Bleak Existence/Nascitari — Split

Here we have a split walled noise release on French label Required Rate of Return, and it features a track a piece from two of the longer severing & respected members of the worldwide HNW scene. The release features intense & humanity hating Quebec based project Bleak Existence, and often suicidal themed Italian project Nascitari- each party offers up a twenty six to thirty minute ‘wall’.

The CDR  comes in a slim line DVD case, and this features minimal white text against a black background. On the front cover we have a reproduction of a suitable grim painting that features a cross section view of a long limbed figure at the bottom of a hole.

So first up we have the Bleak Existence track, and this is entitled “Negative Heresy”. The 'wall' is built around two or three layers of rapidly descending pitted hacking; and these have a fairly narrow low to mid range. The textures are set into a punishing & unbreakable matt of continual pelting mass, with hints of crisp blunt-ness & pummelling constricted bass. Texturally it’s fairly simple in its patterns, yet it’s damn enthralling in its bleak yet dense matt of wintry pelting-ness. There does seem to be some very slight shift in the layers speed & lay-out as the track progresses, but these are minimal, and really the whole thing is all about numbing you into stark yet heady submission with its relentless weave of textural bitter-ness.

Next of course we have the Nascitari  part of the split, and this is entitled “Corpsemovement”. The track brings together the following elements: a muffled & tight meaty churn, thinner & spindly static chopping patterns, & a haze of fine hissing. These textures are fed out to create a  wonderfully layer detailed & original sounding ‘wall’, which has a few nice stop/ start moments, and rewarding  layer shifts with-in it’s length.  The ‘wall’ mangers to be both bleakly tense & tautly nervy in it’s unfold, and it works as a great companion to the fixed pelting bitter-ness of Bleak Existence track.

So in conclusion I'd have to say this is one of the most effective HNW splits I’ve heard in quite sometime, and if we’d had got it in sooner for review it would have most certainly made my best of 2015 list. All in all a great release, and a must have title for any self respecting ‘wall-head’!