Sadistic Bliss "I & II" (Filth and Violence - 2011, reissued 2015) - I didn't have time to listen to/review this monster comp last night, so consequently I'm tackling these retrospective SB CDs arse backwards. This one- unsurprisingly- covers their first two releases.
The self-titled debut tape (F&V - 2009) was a meaty affair, consisting of three lengthy tracks. As with the material discussed above, the 18-minute opener crawls along at a snail's pace, like some skeletal post punk song playing at half-speed inside a disused factory. The drums forlornly hammer out a simple beat, whilst the bass see-saws obsessively between two notes and the vocalist (gotta be Pasi) loses his shit into a hot mic. All the while, the "abandoned factory" atmosphere is increased by ghostly wisps of high feedback and subtle metallic clinks.
Track two ups both the speed and the distortion, with blackened punky blasting and ridiculously disgusting fuzz bass riffing thoroughly assaulting your senses, right up until the half-time/Black Mass of Absu breakdown from Hell kicks in and...things get crushed, basically. If this ain't Mr. Mentor on bass, then it's someone doing a damned good impression of him!
The third and final piece from this tape is about as sparse and bleak as it gets, with overdriven drum hits clanking off into the darkness, whilst a field recording of someone either throwing up, masturbating or dying (possibly all three simultaneously?) plays quietly in the background. Things do eventually get slightly more active, the field recording cutting to a long stretch of vocal madness, which sounds out alongside some minimalistic feedback humming and even a bit of old skool mobile phone interference at one point! Again though, these additional elements are mixed very quietly, the drums remaining the loudest thing throughout.
The "II" tape (F&V - 2010) is represented here by tracks 4 to 6. Now, just in case you'd started to nod off after all that narcoleptic downer jamming, this release is altogether more energised, the first two pieces brutally ram-raiding your eardrums in a flurry of screams, blastbeats and single note non-riffs. Is it noisecore? Black noise? Some mutant strain of punk? Who cares- just imagine if Bone Awl were having a nervous breakdown and you might get somewhere close to the sound of this madness!
The comp then closes out with a medley of cover songs- first up, Sick Seed's "Huorakatu" ("Whore Street", originally from "The Great Corrupter"), then "Tornion Kevät" by Terveet Kädet, the Finnish punk band fronted by Läjä Äijälä, who now also plays alongside Mr. Markkula in Vihanmiehet. This medley finds Sadistic Bliss at their most traditionally musical, the players modifying the originals (a jackhammering slab of PE vileness and a 40-second long melodic punk thrasher respectively) to suit their own vision- the former recast as a swaggering, Brainbombs-esque grinder, whilst the TK song is slowed down and stretched out over 6 minutes, with pounding war drums doing some damage beneath the usual feral vocal attack and a catchy, proto-"Seven Nation Army" bass riff!
So, another worthwhile collection from this lesser-mentioned F&V act. Again, if you appreciate all the stuff I referenced at the end of the last review- or indeed some of the aesthetically similar material that was coming out on imprints like Posh Isolation around the same time- then this one is also well worth a go.
