House Of The Black Death — Total Darkness
The House Of The Black Death project started in 2014, and has so far released around ten releases, taking in mainly cassette releases, the odd split, and a six CDR box set. Theme wise the project seemingly focuses in a more weird & surreal tinged horror moive’s, and their imagery. The two tracks offered up here a fairly moody wall-craft, that sort of sit between HNW & ANW.
Both tracks here take up a full side of tape each, and both are Untitled. The first sides track opens with a slowly shifting & fairly creeping train track like drone/ judder; but fairly soon the ‘wall’ element is added to the proceedings. This is a blend of descending, murky, and slightly beaded lower-to-mid range tones, distant brooding yet set organic rumble, and the original drone element- which remains extremely pared back & reduced. The whole ‘wall’ has a wonderful bleak-yet-densely-dread filled feel to it; bringing to mind been trapped in side some huge, old, isolated and powerless house in the middle of a bitter winter storm. The continual descending element feels quite blunt, yet strangely feasting in its character. Also there seems to be a very subtle shift in the patter-nation of these textures too, but that could well be just a sonic illusion. The ambient/ drone under-carriage is extremely sparse/ distant, yet this element really pulls you deeper & deeper into the ‘wall’ as you try to map it’s shape, flow, and details more- but the more you try the more it seems to sink away from your sonic grasp.
Flipping over to side two track, and this starts in quite a seared manner with a long dragged out hissing texture. This only last less than a minute, then we’re into the ‘walls’ main setting- which a collection of a bout three or four descending/ continually pelting tones. These are a blend of deeper pitter-pattering, greyer mid-range static bound pelting, and thinner-yet-taut crackle bound showering. The track definitely feels related to the first sides track, but where that was a dense yet brooding in it’s blend- this feels a lot more urgent, cold & snapping in its attack. As if the windows have now all been broken in of the house from the first track, and the bitter winter rain and snow is violating all the rooms with its chill & painfully batter. As if something or someone has broken the windows & is searching for you. In the last few minutes we get a sudden shift into tone, to more hiss bound texturing, and this gives one a most effective sonic jump
Really pretty much anything with Mr Ramirez name on it is going to be extremely well conceived & executed, and Total Darkness is no exception. If you enjoy darkly moody wall-craft, that’s masterful crafted then you must pick this up.