Bong-Ra — Black Noise
Bong-Ra has been the project of Jason Köhnen since the mid-90s, and although I've heard the name, I've never listened to his music before. I was excited to read that Black Noise( the project's 11th album) is classified as industrial metal, as this genre has largely diminished in popularity over the years.
The atmospheric, high-gain riffing on this album could be compared to Godflesh's Pure, mid-90s Neurosis, or perhaps mid-90s Sepultura or Soulfly. The spirit of the music is close to Godflesh, a plodding, lower mid-tempo groove cemented by a drum machine with a thick ashy distortion, but with hints of melodic atmosphere created via harmonics and chords. There is a thoughtful minimalism to the tense, dissonant note choices. At times, faster-paced amen break rushes get closer to breakcore and jungle than Godflesh ever did.
It feels good to hear some proper industrial metal, which, aside from a couple of anachronisms, sounds like it could have been released in 1992. It's essentially all simple drum machine beats, guitar and noise textures, without much synthesizer, and no digital processing. I understand a lot of Bon-Ra's work falls into a totally different classification, and for that, I commend them for making this convincingly old-school-themed album.
The vocals are something close to death metal in style, half-whispered lower register grunts. The mood of existential despair recalls my favourite funeral doom band, Esoteric, whose chosen vocal style is not dissimilar, as well. The decidedly gothic closer track, called "Blissful Ignorance", is the furthest step into this atmospheric direction, with the arctic shimmer of its synth pads.
These nine songs have a total runtime of thirty-eight minutes, seemingly over just as they begin, inviting replays. The guitar tone is a deeply satisfying, ear-massaging sound, and the sense of eerie dread is perfectly crafted. Feeling much like a lost 90's classic, there are tasteful hints as well of modern atmospheric metal genres. Black Noise has convinced me I should hear the entire discography of Bong-Ra.