Ghost — Procession
All but one of the tracks here come in spot on the twenty minute mark, only track two is very slightly shorter at nineteen minutes. And each track here is fairly thick, weighty and often brooding in it’s feel and mixture of bass and static noise tones. This is the first album that sees Ghost using purely analogue gear to create his noise 'walls', in the past he used more computer processed noise- this new development certainly gives these four ‘walls’ a lot cruder and ugly feel than his past work.
The first track on the release finds Ghost offering up a very nasty and mid-paced ‘wall’ of noise that mixes together constantly juddering and blown out bass tones with churning and jittering static noise reputation. It feels like your inside some vast and aged cement mix while some one repetitively drilling the road, yet there is a muffled and grim tribal feel deep with in the tracks guts too. The tracks a nice bleack and unrelenting start to the release.
Track two finds taut, urgent and sinister bass judders mixed with creepy tribal like throbs ‘n’ juddering pounds. This track really nicely pulls you deep into this trance educing and brooding voodoo encased state, which brings to mind strangle and blood splattered rituals going on inside musty, hot and incense filed African tribal huts.
Track three is all about a constantly flowing stream of thick static descent that’s mixed with rapidly chopping ‘n’ churning almost rhythmic noise seers. The tracks very intense, battering and total unforgiving- yet it really does get under your skin with it’s addictive yet nasty constantly textural feast and descent.
The last track concentrates on sinister and stripped bass judders that are shadowed by cluttering and clamouring static off tone jitters ‘n’ stabs. These off tone jitters ‘n’ stabs rather bring to mind a slow yet persistent and off rhythmic battering/ slashing of rough and sadistic thick bamboo poles- possible on some ones slowly twitching and dying body- death by voodoo indeed!. The tracks a great end to the album, and leaves the listener feeling quite uneasy.
So “Procession” is a very worthy, brutal yet edgy third release from this great French project. Another great release from the Slow Death label, and well worthy your time if you like your walled noise brutal, brooding and atmospheric.