Sebastian Tomb/Sado Rituals — Ostara

Ostara is a two-way walled noise split taking its name/ theme from both the Anglo-Saxon goddess who brought in spring of the same name, and easter celebrations. It features two ten-minute tracks- one from Berlin’s Sebastian Tomb, and the other from Poland’s Sado Rituals.

The split is a digital-only release on Gates Of Hypnos. Coverwise we have a 1940s picture of a man dressed as an easter bunny leaning on a large egg with ‘happy easter’ written on it, and sitting below is a leggy female brunette. The release can be found here. 

Both tracks here run at dead on the ten-minute mark, and both are untitled. First up we have Sebastian Tomb track- this opens with a sample of a man talking about how not all easter eggs are made out of chocolate, and some are made of stone. Then we drop into the ‘wall’ which has a rather stone grain-like feel to it- as we find a blend of rattling ‘n’ lose low-end scrap, underfed by distant wheel-like judder. It feels as if the ‘wall’ is constantly slowing & rubbing into self, but in reality, it seemingly keeps the same pace/ feel throughout- so a most effective trick of the wall.

Next we of course have the Sado Rituals track. This ‘wall’ feels slightly fuller, but still detailed in its layering. It’s built around a billow-bound-drilling through rock like a drone. Around this, we find a distance of snaking hiss, and knocking like patternation. With the whole thing rather bringing to mind something small( maybe an animal, or a small person) hanging on for dear life, as a huge drilling rig boars deeper & deeper into the earth. Oddly I almost find this ‘wall’ kind of almost cute & comforting, which I know is a bizarre thing to say about a noise track- but that’s what I’m getting.

So, in conclusion, Ostara is a rather rewarding two-way split. With both parties offering up worthy examples of wall craft, which mix interesting textures in a most effective and compelling manner. All with a rather neat theme/ focus.