Extreme Penetrations offers us one long, forty-six minute track of HNW. Its an impressively relentless piece of work; all the more so for its slow, burning pace. There’s precious little development or change to the wall - it finishes as it starts - but small tweaks, or the internal logic of the wall itself, trigger tiny shifts in texture and movement. A broad range of frequencies are carried rather well by “Stretch The Flesh”: there’s a scourging bass rumble which gallops headlong to the track’s conclusion, some slightly more sedate treble activity and, in between, an active mid-frequency section. These middle elements of the wall sound somewhat “loose” and “flapping” at times; giving the whole track a very “noisy” feel, as if the recording were more lo-fi than it is. There’s constant rasping and spitting from these mid-frequencies, whilst the treble sizzles overhead. At points, there’s also a tremendous lower-mid crackle, which forces its way out from the bass floor.

Despite what I’ve written above, I found this to be, overall, a curiously peaceful wall. Whilst the low end is nothing if not forceful, and the piece as a whole is incredibly crunchy and detailed, the fact remains that the slow-burn of “Stretch The Flesh” is oddly calming. The initial exposure to the wall is certainly violent, but once the ears settle in, there’s an unexpected peace to be found inside: the centre of the cyclone. Which isn’t something I thought I would be writing before hearing it.