Various HNW Artists — In grim imus nocte et consumimur igni
Sarajevo based Harsh Noise Wall label Zvukovina who have put out this great box set have always been an label that has prided themselves on consistent sounding and highly quality looking releases, and this set really tops their very high standard. With the eight discs coming in a thick vhs sized dvd case that on the outside features a dramatic and classy black, red, grey and white pro-printed cover. And inside along with the cdrs (highly quality with printed labels) is: a 24x36 poster, two HNW stickers and a black ‘n’ red pro-printed artists information sheet- so as you can see it’s a really classy yet grim looking item.
Going onto the seven discs themselves, and each disc is a great example of thick, pummelling and highly focused HNW matter. With really none of the seven disc been a let down in brutality or quality. I wont review all of the discs here, as I think that may ruin the sets surprise, but I’ll discuss a few of my favourite discs in the set.
So my current favourite are: The first disc in the set which features a single forty minute track from Germany’s Namazu Dantai(aka Sascha Mandler whose other projects include the jarring harsh noise meets Japanese folklore themed Sonics’ of Izanami's Labour Pains and Death Industrial/ Power Electronics of Mazakon Tactics). The disc/ track is entitled “Ingi” , and it finds Mandler offering up a very dense and surprisingly locked( as a much of his work is often quite active) slice of Wall making. The tracks built around two or three interwoven noise tones that take in tight jittering,s roaring judderings and disciplined yet slightly skipping static trails. The track moves at a fairly mid to high paced rate, and iit's both satisfyingly thick and unforgiving, yet also highly hypnotic with its interlocking make-up.
Disc three is from ItalysTerminal Erection(aka Nicola Vinciguerra whose also in the creative yet perverse Power electronics project Fecalove & often more surreal/ horror filled noise collective of Splinter vs. Stalin). This Disc is entitled “Ti” and it offers up three untitled tracks that run between just over the sixteen minute mark to near the twenty two minute mark. The first track is built around this great constantly rolling and drilling deep electro drone thats played over by these tense and tight jittering static patterns. The second track sees the locked droning element returning again, but now it seems deeper and thicker, with smaller skipping yet regimented static jitters on top. And lastly track three is built around this amped-up soldering tone which is underfed by the large circular judder that has an almost constant sparking welding hiss about it. Each track here is equally appealing yet brutal, and thankfully none of them have have the more wondering tendencies of this projects early work had.
Disc five is from Croatian based project Placenta Lyposuction and offers up single, bleak and pained slice of wall making entitled “Sumi”. The track comes in at just under the forty five minute mark, and is built around a series of tight & repeated barren descending tones that sound like a mix between avalanche like thuds and greyed lines of TV static. These tones are constantly droned under by this distant and rundown wailing alarm or bleak electro moan that at times can just be heard in the wall. This disc/ track has such a great stark, pained and total hopless feel about it. And it brings to mind the dank, cracking and decaying white wash walls and flicking white neo corridors of some long forgotten torture chamber that still holds a few of it’s barely alive prisoners.
Disc Six features a nearly thirty one minute track from Germanys Die Reitenden Leichen. This track/disc is entitled “Murig”, and it’s built around three main and repeated tones- we have a deep ‘n’ nasty blow touch type roar, then a smaller jittering static ball amassing tone, then a constant hissing tone. These three elements are left to unfold in a near change–less state for the first half or so of the track, but at the midway point a more helicopter blade meets muffled juddering feel takes hold of the wall and the hissing seems to have got deeper too, but none of these slight changers lessens the ‘walls’ effectiveness if anything it seems to deepen it's seared rewarding edge. This track really seems to get deep under your skin in a very nasty yet hypotonic way
So in summing up this boxset is a perfectly presented set of seven great full length albums from some of the best HNW acts in Europe. Sadly as with most things HNW related this is a ltd item and there is only 30 copies available of this!. So if your a true Wall-head you really need this now, so head over to Zvukovina here and find out how to get your hands on this great set before there all gone!