Throbbing Gristle — Live at the Volksbühne

Mute Records has been home to Throbbing Gristle since 1986, when they put out their ‘untitled’ CD1, a set of previously unreleased recordings from 1979. Since then, the label has had a hand in most of the band’s releases, reissuing the entirety of their back catalogue complete with a bounty of extras, before moving on to their latter-day live performances. This included 2004’s A Souvenir of Camber Sands, recorded and released on the same night, and now Live at the Volksbühne, Berlin, New Year's Eve, 2005 - a concert that appeared on last year’s TG Berlin box set but has now been made available for the first time as a standalone vinyl or CD release.

The history of TG is a well-trodden story. Borne of the groundbreaking performance art of COUM transmissions featuring the couple Genesis P-Orridge and Cosey Fanni Tutti. The pair moved to London as they sought to continue their attempts to break down the essence of art, this time using music as their medium. Hooking up with electronic wiz Chris Carter and designer Peter Christopherson, the foursome made their debut at the last COUM performance in 1976, the infamous ‘Prostitution’ exhibition at London’s ICA. Single-handedly inventing ‘industrial’ music over the next five years, the band released four supremely radical albums before splitting in 1981, considering their mission all but accomplished.

However, as with all bands whose influence has stood the test of time, TG pulled themselves back together in 2004, despite now moving in very different circles. Carter and Tutti were the creators of a mass of experimental and highly influential electronic music, P-Orridge had formed Psychic TV and begun their third gender journey, while Christopherson had united with John Balance to form the legendary Coil. Tensions were inevitable, but by the time they hit the stage on New Year’s Eve 2005, the band had a wealth of new material to pull on. Their first original studio record since 1982, the four-track TG Now had been released in 2004, and there was plenty left over for 2007’s Part Two: The Endless Not, a large chunk of which was debuted in Berlin.

With plenty of official and bootleg live recordings, those who weren’t there can begin to appreciate just how absolutely and totally uncompromising TG sounded in their prime. And it’s fair to say that with the passing of time and youth, things had changed somewhat by 2005. Less aggressive, perhaps, less chaotic, but on the basis of Live at the Volksbühne, Berlin, New Year's Eve, 2005, they were no less impactful - just more accomplished.

Of the 11 tracks included five will go on to appear on the Part Two album and while the ferocity of earlier recordings may be gone, the sonic industrial assault is still integral with new tracks ‘Vow of Silence’ or ‘Rabbit Snare’ and the previously unreleased ‘PA Destroyer’, for example, sounding punitive, riveting, complex, thought-provoking. But when all is said and done, it’s no surprise that it is the original songs that sound the most disturbing and intense, with special mention for the devastating ‘Slug Bait’ and ‘Hamburger Lady’ two of their most vehemently provocative tracks. As a fan, this is truly an essential recording, for those unfamiliar with TG this throws you right in at the deep end. Perfect.