Uitgeschakeld & Ratteknaeghen — S/T
The tape version of the release came in an edition of twenty-three copies, and as of this review, the label still has copies available. The smoky & dark transparent cassette comes in a single-sided sleeve- this takes in a series of overlaid murky & grey shapes, and of course, this is an ideal visual accompaniment for the wall- matter within.
So on side one, we have Uitgeschakeld- this Rotterdam based project has been active since 2014, and thus far has released around thirty releases. The track here is entitled "Terneeergeslagen", and is rewarding-if-fairly typical of what I’ve heard from this project in the past. The ‘walls’ starts off & is centred around a thick blend galloping ‘n’ rushing roasting patter-nation. As the ‘wall’ moves on we get subtle( and not so subtle) shifts in the basic walls flow, and these take in sudden off-pattern swirls & sears, hacking-to-pummelling layer fluctuations, and cascades of descending rattling & jittering texturing. It feels like one is inside a huge wind tunnel, hanging on to the edge of the structure for dear life- from time to time flotsam & jetsam hits you, but the main focus & feel here is the unrelenting & hair ripping centrally roasting texture.
So of course on the flip side, we have Ratteknaeghen- this project is from Den Haag, and is a fairly recent addition to the scene starting in 2016, and only thus far releasing three release. Though behind the project is Kevin Jansen, who has been active in the wall noise/ harsh noise scene since around 2009- with projects like Svartvit, Un & Unsolved Deaths. The track here is entitled “In Den Dreck Ziehen”- & this a tense & tightly churning example of fairly muffled & industrialized wall matter- bringing together a blunt ‘n’ bothersome bass central judder, with a selection of thinner rattling, shaking, and hacking textures. These are set together into to brutal & agitated mesh- which feels like ones stuck inside the constant churning & grinding wheels of a tank. On the whole, this ‘wall’ has a nice feeling of brutal ramshackle & cluttering intensity, and this keeps one concentration nicely nailed to the spot
S/T offers up two examples of extremely sheared & brain shredding walled-noise from the Netherlands. Both sides are equal in their sheer sonic brutality- but of the two sides, I’d say I just prefer the second side more, purely down to the way it hunkers down & pummels into you with such focused & unstoppable rage.