Xiphoid Dementia "Wounds Never Heal" 3" CD
[Soulworm]
The name Xiphoid Dementia seems familiar to me, but this rather lengthy 3" disc is my first exposure to the project. "Loss of Blood, Dealation" opens with some menacing dark ambient syths and some resonant samples that sound sort of like the shuffling of broken glass. Some spoken samples come in at the end and make for a nice closing, changing up the otherwise unwavering delivery. "We Will Live Again" runs the bulk of the disc at 11 minutes, beginning with the sounds of collapsing, crunching metal - quickly fading to near silence as extremely quiet synth tones start to slowly wind their way back to the surface. In my opinion this portion of the track is a bit ineffective as the drop in volume is so extreme that you have to literally crank it to hear what's going on until things finally reach a normal volume again some two or more minutes later. Thankfully the remainder of the track is an excellent progression of dark ambient soundscapes ranging from melodic musical loops to lightly distorted sweeps and droning feedback. "Preparation for the End" is smoother and calmer at the start, thickening into a massive wall of percussive rhythm and rumbling synth distortion after a brief sample splits in for a second. The sound quality is quite nice, full and textured with a great deal of low-end, but not muddy, nor too thin on the treble. I really like the warmth of the mix, everything is pressed tightly together and forms a dense core. The CD-R comes in a nice little slim jewelcase with a well-designed sleeve depicting strange images of encased fetuses with small, precise text. The inner spread is black and white, the outer panels full color, and the printing is fairly high quality. I believe this release is limited to a mere 50 copies, some of which may still be available, in which case I would certainly say this is worth checking out. I'm quite surprised that I haven't heard more from this project yet. (7/10)
Running time - 21:08, Tracks: 3
[Notable tracks: Loss of Blood, Dealation]
Soulworm Editions - http://www.soulworm.terra.pl

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