Black Matter Phantasm — Persian Black Magick

Harsh Noise Wall staple, Black Matter Phantasm, returns for another slab of static noise with Persian Black Magick. I’m no stranger to Joseph Szymkowiak’s work, which occupies a choice spot in my HNW collection. Based out of France, Szymkowiak also does ANW as White Matter Phantasm and ran, until recently, Nahàsh Atrym Productions. While he publishes quite a bit of his own work, this full-length CD-R (released in 2015) comes courtesy of Tera-AntiQuo.

Persian Black Magick offers a single track of static, harsh noise sterilization. At 53 minutes, it’s massive. The meat of the wall consists of an amped up, air conditioner exhaust sound. It’s billowing and atmospheric. You know the expression, “the fog is as thick as pea soup”? The same could be said about this wall; enveloping my eardrums in a palpable sonic fog. Streaming through the thick exhaust is also a line of crispy static. Through the entire 53 minutes, I hear no perceptible shifts, twists or turns, just an unchanging block of sound. No change, no movement, no entertainment; just focused void worship.

Aesthetically, it’s standard fare, low-budget CD-R packaging. Blank CD-R, housed in a folded black and white paper cover and plastic sleeve. The cover art features some occult symbols: a serpent, upside-down star, some menacing animal eyes; I’m assuming of Persian origin.

Persian Black Magick is an effective slice of wall-riding, delivered with a blunt knife to the head urgency. Szymkowiak is certainly a contemporary wall artist to pay attention to. If you’re into this sort of stuff, Black Matter Phantasm should keep you well satiated.