RU-486 — Iron Empire
Housed in a 7” sleeve, complete with black and white industrial imagery, the tone is firmly set before any sounds are heard at all. Indeed the first track on the release boots in with a bleak subterranean pulse that filters through various gradients of distortion, layered with vocal samples delivering what can be described as Orwellian in their inevitability, big brother is almost certainly watching as the feeling of hopelessness and despair increase. Leaving what can be described as the only semi coherent track behind the release meanders through several pieces of disassociated harsh junk noise and audio collages. The industrial grimness always being at the forefront of the sound, imagined vistas of derelict construction facilities and increasingly desperate internal cries of help and despair, never wavering, only piling on the torment more and more with each tortured and fragmented passage. Crushing, bastardized synths scream for attention, amongst the whirlwind of clatters, low drilling rumbles and sheets of pure unadulterated noise, before the next instalment punishes you even further, leaving you no chance for reprieval.
Nihilistic in nature, this release covers very familiar territory, broken soundscapes and feedback being manipulated and dissected, all the while conveying the sense of emptiness and ultimately defeat. Nothing is ground-breaking here, neither is there any beauty to be found amongst the audio carnage, which I imagine is entirely the intention set down in the first place. No frills, no pretence, just all out unadulterated hate and anguish. A very twisted release, to be appreciated more upon its artistic sensibilities and the aesthetics portrayed therein, rather than being judged on out and out musicianship alone.