Various Artists — Hate Tasting
Kicking off the proceedings is Japan’s Molester; spoken word samples heavily treated with FX give way to static noise which builds in intensity only giving way briefly when the vocals become more prominent. The opener ends quite abruptly making way for UK based noise artist Mutant Ape to come in. This particular noise artist has released on a huge array of labels with numerous cdr, cassette and vinyl releases under his belt, this effort starts with swathes of dark ambient, combined with gradually swelling drones and static noise rising up from the dark, building layer upon layer until it reaches a full on drone/noise attack. Barrikad is next up, having released sporadically over the years since 2001; this Swedish artist definitely has a feel akin to fellow countryman Henrik Nordvargr Bjorkk, in particular his Folkstorm project, with sampled public announcements layered upon with huge analogue sheets of harsh noise.
Werewolf Jerusalem comes straight in with a short HNW piece, the man behind this project is none other than Richard Ramirez who has put out a plethora of releases both under his main moniker and the nasty alter ego on display here. A static wall of noise, crackling and hissing without much change apart from slight layering of sounds on an otherwise relentless track. Fecalove steps up next with quite a detailed piece of power electronics, evolving from filtered humming and heavy bass frequencies, breaking in with interludes of harsh vocal attacks as the track progresses. It’s worthy of noting that Fecalove is also the man behind the Italian branch of the UK established noise/lo-fi label, Turgid Animal. Creeping in menacingly is Russia’s Fear Konstruktor, a gradual release of spite and vitriol, with swirling vocals that sound like they are ebbing from some police scanner in the depths of hell itself, finally disappearing entirely behind the building wall of noise before collapsing in on itself and giving way to low ebbing bass rumbles.
Climax Denial is one of the most surprising offerings on this compilation, having not heard the name before, some quick research unearthed a good number of releases mainly on cassette and CDR over the years since 2005. Bursts of analogue synth mingle with low bass hums to give the listener a deeply unsettling feeling, building the tension nicely interspersed with frenzied vocal screams, great stuff! Mourmansk 150’s offering comes in the form of a steady stream of dirge like synth drones with a harsh metallic edge, with Mourmansk’s crazed vocals only adding to the aural barrage, another respected artist within the power electronics scene, having shared releases with seminal artists such as Kenji Siratori and HIV+. Comforter brings in an altogether different prospect, with bass kick blips, industrial screeches and mangled noise culminating in an almost rhythmic noise fashion, although being the shortest track on the compilation, it is also the most varied in style. Italian noise group Splinter vs. Stalin manage to conjure up a real hellish din, with underlying sub bass tones that are likely to make the teeth in your skull shake rattle and roll, finishing off this compilation in style.
This release, although probably not that friendly to the casual listener, bodes well for lovers of all things harsh and extreme; the process of putting together the tracks has clearly been well thought out and as a result brings a very nice flow to the whole proceedings.