Release Info:
Artist : The Vomit Arsonist
Album : Only Red
Genre : Noise
Label : Malignant Records
Catnum : TumorCD77
Source : CDDA
URL : http://www.discogs.com/Vomit-Arsonist-Only-Red/release/7151558
Mode Info:
Tracks : 8
Time : 00:48:32
Size : 89.90 MB
Encode : LAME 32bits version 3.98.4 (http://www.mp3dev.org/) -V0
Quality : 245kbps 44100Hz Joint Stereo
Tracklist:
1. Choice 7:24
2. Only Red 6:42
3. Nothing Matters 4:55
4. It Just Is 6:32
5. I'm Not Fine 5:13
6. No One Can Help You 5:51
7. Unwelcome Peace 3:55
8. GW(RDX) 8:00
48:32 (min)
Death industrial remains a fascinating nexus of genres for me, especially as
noise (of all stripes) seems to be making further inroads into a broader
audience thanks to the recent success of the likes of Burial Hex and Prurient.
While just as relevant to modern extremes and tastes as those acts, death
industrial never attempts to present itself sui generis, acting as if there
wasnÆt a near forty year history of (mis)using technology to both reify and
exorcise the demons and excesses of the modern condition. The likes of The
Vomit Arsonist, conversely, stay partly rooted in an uncompromising past and
are open to structural and sonic experimentation rarely found in ôpureö power
electronics.
Now, all that being said I have to admit IÆve had relatively limited exposure
to The Vomit ArsonistÆs work, though thatÆs entirely happenstance rather than
design. Only Red comes just after Andrew GrantÆs tenth year of releasing
powernoise and death industrial under his regurgitory moniker, which seemed as
good an opportunity for me to play catch up. The press copy heralds Only Red as
a return to GrantÆs more violent and less restrained roots, but the overarching
impression left on me by the record was nowhere near as abrasive. Even at its
most clattering and ostensibly ônoisyö, the finely granulated static which
coats just about ever second of Only Red gives it a strident austerity and
distance which frames the listening experience. The effect, rather, is not
unlike watching a nebula or some undersea horror undulate and writhe at a
distance. Potentially disturbing, but also holding the potential for hypnotic
comfort.
In theory the vocals which show up on a few tracks û either punctuating more
strictly rhythmic tracks or just sliding over the more freeform pieces û should
disrupt things and angry up the blood somewhat. To be sure, Grant likely isnÆt
barking a paean to newfound love between the concrete pulses of ôNothing
Mattersö or over the near subtonal hum of ôNo One Can Help Youö, but after a
couple of passes the vocals become a slightly more dynamic counterpoint to the
grinding loops. ItÆs really in that balance of rhythmic repetition and
overwriting that Only Red excels. Arising out of soupy, primordial noise a
stoic pattern emerges, establishes itself, and is perhaps played with or
gnashed about in GrantÆs chops. The sound design on ambient tracks, like
ôUnwelcome Peaceö with its wet, sandy slithering atop detuned brass, stands out
more for its break from this pattern, as do the more syncopated percussion
segments (Hell, ôIt Just Isö has a rhythm nearly identical to Barrett StrongÆs
ôMoneyö).
Only Red will likely mirror back to the listener a good portion of their
history with or impressions of its markers; noise in the broadest sense or
death industrial in the most particular. If material of this ilk is new to you,
you might indeed be struck by its lack of compromise, its steely aversion to
harmonics and melody. If, conversely, youÆre still pining away after the
folding of Cold Meat Industry, then youÆll respect the fealty Grant pays to
those who came before him as he enters the veteran phase of his career, even as
he finds new textures and structures with which to field test old templates. In
either case, thereÆs good work to be found on Only Red.