PLAYLIST with COMMENTS/REVIEWS

Started by GEWALTMONOPOL, December 15, 2009, 09:30:59 PM

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AASB

Richard Ramirez - Tracking Device (2003, Freak Animal)

Definitely not what I was expecting from an RR release, still pretty harsh but there's a much larger focus on ambience and discernible loops than what I'm used to from him. There's also a good amount of uniqueness and distinctiveness to each track - for instance, "Metal Limbs Flailing" has some nice Vivenza-esque loops of machinery, while "Bad Omens" has distorted snippets of classical music that seem to loop in and out, and "Eyes Slowly Adjusting to the Darkness" is an almost Prurient-esque build from a foreboding synth tone that accelerates into a pulsing, apocalyptic wall.

Richard Ramirez - Trick (1999, Hospital Productions)

A classic that I'm only now getting around to listening to. Hypnotic and minimalist, but never wears out its welcome on one specific timbre. Very nice use of what sounds like phasers and various filter effects at different points, as well as some spacey-sounding delays that become more audible during some of the quiet sections, but those effects aren't overused and there's also some great sections of dry, very minimal feedback. The ending of "Voyage of Tempted Flesh Part III" in particular has an extended section of rhythmic, pulsing feedback closes out the album perfectly.

k.p.g

TS - nature heaves a sigh at her dismemberment into individuals (Spice Channel)
Spice Channel Sunday in this house starts with an entry from its esteemed label head.  Last night's set that Ted played in Philadelphia was fantastic, and this tape continues on that energy.  This one leans more in the quieter moments of his current sound, invoking a steady stream of bodily unnerving as it carries on.  I kept expecting some jump-cut when each side played out but nothing came.  Sometimes the dread of that creeping up exists only in our heads..

Inarticulate - Were You Been Asshole (Spice Channel)
I had not really heard any works in progress for this tape, and I think I am all the better for that.  Small one-offs from Alex in the past have indicated certain studies of sound, i.e. one tape focused on tape manipulation, another on harsh, etc.  Here though, everything has coalesced into something complete and realized.  Sounds of tape churn and flow like a nasty bile corroding your stomach; ashes are picked up from the ground in delay.  The general vibe is harsh, but never in a truly explosive manner.  Things just boil into a mess of toxic sludge.  Great work.  This tape should have a wider release, so I would recommend grabbing it.
Dead Door Unit
French Market Press
etc.

k.p.g

Macronympha - Membranes & Black Holes (Freak Animal Records)
A very good entry into the band's discography from the post-Stella years!  Not as complex on the editing side (which is evident in a myriad of tape clips that come across the record's runtime) but certainly it has POWER going for it.  Tons of moments that sound like Roemer just bashing away in the dungeon; no effects, no tape manipulation, etc.  I would venture to say those moments are not powerful for their harshness, but for how ... American they feel to me.  The sound of the dream falling apart in real time, steel beam by steel beam...

Grunt - Installation of Blood & Steel (Harsh Head Rituals)
So speaking of steel, this one is on right now.  Described to me by one Henry Mallard as "possibly" his favorite Grunt record, and it's not hard to see why.  I know it's older than the Mallard Theory project but it sounds like Mikko had some duckrage going on here (proto-duckrage?  Certainly there is a link to be made here).  The expected PE approach of this era of Grunt has been dropped in favor of hard, stereo-panned HARSH NOISE.  Yes, all capitals are deserved there.  Continuing off of the aforementioned Macronympha description of "the dream falling apart," this one feels like an appropriate follow-up, as now that dream of a better world is simply being reduced to bone mulch.  Fantastic stuff.
Dead Door Unit
French Market Press
etc.

ConcreteMascara

Quote from: k.p.g on Today at 05:05:10 PMGrunt - Installation of Blood & Steel (Harsh Head Rituals)
So speaking of steel, this one is on right now.  Described to me by one Henry Mallard as "possibly" his favorite Grunt record, and it's not hard to see why.  I know it's older than the Mallard Theory project but it sounds like Mikko had some duckrage going on here (proto-duckrage?  Certainly there is a link to be made here).  The expected PE approach of this era of Grunt has been dropped in favor of hard, stereo-panned HARSH NOISE.  Yes, all capitals are deserved there.  Continuing off of the aforementioned Macronympha description of "the dream falling apart," this one feels like an appropriate follow-up, as now that dream of a better world is simply being reduced to bone mulch.  Fantastic stuff.

Excellent album! A wonderful companion to Seer of Decay.
[death|trigger|impulse]

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