Cannibal Ritual — Still Thirsty for Revenge
Still Thirsty for Revenge offers 8 grim and nasty tracks of HNW sterilization spread over 4 CD-Rs. Each beautifully lo-fi track runs around 30 minutes, delivering a consistent hollow and muddied sound throughout the set’s entirety. Compared to other HNW albums in my collection, I often find Cannibal RItual releases to be recorded low on the volume scale. While this might be taken as a complaint by some, I actually think the overall lo-fi quality of the sounds really lend well to the grim and monolithic nature of the project. There also seems to be this faint tribal vibe that permeates Lenzi’s work, akin to the distant pounding of primitive drums. What I’m getting at is Cannibal RItual has a real signature sound, one that I’ve come to recognize and appreciate.
Each disc in the set contains 2 tracks. Disc 1 starts things off with “Cocaine Rage.” The 36:43 piece unfolds in unchanging fashion, which is built around a rapid radio static sound that rings cold and hollow. Some processing accentuates some crispier tones, while a bass juddering faintly pounds underneath. The second track on this disc, “Decomposed Body,” has a really distinct granular static sound. It takes the foundation of the first track, but amps up the bass tones and volume. At times it almost reminds me of the sounds of a skateboard traversing some really rough pavement.
Disc 2 contains “Eyeball Gouged Out With a Knife” and “Die Rache Der Kannibalen.” The former track sounds like broken television static resonating through a hollow vessel and picking up some atmospheric exhaust billowing along the way. The latter piece unfolds in similar fashion, though the static has a thicker and grainier texture.
Disc 3 contains “Amputation” and “Meathook Romance.” “Amputation” is my favorite track in the set and transpires differently than the previous tracks. There’s a build up and brief sample used on this track, before the wall gets locked. The piece starts out with a sound that resembles the faint purr of an old car engine. A sample, presumably from Cannibal Ferox, of a man in agony appears about 2 minutes in. As the brief sample ends, a billowing exhaust mixed with crispy static builds over several minutes until the piece becomes fixed. “Meathook Romance,” doesn’t deviate very far from the former track. To be honest, didn’t even realize I was listening to a different track, as it segues so fluidly from the first piece.
The final disc contains “Pierced By A Large Spile” and “Cannibalism: End Of A Myth.” The first track is another fixed piece of rapidly engulfing radio static. The final track is my other favorite piece on this set. The track begins with a high frequency sound, repeatedly pulsing. This lasts for close to 4 minutes (any longer and it might have started to get annoying) before unleashing Cannibal Ritual’s final salvo: a wall based on thick bass pummeling and broken granular static crunch.
My interest in wall noise ebbs and flows over time. Just when I was about to get burnt out on the aesthetic, Still Thirsty for Revenge comes along to pique my interest once again. A truly great set that doesn’t bludgeon you over the head in obscene volumes, but rather goes in for the slow kill.