I'll start with the picky, negative stuff before I get into the thick of it. If I must be so forthright, the layout on this release is inexcusably horrendous. The only thing that looks tolerable is the slightly blurry collage of imagery on the cover, among which the chief recognizable element is a photo of David Koresh. Everything else looks muddy and sloppy, and all of the text is completely pixilated beyond belief, creating an overly shoddy look that just makes no sense at all. A shame... as it's been far too long since In Death's Throes released some new material, and this disc offers up more than an hour of rather strong dark ambient/death industrial soundscapes that, as the cover art would suggest, revolve around the assault of the Branch Davidians' compound in Waco, Texas some 10 years ago. "Call to Arms" starts things off with numerous reverberated samples of Koresh and broadcasts regarding the ATF layered over top of one another; "Wound Ballistics" is the first truly lengthy piece, topping eight minutes with more of a sinister dark ambient throb and a few musical synth tones seeping in amidst the dense murmurs; while "Eroticon (New Vers.)" is very much along those same lines, but has an ethereal ring to it - in my opinion providing the most eerie and effective presentation on the entire disc. The 13+ minute "Control" is somewhat similar in its density and repetition, but represents the harsher and more grating side of the release, never really going over the top, but certainly getting louder and more consistently aggressive. Overall this is another nice release from the underrated In Death's Throes. I can't stress enough that the music contained herein is deserving of a far more professional visual presentation that would better represent the quality and aesthetic of the music, but trying to ignore that the sounds are indeed worthwhile all the same. I hope the project receives a bit more attention in the future, as a handful of these pieces on a 10" could be amazing.
[Art Konkret]
Running time - 60:31, Tracks: 8
[Notable tracks: Wound Ballistics, Eroticon (New Vers.)]
Art Konkret - http://www.art-konkret.de
