Navicon Torture Technologies "The Church of Dead Girls" 2xCD
[Malignant]
I had been looking forward to this massive new release from Navicon Torture Technologies for quite some time, and I'm finally able to check it out. "The Church of Dead Girls" offers up 20 tracks and over two hours of furiously sinister death industrial/power electronics that in my opinion is more focused and threatening than NTT's last full-length effort for Malignant. Additional source sounds were provided for manipulation by Abfall, Bullethead, Egosplint, Fragment King, Loveissacrifice, Never Presence Forever, Nothing, and Steel Hook Prostheses, but of course you'd never know it were it not for the liner notes. For the most part the tracks are appropriate in length (anywhere from two to 12 minutes, with one topping 20) and contain numerous brands of crunching, oppressive distortion, tasteful samples, all sorts of vocals (generally under heavy effects), ambient hums and throbbing low-end, etc. It's never too harsh or too easy on the ears, and more importantly it never lacks atmosphere or intent. The compositions fit together seamlessly and create a cohesive whole as well as working on individual levels. "Personal Apocalypse III" uses a lighter loop of distortion with some distant singing drones behind a repetitive sample of a woman that seems to be crying and making self-deprecating remarks. "Beauty in These Ruins" is absolutely one of my favorites, using deep, resonant percussive textures against choral synth tones and highly distorted vocal shouts that are perfectly mixed in against the soundscapes - creating an oddly hypnotic piece that relies on a great deal of consistent repetition. The vocals are sheer insanity, though. Excellent. I really like the way samples are used in tracks like "That Same Whisper of Decay", as they act as both texture and content, and add an even more ominous direction to the material (exemplified tenfold in "Paterfamilias"). "A Need to Be Desired II" closes the first disc with some slightly more musical synth tones mixed in amongst the distortion and manipulated samples (Or vocals?), which, while not 100% effective, is a curious twist. Disc 2 contains songs that tend to run slightly longer on average, as well as coming off more as individual compositions (though the general theme and mood are still right on). "I Feel Ready to Perpetrate Wanton, Heinous Acts of Rape and Murder Upon Happy Lovers and the Population at Large..." is phenomenal, beginning with more musical synths (used far more efficiently) and some interesting percussive beats along with crispy distortion and more brutal shouting vocals. And that song title! Holy shit! Talk about not holding back! The 24+ minute "The Illusions That Loneliness Manufactures" starts out very calmly with some bleak ambient tones that provide the most "relaxing" moments of the set. About 10 minutes or so in some samples and faint distortion come into play, and eventually things do shift in a harsher direction, but the tide always returns to the humming ambient drones (in one shape or another), keeping the piece moving unbelievably well for its enormous length. The packaging is very curious. Everything is done in black and white with some metallic silver ink, and the two discs come housed laying flat one above the other in an oversized digipack (about 5.5" wide and 10.5" tall), which I've never seen before. The artwork is very nice, if not bizarre. The cover is dark with lots of black, including mirror images of nude women laying down, as two rows of nude women walk towards the Navicon Torture Technologies icon, which happens to be just in front of an enormous vagina. An even larger image of a vagina graces the spread across the inner panels, with some recording information and such on the left, and the two discs on the right. On the back cover underneath the tracklist is a very well executed photograph of a pierced torso that has a lot of grainy texture to it, which certainly adds to the aesthetic. I'm very impressed by this release. Very impressed. For such a monumental undertaking, not to mention a lengthy release, it's clear that all of the work that went into this paid off, because it's almost never boring, and that can rarely be said for any release that tops the two-hour mark. Great work. Definitely recommended. (8/10)
Running time - 2:13:43, Tracks: 20
[Notable tracks: The Gates of Hell Open to Reveal Shiny White Skin, Beauty in These Ruins, That Same Whisper of Decay, I Feel Ready to Perpetrate Wanton, Heinous Acts of Rape and Murder Upon Happy Lovers and the Population at Large..., The Illusions That Loneliness Manufa]
Malignant Records - http://www.malignantrecords.com

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