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Monuments Are No Good To The Dead - Earth’s Hum, Vol. II [Altar of Waste - 2013]Being an Altar of Waste release, “Earth’s Hum, Vol. II” comes in a dvd case with smart graphics and art - the usual standard maintained. Though the artwork is perhaps more austere than most AOW albums I’ve seen, adding an element of science/mysticism to the overall package. Monuments Are No Good To The Dead offer up one long track, thirty-one and a half minutes, of fizzing Harsh Noise Wall textures. The wall begins with an expanding loop, isolated in one speaker. I say “expanding” because its movement is akin to breathing - short, strong exhales. These “exhales” grow and develop with each loop, until the other speaker explodes in sympathy; each now building on the loop until it is subsumed into a thick wall. This wall is overwhelming fizzy, often dominated by higher-mid frequency textures. The bass elements - unusually, I feel - are sometimes quite animated chunks of scrape and scuff, though they do coalesce into a more droning rumble as the track progresses. However, the predominant textures, as mentioned above, are mid and treble based; with a definite leaning towards savagery. Its a very restrained savagery, though; giving the wall a noticeably violent yet contemplative feel. Its like something dangerous at a safe distance, or a saucepan that never actually boils over - though the wall does finally break open in its closing moments. The seemingly static nature of “Earth’s Hum, Vol.II”, reveals many passages of movement and development upon concentrated listening; with textures being teased or pulled for short sections. Adding further colour on top of this, there are odd tonal elements throughout the track; these may well be audio “hallucinations” on my part, but they are audible and increase that sense of obscuration/mysticism.
This is a really interesting release. The track effectively compliments the artwork and titles, to create something monolithic yet imbued with mystery. This “mystery” and mysticism are aided and abetted by the inclusion of unusual elements, like the looping start, or the tonal drones; yet the piece remains dominated by near-shrill, savage textures. Its an enthralling combination. Monuments Are No Good To The Dead was not a name I had heard of before, but definitely one I will be looking out for in future.   Martin P
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|  | | Monuments Are No Good To The Dead... | Being an Altar of Waste release, “Earth’s Hum, Vol. II” comes in a dvd case with smart graphics and art - the usual standard maintained. Though the artwork i...
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| | | The Music of Clay Ruby & Burial H... | Over the last couple of decades Wisconsin native, Clay Ruby has been creating some of the world’s finest dark electronic music under the Burial Hex mon...
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