I’ve been following the work of German sound artist Sicker Man (aka Tobias Vethake) since I reviewed his 2022 collaboration with Kiki Bohemia Waiting For Wood- I was very much taken by it's momentous and highly abstract take on experimental music. Havoc is his new collaboration, this time with German singer, sound / visual artist and owner of Loft Editions, Manuel Klotz. This is the third time this pair have worked together- the others been collab album 2020's Cherish the Chants (Loftparty Records), and the  2021 Sicker Man album Dialog (Blankrecords). 

Recorded live and capturing all the energy and intensity of the moment, Havoc demands attention and involvement in its listening. An experience that has the quality of shifting between an esoteric trip and a sonic eruption; such is the power the album unleashes. One has to stoically understand the abrasive and distorted cello, affirmatively embrace the evocative, eerie and ritualistic vocal chanting, and endur all sorts of electronic abuse and manipulation. The sound has been sliced and then packed in thick layers; this is the essence of Havoc.  There are also rumbling drone elements, which have the aura of  80’s industrial projects such as Throbbing Gristle. There is a  fine line of sequenced melodic elements lurking, hidden within the chaos and obliteration, which give a haunting touch to the otherwise voluminous, in terms of sentiments, and recording.  

Poetic and dark, Havoc is primarily highly emotional expressionism, confrontational and agonizing, divided into three pieces, which will consume easily the ear and the soul, with a deranged aftermath!. To find out more