Paris is a nearing forty-minute slab of searing meets atmospherically droning walled noise. Utterblight is a relatively new project from the UK, and this is its fourth release.

This is a digital-only release- it appears on Poland’s Gates Of Hypnos. Cover artwork we get a photo of a shaven-headed & gap-toothed man- this is Paris Lee Bennett. At the age of thirteen the Texas teen stabbed to death, then sexually assaulted his four-year-old sister. To check out the album drop by here. 

The single self-titled track rolls in at the 39.36 mark. The wall is built around a blend of constantly rolling droning and rapid chopping static texturing. The droning element feels decidedly compacted & blunt in its attack, with a rather uneasy undercarriage to the whole thing. The static chop has a very run away, at points almost manic quality about it- at points, it feels like it is spiralling out of control. Equally, the droning seemingly gets more pressing & ominous. But I think both of these are sonic illusions- and the whole thing is very much fixed/ set.

This ‘walls’ blend of rapid sear & more atmospheric disquiet is well realized, with the balancing of the two elements perfect. The just under forty-minute runtime seems spot on, and I felt both engaged/ entranced throughout. And I’ve always enjoyed true crime/ serial killer walling- so that’s another bonus.

So, Paris is a release that certainly shows a lot of promise for this new project, and I'll be keeping an eye out for the upcoming releases. For those who enjoy where seared meets moody wall craft. I wanted to give this a three & a half mark, but as we only do full marks- I’ve gone for a three.