Dosis Letalis/Lost Graves — Absolute Absorbtion
The black shelled cassette features a ripped white paper label on one side- then this is presented in a single-sided monochrome sleeve, it features a swimming sort of grey & black static textures. All in all simplistic yet effective looking bit of packaging for a wall-noise release.
The first side is the Dosis Letalis side- and this takes in two numbered tracks. "I" comes in at just shy of the six & a half minute mark, and this is decidedly wintry & bleakly roasting wall-craft. The ‘wall’ brings together a taut constantly rolling billowing, this is a blended with focused spiting ‘n’ stinging grit like rattle & judder. Together these elements create a nice feeling terminal & grim starkness- really bringing to mind slowly trudging through an unrelenting snowstorm, as the freezing wind batters your hearing, and the mix of snow & frozen rain lash at your uncovered skin.
"II" is the longer of the two tracks on this first side, coming in at around the thirteen & a half minutes. Here we get a tight and dense cable like grind- which is fixed & head searing in its intent, around this we get a tensioned mesh of feasting static grain. From time-to-time, I’m sure I can also make out sudden extra stabs of cable grind, but this may just be a trick of the ‘wall’. The track has a pleasingly airless & taunt feel to its raging vice-like grip, and really it crushers you into submission with it’s total unforgiving tension. All in all, this is a great side of ‘wall’ craft, highlighting the more unforgiving & searing side of Dosis Letalis work.
Turning the tape over, and we, of course, have the single Lost Graves track- this once again is numbered. This ‘wall’ had quite a lo-fi almost choppy industrial feel to it- as we get a mixture of locked tumbling & grey judder, and hissing ‘n’ hacking tumble- with a selection of rough rumble, cluttering drone & skittering grain sub-tones added into the mix. This track nicely follows on the stark-yet- brutal vibe of the first two ‘wall’- but adds in a feeling of less tight control- like the first sides tracks where more focused & precise attacks, and this side is a prolonged yet more frenzied attack.
Absolute Absorbtion is a suitable satisfying lesson in stark & brutal wall making- with both parties ‘wall’ work effectively complementing each other. I was, as always, taken by the Dosis Letalis track- I can recall been a little underwelmhed by early Lost Graves release, but this track is certainly not bad at all- so I’ll check out more of their work in the future.