Nihilist Assault Group & Blue Sabbath Bl — Planned Obsolescen​ce
There is just one track, “Planned Obsolescence”, split across both sides; and its as monstrous as that sounds. There’s no indication of how this track was performed or constructed, but my ears suggest its some kind of remote collaboration, rather than a live recording. The piece starts with about one minute of silent vinyl, before some rattling noise textures creep in and gradually build, till the track erupts into a furious skree; “Planned Obsolescence” then stays at this pitch of intensity until its final seconds. In a nutshell, the track can be very simply summed up as a wall of noise, from which little details emerge. It manages to combine a monolithic, over-powering, static feel, with frenetic and chaotic elements that flit in and out of the speakers. Its harsh and brutal, but with Mark Durgan involved in the recording, as part of NAG, you know that there will be a exemplary level of attention to sound and timbre.
Unfortunately, its difficult for me to say much beyond that (indeed, I can’t really even confirm that there is “an exemplary level of attention…”), because the vinyl pressing - or at least my copy - is really very quiet. I’ve had to double my usual playing volume, and the end result hasn’t exactly been a pristine sound-field. So it feels difficult to give a satisfying response to the album, even though it does sound like there is a great piece of noise-making in there. Its entirely possible that this is a deliberate, conceptual ploy on the part of the artists; but…