Work/Death - Apluspersonnel (Tabel Tapes)
There is not much information to be had about this label, as it seems to have flamed out about as soon as it started. The design here bears a striking resemblance to the screen printed work Scott would go onto to do wit Three Songs of Lenin label, so perhaps this tape was a test run for those ideas. I actually thought this label might have been the predecessor to Three Songs, based on how similar the designs were. Assuming that is not the case though. Anyway, the packaging and j-card look and feel very nice.
On a sound front, this is one of the rawer Work/Death releases I have heard, which is reaffirmed by several listens. A-Side sounds like a reverberated room recording of some metal being tossed onto the floor carelessly. Such elements have existed in the artist's past work, but never this loose and murky. It's an eerie listen.
On the B-Side, the switch is flipped to absolute maximum, as it sounds like this is just a pure mic 'n amp affair. In my earliest listens, I thought of this as some sort of tongue-in-cheek look at the Prurient sound of that era. Upon revisit though, I realize the artist is deathly serious here. This is aggressive, unrestrained and downright torturous at times to sit through. My ears feel effectively shredded; lovely.
T.E.F. / Prurient / Richard Ramirez - Magnified Healing (Hospital Productions / T.E.F.)
Speaking of revisits, it has been damn near forever since I heard this one. Bought it off of Kevin when Black Leather Jesus came to NJ, right at the heels of the pandemic shutting everything down. I was shocked he still had so many copies and for so cheap, of course I had to snag one! Good night, we had some solid Mexican food after the show.
So far, we have only gone through the T.E.F. portion, but it is varied and vicious. Lots of great raw metal work to mix in with the stuttering cut-up that the artist is usually known for. Even though Kevin is known for his lightning fast jump cuts, my favorite moments would be when he took the foot off the gas to let everything breath. That is where the genius of metal work comes in for T.E.F. Fantastic start here.
As I finish typing this up, the Prurient portion begins. I remember the first time I actually heard this disc (a few months after purchase), I was sitting in the driveway of my mom's old house, taken aback by how punishing and hateful the material was. While Prurient is often described as "emotional" to listeners, I never really see anyone bring up how some of this work just feels absolutely loathsome towards its audiences. It's like it hates you for actively listening to it, so it cranks up the high end and agony to 11. I am sitting and listening to this in my air conditioned kitchen, but something tells me that Dom would rather I go and listen to it in the dead heat until I am at the physically lowest point I can get. Hah. Not today, man. Need I say more though? Excellent stuff.
