Iron Fist of the Sun — Who Will Help Me Wash My Right Hand
“Who Will Help Me Wash My Right Hand” is an exercise in cold, minimalist synth and heavily processed vocals. The opening track “For You I Will,” begins with a faint buzzing synth and is shortly joined by a thick repetitive rhythm. Moments later the vocals appear, which are hardly discernible as vocals, more like a human voice suppressed by thick electrical fields of static. They’re quite harrowing and definitely a definable mark on this album. Track 2 “This Dog Has No Master” relies or heavier rhythmic synths and repeated metallic thuds. The vocals on this track are far more discernible, but still very dark and acerbic. At times his approach reminds me of a less violent Sutcliffe Jugend. The album’s final track, same title as the album, presents pulsating laser synths with some angry screams. It stays repetitive in it’s entirety, but Is perhaps my favorite track on the disc.
What struck me about this album is how cleanly delineated the sounds presented are. Quite a juxtaposition from other industrial/power electronics albums I’ve listened to of late that rely on overblown volume that often ends with very muddy sounding results. Of course, that approach has its charm as well. Generally, cleaner sounding industrial tends to lend itself more to the dance floor, but IFOTS keeps it cold and menacing.
This is my first experience with IFOTS and I must say I feel like I’ve been missing out on some of the most interesting contemporary industrial music. I look forward to revisiting his back catalog.