v/a "Contre Tous" compilation CD
[Dead Mind]
This is basically a four-way split CD from a slew of weird bands. Infidel?/Castro! (the only participating band not from Holland) starts out with two lengthy tracks of their madness. First up is "MSIGWTTH", which combines live drums with tons of wacky noises and distorted textures, at times cutting things up and becoming very unstructured, even breaking into some wicked 80's dance sounding action towards the end. "Exposing One's Belly to Predators" is much more sinister, using some oppressive low-end tones and spoken vocals amidst some ambient hums and drones with a little bit of subtle melody. Eventually things build into an epic electronic sort of take on experimental rock, with filtered guitars and drums, computerized vocal effects, etc. But it's really heavy and powerful... quite impressive actually. This is actually my favorite Infidel?/Castro! track to date, perhaps because it's calmer and more fluid, but whatever the case, I really enjoy it a lot. Dead Husbands (Holland) is next with five tracks of repetitive noise that uses a lot of source recordings of clicking sounds and stuff like that along with samples and some quirky Casio sounding electronics. Most of it's really basic and immature - a recipe for disaster in my book, but the chaotic arrangements and thumping programming of "Empire of Lies" isn't so bad. Also from Holland is PIDPI, with five more tracks of experimental noise, though thankfully it's more atmospheric than that of Dead Husbands. "We Aar Vibrators" is way too goofy for me, but some of the other tracks have a nice ambient sort of vibe going on, blending ethereal textures and hums with some uniquely abrasive textures and the occasional sample, etc. De Fabriek (Holland, again) closes with five tracks revolving almost exclusively around minimal compositions of loops. I like the panning and the way the sounds interact, but once again this is really sort of cheesy and doesn't create any kind of mood. These are the only tracks that actually strike me as mildly amusing as a result of their lameness, so the material succeeds on that level, but... I think the packaging is pretty terrible. The CD comes in a one-sided full color booklet in a plastic sleeve, which is fine, but the artwork on the sleeve looks atrocious and unprofessional... it's really goofy and immediately turns me away. Inside is a small insert xeroxed onto light green paper that has contact information and such for the four bands. The tracklist only appears on the CD face, which is incredibly annoying since one can't look at the top of a CD as it's playing. They really should've rethought the way this thing looks. The label sells this puppy for $10 as well, which I find incredibly unreasonable. I don't care if it is a professionally pressed CD, this thing isn't worth $10, nor would it be even if the music was excellent. What you basically get here is the most incredible Infidel?/Castro! song they've recorded to date, and around 45 minutes of what basically amounts to a load of crap. I wish "Exposing One's Belly to Predators" had been released as a one-sided 7" or something instead... (3/10)
Running time - 61:17, Tracks: 17
[Notable tracks: Infidel?/Castro!]
Dead Mind - http://www.blutistzeit.nl

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