharest". There's a decent amount of killers that have become that of general knowledge, so unless I'm living under a rock, it'd make sense that that inspiration of this album would be ultimately foreign to me.
According to the information given on the insert- all of which is in Romanian, plus, I'm paraphrasing here- says that the material aims to rebuild the atmosphere of a year of crime spanning a year between May of '70 and April of '71 in Romania's capital, Bucharest. Reading further, the album is specifically based on Ion Rîmaru, aka "The Vampire of Bucharest". There's also a good size description along with a list of attacks, all of which committed by Rîmaru.
So does the music create this atmosphere? Drenched in feedback accompanied by hateful, out-for-blood vocals that are buried deep within effects (on top of the occasional rhythmic synth line), "Impuls Dominant" is relentless and violent, never quite giving in from start to finish. While it may not be violent enough to generate the mental concept of having an axe forced through your head, it still lends itself as a hostile power electronics rendition of what was the mind of Rîmaru.
While the music stands on its own, breaking the language barrier helps drive this album in. While I chose to type up every word given and then translate it, information on Rîmaru is very readily available and will save you some trouble. Still available from F.I.R., and recommended.
Released two years after "Impuls Dominant" (with the release of a 2005 recording bridging the gap), comes "So Sweet, So Perverse" on Mark of the Slave Records based in Transylvania, Romania. There's no need for a gracious amount of information such as the last release when you're song tiles are "1988″, "They All Deserve", "So Sweet, So Perverse", etc.
Staring off with what could be heard as the echos of a young girls dreams turns dark and ominous. Submerged in echos, the album gives little of the chaos and violence as heard in the previous entry, replacing it with sounds of dark ambiance and drone- such as the fourth track, "Driving Force," the final, self-titled track "So Sweet, So Perverse," which is actually a rather depressing long organ piece.
While both albums offer a different array of sounds and feelings, each are equally haunting and dreary. For my tastes, "Impuls Dominant" is superior, giving harsh high registry that I look for in power electronics, but that certainly doesn't mean I can't foresee myself giving both an equal amount of rotation. Both of these CDrs are a bit dated, but still seem readily available from both labels.
