Anonymous — Auschwitz-Birkenau
The release comes in the form of an eight cdr box set, and each of the eight discs features a single 45 minute track…so you get here six hours of truly brutal, unmoving, harrowingly bleak and tortuous noise. The eight discs come in an eight holder DVD case, and it features on it’s outside a black & white picture of the snow covered train tracks that led up to front gates of the Auschwitz camp. Inside the box there are three inserts which feature more bleak pictures from the camp, along with texts about the size & scope of the atrocities that took place in the camp.
On the first disc we have a track entitled “Block 11”- block 11 was the ‘prison with-in a prison’ where prisoners that broke the numerous rules were punished. In Block 11 some prisoners were made to spend the nights in "standing cells"- these cells were about 1.5 m2 (16 sq ft), and four men would be placed in them; they could do nothing but stand, and were forced during the day to work with the other prisoners. This first track is a very bitter & unforgiving slice of bleak wall making. It’s built around a persistent & unwavering two pronged mixture of mid-paced & bone chilling juddering noise- the noise textures utilized here are of a mid range frequencies & they have a distinctively hopeless/ pressing static feel to them. The ‘wall’ is fed out over its full length in a complete unmoving manner, and really by the end of it’s runtime you feel quite battered & bleak.
Disc two is taken up by “Crematorium I”- the crematoria with-in the camp where used for burning over 1.5 million murdered people,which is truly a huge & startlingly large body of humanity. This track here is built around a billowing ‘n’ battering bass bound noise judder, which is sewed with more mid-range jittering yet slightly vertigo instilling noise texturing. The ‘wall’ is fairly rapid in its attack falling somewhere between mid-paced to fast. Once again the track is totally unflinchingly unmoving in it’s ferocious yet chilling attack- it does not let up for a minute of respite or variation.
Disc three is taken up by “Bunker I - 'Little Red House”- The Little Red House was the name of the first gas chambers in the camp, it was a brick cottage converted into a gassing facility by tearing out the inside and bricking up the walls. It was operational from March 1942. This track is centred on a trapped yet violently buffeting ‘n’ swaying ripping/ tearing noise tone. Around this main tones are brutal jittering & juddering sub-tones, and the whole ‘wall’ does summon up images of some thing that’s stuck trying to get out. Once again this track is fairly unmoving structure wise, though as already mentioned the tones here do shift, but they are very in a controlled and constrained form that's set into a very enclosed structure.
Disc fours track is entitled “Bunker II - 'Little White House'”- The 'Little White House' was the second gas chamber put into to operation in June 1942, it was originally built to house a shower room and numerous disinfection chambers used to kill lice in the clothing of the prisoners. This track is centered around a caught or trapped dense mixture of aquatic bubbling & hissing noise tonalities- around these main tones are circular roasts & simple crackle jitters. Once more this is fairly unmoving in its feel, yet around the 18th minute this rumbling/ flaming textured seems to become more noticeable/present, I’m not sure if this is my imagination or it really there, but which ever it’s damn effective. I think this is one of my favourite moments here as the ‘wall’ seems to really suck you into its intense & detailed brutal web.
Disc five is taken up by “Crematorium II”, and this track is built around a huge sounding bass judder that’s under shadowed with a jitterin mid-tone noise texture. This track really does battering into your head in it’s constant unmoving attack. And I’m sure if you turned it up loud enough it would rattle your bones, & maybe even do some structural damage to ones house or apartment.
Disc six offers up “Crematorium III”, and this ‘wall’ is a very urgent & punishing mixture of boiling liquid meets raging sand storm grain texturing. This track feels like there is literal no escape, and the searing, raging & roasting noise it’s complete engulfing you. Once again this is fixed & dense in its attack & structure.
Disc seven is taken up by “Crematorium IV”, and this track returns to more intense & brutal bass bounded territory. The ‘wall’ is centred around a slow to mid paced juddering/rumbling huge 'n' brutal sounding noise tone- this main tone is edged by a skipping/ jittering mid-tone noise texture. Even at lower volume this ‘wall’ seems huge, nasty & head grinding in its mass & weight. Again this is another highlight for me as it’s just so massive & intense in its attack.
And lastly on disc number eight we have “Crematorium V”, and once more this is another bass raped attack on your sonic senses . The ‘wall’ sears together a low rumbling bass roasted drone, with juddering/ hissing mid-tones. Again this ‘wall’ is very fixed, and totally inescapable, and I rather enjoy the hissing/ almost crawling vibe running through this tracks thickness, and at times one can almost picture a mass of sliding & hissing snakes mixed with seething masses of black ants.
This box set offers up eight truly intense, nasty, torturous & bleak slabs of walled noise. I can really see those who enjoy the like of Dead Body Collection getting a lot from this truly unflinching & brutal collection. Sadly this was ltd to a crazy five copies, which have long since gone- lets hope this get’s reissued at some point as this is damn effective if you dig brutal often bass seared unmoving walled noise.