Straight off the bat this thing launches into "Kogal Fascination" with some piercing harsh noise consisting of lots of stereo panning that really screws with your ears, and some quick cutup textures that make things jump along chaotically with a lot of fluttering movement. "Testuria/Na?ve" has some softer moments where everything drops out to a minimal volume level, and a few moments sound like heavily distorted music, and that works nicely because the long stretch of drifting ambient-ish sounds later just explodes forth with no real warning or reprieve. "Vent 2" comes off more as typical harsh noise to me, as it's far more relentless and one-sided, using a thick, raw level of total distortion with a few bright spots of feedback and oppressive low-end - not bad, but a bit redundant and stale for more than eight minutes straight. "Naomi (In and Out of Consciousness)" begins with a nearly silent level of light, light hiss/hum that eventually leads into some subtle musical elements and strange shuffling noises. This comes as a massive surprise, but for me begins to prove that this is indeed an excellent release that encompasses not only some true thought, but a sense of originality for the genre. It's great because you're almost afraid to turn the volume up for fear of being blasted by more harsh assaults, but it never changes over! The last piece is a 21+ minute live set recorded in 2001. Interestingly enough the sound is only slightly less clear/deep than the other tracks. It's still thick and has a good level of clarity and tonal range, but there's a slight bit of distance to the sounds, and you can sense that slightly muddy live warmth. The layout is fucking excellent and looks not only stark, but quite creative and original for a harsh noise release. There's a nice, bold photograph on the cover, lots of blank space and good use of striking color, minimal text, and some black and white panels with bits of handwriting and small sketches that add a really interesting sense of thought to the work. All in all another strong and very professional CD release from Truculent that's really starting to put the label at the top of the heap for quality harsh noise. I'm impressed.
[Truculent]
Running time - 57:40, Tracks: 5
[Notable tracks: Testuria/Na?ve, Naomi (In and Out of Consciousness)]
Truculent Recordings - http://www.truculentrecordings.net
