Dead Body Collection — Mycobacterium Leprae
The set features a see-through tracing paper like cover, which takes in a close up microscopic picture of Mycobacterium Leprae. Also featured in the set is tracing paper inlay slip which takes in the track listings, along with a full description of what Mycobacterium Leprae is.
So first up on disc one we have “Tuberculoid Leprosy”, and this comes in at just over the 31 minute mark. This track starts up with a fairly rapid mixture of: a consistent rolling almost miniature drumming ‘n’ crackling texturing, an aquatic dulled wavering/ swiping jittering sub-tone, and possible another layer of subtly shifting crackling. DBC weaves these elements out into a very stark & clinical slice of ambient walled noise, that very much brings to mind rapidly enclosing white walls & being wired up to three or maybe four strange Geiger counter like medical machines. Around the half way point we shift into a more rapid clipping ‘n’ crackling tone, which is underfed by smaller jittering yet aquatic fuzzed sub tones & slowl falls of wispy & jittering cold crisp-ness- this all nicely intensify the whole thing so the of the ‘wall’ gets even more compressing & airless in it’s feel. We get two more shifts in the ‘wall’, the first one occurs around the twenty four minutes, and this comes in the form of a electro buzzing meets a more galloping crisp tone. And then second occurs at the twenty eight minute mark, as the buzzing & depth of the layers get even more taut & aggravated. I quite like this first track & it’s taut clinical urgency, and for me it’s the most rewarding & attention focusing of the four tracks on offer here.
Next on disc one we have “Borderline Lepromatous Leprosy”, which comes in at the 35.38 mark. And this ‘wall’ starts with two or three similar layers of nervously jittering in & out crackles- it's almost feels like the ANW is
being fed through a jerking sonic strode filter. As the track gets into it’s 4th minute you can start to make out more defined textured shapes running though the jerking & crackling sonic landscape, yet sadly DBC never really forms them into anything that’s memorable or interest, but instead just keeps up the same rather bland jerking textured landscape through-out the tracks complete running time. The only vaguely more interesting moment happen around the 17th minute, when I can clearly make-out slight echoed trail of thinner clicks ‘n’ crackles- but these are never really developed, and pretty soon we’re back to the similar texture territory of the early part of the track. In it's first few minutes this track seemed like it could be promising, but I’m afraid I found that the whole thing became rather dull & annoying fast.
Moving onto disc two, and first we have “Lepromatous Leprosy” which comes in at just over the thirty eight minute track. And this ‘wall’ begins with a mixture of fairly even crackling, which is mirrored by fainter & distant fire cracker like texture; and to start with this is most effective, and you think DBC may multiply & expand the more fainter & distant sub-tones. But instead he drifts the track into a more dense & persistent sort of sonic crackle fest, and sadly once again the tones utilized here just seem rather bland & uncreative. Around the mid way point the distant snapping tones can be heard a bit more clearly, but sadly nothing really very interest is done with them, & pretty soon we return to the same textural monotony again
And lastly we have “Histoid Leprosy”, which comes in at the 33.49 mark. And this ‘wall’ begins with a mix of more persistent & enclosed rapid crackling- this track starts off quite nice & nasty with it’s attack, and I rather like how you get this sort of blurred almost hollow juddering ‘n’ scraping sound skimming over the 'wall'. Around the mid-way point DBC drops the textures down a pitch , and this shift is effective in bringing back new attention from the listener, but sadly this listener lost his interest fairly quickly again. DBC drops the textures pitch twice more, at around the 27th minute & just around the 31th minute mark... but it all feels a bit too late to safe it. This is one of the more successful tracks here, but even this track felt about twenty minutes too long.
By all accounts this is to be DBC last foray into ANW, and in a way I’m glad to hear that, as most of the tracks here seem to lack the spark of invention, or that all important textural addictiveness that keeps you locked into a wall for twenty/ thirty minutes at a time. It really feels DBC has become bored with the form; even while he’s recorded these tracks- this is certainly one of the more disappointing releases in DBC’s huge discography, and only really worth it if you’re a DBC collector really.