Burial Ground/Bloodcraving - The House On The Edge Of The Park [Meat Hook Butchery - 2019]Here we have a two-way wall-noise split themed around grueling ‘n’ sleazed 1980’s house invasion thriller The House On The Edge Of The Park- it brings together US Horror themed wall brutality of Burial Ground, & seared wall noise crudity of Germanys Bloodcraving. Originally released back in 2008 in the form of a C40 on Black Graves Tapes, here’s a 2018 CDR reissue of the release. I’d imagine most readers of this review, and M[m] will be aware of the notoriously 80’s nasty that is The House On The Edge Of The Park- but if not here’s a rough rundown. The 1980 film was directed by infamous horror extreme-mo Ruggero Deodato(Cannibal Holocaust, Body Count, Last Cannibal World). With David Hess ( Last House On The Left) in the lead role as one of two deprived losers, who decide one night to break into the house of a group of socialites- and terrorize, torture & rape them. It’s a decidedly scuzzy, nasty & unrelenting film- and the two walls here perfectly fit that tone.
The CDR with printed on poster artwork from the film comes in a double side slip-sleeve- this takes in the same CDR artwork on the front, then on the back a selection of grimly black & white stills from the movie with a red backdrop- it’s also hand numbed edition of forty copies.
Each wall here comes in near the twenty-minute mark, each is untitled, and features an effective film sample to open it up. First up we have a track from Burial Ground- this La Crosse, Wisconsin based project has been active on & off since 2008- putting out to date around thirty plus releases- and this split was the projects first ever release. This first ‘wall’ starts off in a nice & unpleasant sample of Hess saying “ You know they say you always remember the first time”, this is followed by a series of pained female screams & wails, and Hess’s sinister chuckle- then within around a minute & a half we’re into the wall. This finds a thick & deep speedy judder, that’s bayed, seared & slashed by off pattern static rips & drags- at times we almost move towards wallish harsh noise, but it just stays in HNW. I really like the central thick judder- it’s has a very nice fierce & intense quality about it. The top layer of noise rips & drags is decidedly haphazard, and at times sounds a little ham-fisted- but thankfully these moments don’t last long. On the whole, I’d say this is a passable opening shot from Burial Ground.
Next up we have the Bloodcraving track- this German project is one of wall noise ventures of Ron, who is most known for brutal & crude cannibal film themed project Cannibal Ritual. The Bloodcraving project also started in 2008, with this being its first release- and in all this project has put out around four releases to date. The track opens with a man saying ‘ That’s enough’, and then Hess saying ‘what was that Shithead’. Then we’re into the noise- first we get a short buzzing bass sustain, before we drop into the ‘wall’- this is a tightly weaved blend rapid feasting & hiss mids, with a semi crunching gallop- it’s certainly a most hypnotic of ‘walls’, really nicely keep you locked into it’s thick & tense mass. This feels slightly less crude & battering compared to Ron’s Cannibal Ritual work, and at times it almost takes on a churning maelstrom groove( or maybe that’s my imagination?!). Anyway, for the first half or so, the whole thing feels fairly tight & set- after the midway point the feasting seems to slow somewhat, and this is joined by a most effective swirl ‘n’ snap element is added. The track gets topped off with a few minutes of troubling dialogue from the film, I won’t detail it here as it does feature spoilers. Of the two-track here I’d say this is most rewarding & effective, and I really enjoy the shift from tight tense-ness, to slowly splitting sear.
It’s always great to see wall noise releases getting a re-presses because unfortunately the scene is known for its very small pressings. This is certainly a release that was worthy of a re-issue, as it’s the starting point for two wall noise projects- and both ‘walls’ are worthy of the time of any seasoned wall-heads. Head over to here to pick yourself up a copy, before it goes out of print again! Roger Batty
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