Navicon Torture Technologies - The Gospels of the Gash [Malignant Records - 2009]The Gospels of the Gash is the final release from the apocalyptic and sleazy meeting of power electronics, sick brooding ambience and grim industrial clunking ‘n’ bleak drift that is Navicon Torture Technologies. The project has been active since 1997 racking up an impressive and prolific number of 50 plus cdr’s, cassette, splits and cds over the projects 12 year existence. This two discs set brings together material from a slew of limited releases from between 2005 & 2007, as well as new tracks recorded specifically for this release. Through this is far from an odd’s and ends collection that the above description may imply; there’s a real effort been made here to build a cohesive and consistent two disk set that builds a soundtrack for a very convincing hellish and apocalyptic world at the end of your nightmares. It’s a sonic landscape that’s is piled high with screams, groans, pained male rants & bleak dialogue samples which are effectively added to the mixture of unforgiving black poundings, seething and vein popping power electronic unloads, grim brooding ambient vistas, and ultra bleak cinematic sleazy industrial grinds and clatters. This is a world were no sunlight shines -it’s either grey skied or sickly black midnight soaked. The streets pour with vomit, blood and discharged, with fire and brimstone bellow from cracks in the blacked and rotting earth- a place total devoid of hope or salvation. By the end of the second disk you feel deeply miserable, heaved shouldered and utterly brought down- your mind seemingly heavy and fogged in a grim and sleazed haze. A special mention must be made about the slick, grim and disturbing oversized digipak that holds the discs. The artwork consiting of grimly arranged patterns of internal organs, along with dammed, psychedelic and sexulized female imagers- it all nicely adds to the hopeless blacked end time feeling of the two disks. And though there’s nothing particular mould breaking or original on either of the discs, it’s all executed with such grim and pained conviction you can’t help but be sucked into its chocking and spirit draining unfolds. Roger Batty
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