This is a very interesting collection. I rarely do this, but just to give you an idea of what this is all about, I'm quoting the label, stating that this CD is "an attempt to create something new in the death metal genre through the use of noise. 15 noisicians received drum recordings in the mail, and the tracks on this disc are what they sent back. Digital and analog noise set to analog drums (recorded by Lucifer's Hammer percussionist John Caldwell), with an overall theme of early medicine... For each song, specific rules were set: No altering of the drum track; no more than 1.5 minutes of sound as an intro, outro, or combination; and minimal use of traditional metal instruments only. By setting these boundaries, along with the use of a universal theme (the medicinal advances of man), we allowed for various interpretations while ensuring a cohesive final piece." 15 tracks from 15 contributors, most of which are brief, averaging around two-and-a-half minutes each. The only artists I've heard of that make appearances are Noiseman433, Panicsville, and Lesser, so the rest is new to me. From quiet ambience (Bombardier) to the wacky and chaotic with insane distorted vocals (The Rib), there's a lot of crazy shit herein. Now, I know that the terms of the disc are pretty strict as far as not being able to manipulate the drums or refrain from using the drums for more than a minute-and-a-half to start/finish, but I have to say that I don't feel like a lot of these artists did such a good job of working the beats into their tracks. I think part of that might be because the way the drums were recorded sounds pretty stark and the kicks are sort of out front, but the way most of these compositions were put together, the drums sound very separate from the noise, tending to overpower most everything. I would've expected the drums to be mixed much lower in many cases, but they're almost always way out front and feel pasted in after the fact. The beats can be pretty cool (some of them are bland), and the same goes for the experimental textures... but I'm not really feeling a true mesh of the two happening here. Aside from Function 7 (who adds lots of distortion and some programmed beats prior to the live drums), the subtle ambience of Bombardier makes the most sense alongside the overpowering percussion. "The Founding of Physiology", by The One With Horns, is cool, but I feel like it breaks the rules because it basically applies noisy distorted guitars and distorted screaming to the beat, basically making it a raw grindcore track more than anything. The layout is absolutely incredible, though. And those who put it together clearly know their shit when it comes to design. There's a good mix of full color and black and white, high contrast and gradations, clean type and chaotic collages of imagery, etc. Of course the images have a connection with medicine or the human body in some way, but I can't stress how awesome this looks. There's very little text within the layout, and most of it appears inside the booklet (tracklist, contact information, credits, etc.). Awesome. In the end, this is a great idea, and a great looking item, and while I greatly respect the effort and the concise running time, few of the songs are interesting, and the concept isn't fully realized. But I would like to see the label continue to put forth such challenges in the future, because the concept and appearance are superb.
[Boyarm]
Running time - 35:34, Tracks: 15
[Notable tracks: Slope, Function 7, Bombardier, The W-Sight]
Boyarm - http://www.boyarm.com
