Top Bar
Musique Machine Logo Home ButtonReviews ButtonArticles ButtonBand Specials ButtonAbout Us Button
SearchGo Down
Search for  
With search mode in section(s)
And sort the results by
show articles written by  
 Review archive:  # a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z

Nikolic, Pakhomov & Van Der Veen - Self Titled [Lost Light Records - 2018]

Though this self-titled collaboration may sound like some sort of obscure prog rock spin-off project. It’s actually a wall-noise venture bringing together three of the more respected names in the scene- Nemanja Nikolic (Dosis Letalis), Sergey Pakhomov (Train Cemetery/Reason Art Records), and Casper Van Der Veen (Uitgeschakeld). This hour-long debut from the project surfaced late last year on Spokane, Washington based tape label Lost Light Records- as either a C60. Or digital download- sadly the tapes now all gone- but of course you can still download it.

The physical version of the release- found the white shelled cassette coming in a monochrome cover- which features a fairly surreal picture of a effects peddle in the middle of the woods with a tentacle  coming out of it, and been surrounded by a fly, animal skeleton, antler-like branches & a horned skull- all making for a distinctive  looking cover.

The release features two half-an-hour examples of hellish thick wall-matter- which finds the three piece bringing together often subtle layer shift HNW, that’s sure to both brutalized & entrancing seasoned wall-heads.  Each of the two tracks here is untitled- and each is as thick, unrelenting, yet subtle layer shifting as the next.

So the first untitled track starts off been built around a rolling & slighting wondering droning, a sway of rattle & clutter bound cascade, and splintering hackings- that are seemingly bursting out of the edges of the thickened mass.  As we move along the tracks half-an-hour unfold the trio keep things impenetrable dense & raging, yet as it progresses we get nice textural layers that suddenly appear, then dart back into the mass- for example around six minute mark I can clearly define an off pattern selection of meaty sliding & slicing textures that sound like something thick worming through a mass of snow & ice. Or at around the nineteen-minute mark we get a blend of hacking meshed static chops & clutters, blended with distant droning-yet-drifting underbelly and subtle pop & crackle topping. It’s certainly the type of ‘wall’ that very much rewards repeated visits & submersions, as each time around you seem to pick up subtle new details.

Moving onto the second track and this once again is just a dense & full in its attack- it starts off as a blend of roaming & muffled churning drone, chopping meshes of slices, sways of cluttering pop & graze, and descending static buffetings. Once again the whole thing remains thick through-out, yet active in its layer movement- so for example at the midway point the drone seems to become aquatic & murky in its pattern, as we get sways of cascading static smash, knock & rattle. Or at just before the twentieth minute we get blends of knock & ripping, that are underfed by blunting tunnelling drone, and sudden snapping chop. It really is masterful how the trio manages to keep the whole thing remaining so firm- yet- layer active, without ever diluting the power & depth of the ‘wall’ as a whole.

This self-titled collab is really a master class in how to create extremely dense, yet layer detailed wall-matter- special mention must giving to the mixing here of both walls- this was done by Mr Nikolic who really has managed to perfectly balance all of the elements together to create both skull crushing weight, yet clever detail too- which is far from easy to do. It really is a pity this disappeared so quickly in its physical form- let's hope sometime in the near future it receives a reissue- as this really it's a release that every self-respecting wall-head should have in their collection.

Rating: 4 out of 5Rating: 4 out of 5Rating: 4 out of 5Rating: 4 out of 5Rating: 4 out of 5

Roger Batty
Latest Reviews

Nikolic, Pakhomov & Van Der Veen ...
Though this self-titled collaboration may sound like some sort of obscure prog rock spin-off project. It’s actually a wall-noise venture bringing togeth...
260424   Marco Baldini/Apartment House...
250424   Intruder - Psycho Savant
250424   Hot Spur - Hot Spur( Blu Ray)
250424   Happy End - Happy End( Blu Ray)
250424   Electronicat - Saturation
240424   Soma - Me Dais Mucho Asco
240424   Koobaatoo Asparagus - Onna-musha
240424   Magda - And Suddenly, Just L...
230424   Andrea Taeggi - Nattdett
230424   Seedpeople - SeedPeople(Blu Ray)
Latest Articles

The Music of Clay Ruby & Burial H...
Over the last couple of decades Wisconsin native, Clay Ruby has been creating some of the world’s finest dark electronic music under the Burial Hex mon...
280324   The Music of Clay Ruby & Buri...
290224   Sutcliffe No More - Normal Ev...
100124   Occlusion - The Operation Is...
181223   Best Of 2023 - Music, Sound &...
051223   Powerhouse Films - Of Magic, ...
181023   IO - Of Sound, Of Art, Of Exp...
210923   Lucky Cerruti - Of Not so Fri...
290823   The Residents - The Trouble W...
110723   Yotzeret Sheydim Interview - ...
250523   TenHornedBeast - Into The Dee...
Go Up
(c) Musique Machine 2001 -2023. Twenty two years of true independence!! Mail Us at questions=at=musiquemachine=dot=comBottom