I'm sitting here at 1am listening to this when I should be on the tail-end of my first REM cycle. The culprit for my inexcusably awake state is this very album. It's a three-way collaboration which mixes the percussive tribalism of Z'ev with natural field recordings (courtesy of Chris Watson) and synthetic cascades of frequencies, synths and slithering electronica afforded by sound-sculptor extraordinaire, KK Null. Everything becomes so finely enmeshed within each other it becomes harder and harder, as we reach the wee hours of the morning, to separate nature and machine until they all coalesce into one beating, dynamic rhythm. Put simply, Number One (Touch Music, 2005), is one more reason to throw away your television and just Listen.
Comprised of a veritable "who's who" ensemble, Zyklon-B's Blood Must Be Shed (Malicious Records, 1995) encapsulates all the vitriol and provocative aesthetics of the early 90's Norwegian scene. You'll find everything here - Satyricon's percussive terrorism (courtesy of monsieur Frost), swaths of Ihsahn-driven keyboards and razor-sharp riffage. But as I flick through the now-tired and naive polemic proclamations of yesteryear I can't help but give a snicker now when reflecting upon how old this feels (and consequently how aged yours truly feels in response). Nevertheless there is still a buzzing quality of delightful misanthropia in these 10-odd minutes of musical extremism that retains an impact which is fresh and potent as ever. Taken like a head-spinning shot of vodka and gunpowder leaving you with an afterburn that never fades.
The only reason Die Sonne Satan's Fac-Totum is featured here is because it ticks all the right boxes when it comes to terms like 'underground' and 'cult'. For starters it was released on Marco Corbelli's own Slaughter Productions - yes that's the very same suicidal fiend behind the audial monstrosity known as Atrax Morgue. Second it was put out in a day and age (circa 1993) when there were still virgin vistas of convention and orthodoxy to be violated and subverted - there was no room for masturbatory rehashing and aimless shock-value. And finally the actual product: the music itself. What can I say? Umm.. How about ritualistic, dark ambient straight out from a Roman Polanski film? Ah sod it find your own metaphor, you got the point anyway. And to top it all off it's sufficiently ensconced in obscurity to make a helpless kvlt-kiddie like myself go all giddy with joy.
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The only reason Die Sonne Satan's Fac-Totum is featured here is because it ticks all the right boxes when it comes to terms like 'underground' and 'cult'. For starters it was released on Marco Corbelli's own Slaughter Productions - yes that's the very same suicidal fiend behind the audial monstrosity known as Atrax Morgue. Second it was put out in a day and age (circa 1993) when there were still virgin vistas of convention and orthodoxy to be violated and subverted - there was no room for masturbatory rehashing and aimless shock-value. And finally the actual product: the music itself. What can I say? Umm.. How about ritualistic, dark ambient straight out from a Roman Polanski film? Ah sod it find your own metaphor, you got the point anyway. And to top it all off it's sufficiently ensconced in obscurity to make a helpless kvlt-kiddie like myself go all giddy with joy.
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