Exsanguinate/La Infame Turba de Nocturnas Aves "Allegory of Death" split CD
[Misanthrope Studio]
Exsanguinate (California) begins this split with four rather lengthy and suffocatingly bleak tracks of excellent dark ambient/death industrial. Opener "Accession" is full of throbbing undercurrents plus swirling layers of lightly distorted feedback and samples - a very consistent piece for its 6+ minutes, never dull. Slightly less caustic, but similar in its repetition and mix of smoother low tones with abrasive (but not over the top) foreground textures, is "In the Shadow", which has a subtly rhythmic sort of flow to it. "Detachment" is incredibly sinister, with crackling distortion cutting in and out within a mass of rumbling bass and eerie, almost machine-like grating sounds. It's a bit more hypnotic than its predecessors in its unwavering delivery, and by far my favorite of the four pieces. "Overcome" is the longest and calmest of the compositions, fitting in atmospherically and sonically, but keeping the more aggressive tones under control in favor of a more brooding and perhaps quieter assault. The recording on all four of these tracks is absolutely pristine as well. The volume levels alone are highly impressive, as everything is massive and loud, despite the fact that the tones aren't particular harsh or hyper distorted by any means. Very nice. La Infame Turba de Nocturnas Aves (Spain) also offers up four lengthy tracks of what I would classify as dark ambient/death industrial, but all are title numerically (and oddly enough out of order - "II", "III", "IV", "I") and the approach is more "dynamic" in that the material tends to shift back and forth from ominous ambient tones to explosive outbursts of distorted fury or twisted vocal manipulation - as opposed to generally offering a consistent blend of dynamics, as Exsanguinate does. As a result of that I think La Infame Turba de Nocturnas Aves' material tends to have a bit less feeling at times, though for the most part it is quite nice - notably the distant melodies and flowing compositional structure of "IV" and the appropriate use of loosely defined beats in "I". And the recording is equally impressive, very warm, very clear, great levels... and so on. The layout is very dark, literally, both the content of the imagery and the colors. Very little text is present, just a lot of black and some dark brown-ish imagery that looks like crackled, worn old paintings dealing with death, of course. There is a tiny amount of text inside, mainly recording information and such. Everything looks really consistent though, and I really like the subtlety of the on-disc printing. I've yet to be disappointed by Exsanguinate, and this release has certainly piqued my interest in La Infame Turba de Nocturnas Aves, so I would say it's definitely worth checking out. It's limited to 500 copies, so don't wait too incredibly long... (7/10)
Running time - 52:14, Tracks: 8
[Notable tracks: Detachment, Overcome, IV, I]
Misanthrope Studio - http://www.crionicmind.org/misanthrope/

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