Grunt — Europe After Storm
Tempering violent screams and distortion with dim gothic atmosphere and crackling tape loops, the sound is comparable to other major proponents of the genre such as MZ. 412 or Stahlwerk 9. I am fan of this style, as the original wave of power electronics containing such meatheaded mysogynistic projects as Whitehouse and Sutcliffe Jugend failed to explore the atmospheric and psychedelic potentials of the sound, in my opinion.
The original 4 track "Europe After Storm" cassette was limited to 50 copies when released in 1998, so few ever heard it in its initial run. It was quite the solid 30 minute release, with each piece contrasting and complimenting the others, something important in a genre such as noise which can easily lose momentum or degenerate into indistinct sameness. "Project Eden" and "Blood on Concrete" are screamed apocalyptic warnings amidst firestorms of distortion, leaning towards the anthemic side of power electronics with their catchy, powerful sounding titles and lyrics.
Grunt's lyrics are extremist and militaristic, as one might expect, but he never stoops to using blunt shock statements. He speaks of the world as a whole, wracked with conflicts and battles, but portrays the conflict in a positive light, expressing disgust at the 'human waste' which he feels the Earth would be better off without. It may be a cliche, but it's a certainly a bitterness I and many others can understand and relate to, and in a genre such as this that returns to the primal and animal, simplistic statements are welcome.
"N-Force", the 2nd track of the cassette, is my favorite, with a shiny ghostly feedback tone creating a droning shroud about the noise. There are no lyrics here; despite the lacerating nature of the distortion textures there is significant minimalism and restraint in this artist's style. Much like the masters of the genre, Mz. 412, Grunt understands the power of anticipation and hushed unease.
The cassette's closing piece is another instrumental, title track "Europe After Storm", which is a Merzbow-esque a 10 minute harsh noise zone-out. There's been a lot of harsh noise recorded by 2014, and this track is not particularly distinct from a lot of it, but perhaps that's not the point so much as the physical experience of absorbing the distortion.
Following the original 4 track cassette on this re-issue, we have 3 tracks of previously unreleased studio material. The first is "Peacekeepers" which follows in the pattern of tracks such as "N-Force", and conveys an expanded sense of its creators resolute and embattled attitude with the repeated sampling of "We can never accept this". Aspa's unrestrained howl enters in the last 3 minutes of the 9 minute duration. The distortion crackles with a certain sharpness, but resides within an expansive reverberant space, and therefore isn't ultimately too harsh on the ears. The sound is an immersive, tempetuous womb.
The other two unreleased studio tracks, "Ethnic Cleaning" and "Cleansweep", fit very much in the same style and tone, and to me it feels like these 3 tracks blend well enough with the original release to be considered part of it, possessing the same grimey lo-fi fidelity. In "Ethnic Cleaning", a jittery electronic drone is nearly rattled into fragements by stormy gusts of distortion. No lyrics are present; it is easy for the mind to fill in imagery from the tumult.
The last 4 tracks on the CD are live recordings, two of them versions of songs from the studio material earlier on the disk. They are well recorded, and a welcome inclusion. "Project Eden" is not drastically different live: the primary difference is the tone and enunciation of Aspa's vocals, which are more shrill and unpredictable in a live setting. The high frequency wails of "Hitler Klinton" reach a higher degree of urgency than anything else on the disk, and it is powerfully cathartic.
The most important thing to me is that one can sense Aspa's massive dystopian vision while listening to this. His ferocity is palpable, and one knows that this imagery is expressed because it is burned into his mind, whether by the world or by his own actions.
Grunt's "Europe After Storm" re-issue is a fine example of intelligent and charismatic atmospheric power electronics. If you're open to some thick, black apocalyptic noise, by all means investigate this. Though it's a compilation of sorts, it flows incredibly well as a full length album. I have a feeling many, if not all, of the multitudes of other Grunt releases are quality as well, as this is essentially a re-issue of a totally unknown release.