Black Leather Jesus - Torture Machinist [Industrial Recollections/Freak Animal Records - 2009] | ‘Torture Machinist’ is a re-issue of a long out of print 1994 tape release by this highly respected & gay S&M obsessed Harsh Noise to Harsh Noise wall lo-fi & sleazed industrial tinged collective that features in it’s membership Richard Ramirez(of Werewolf Jerusalem, An Innocent Young Throat-Cutter, Vice Wears Black Hose & many other projects). Joining Mr Ramirez on ‘Torture Machinist’ we have Herman Lin (S.H.A.F.T. & Engineering Entropy), Rick Bailey (Carbomb Sideshow, S.H.A.F.T. & Thee Know) Ryan Hunt(Clitbow, S.H.A.F.T. & Research 4) and David Gilden(Lingula, Mikadoroid, Sawgasm, The Siamese Model & Slave Labor). This disc brings together the two unedited sides of the original C60 minute tape in all their sleazed, bombarding & at times oddly harmonic wonder. The original tape took in two live recordings so as you can imagine this is pretty intense, under produced stuff and each track here is built around a series of roughly sampled & rapidly cut: harsh clanking industrial tones, feedback junk metal attacks, roaring noise tone dwells, bent & perverted dramatic soundtrack samples, and the odd buried/ muffled male vocal yell & shout. The pace though most of the album is fairly fierce, violent & shifting in it’s attack and on the whole it’s very nastily & sleazily tinged yet invigorating & pulse raising in it’s attack. The surprising thing here are the more harmonic & barbarically atmospheric edges that appearing from the crashing, careering elements of the track and in particular when looped & crassly cut film string & brass soundtrack elements are added which brings another edge to the album. ‘Torture Machinist’ is certainly not for those looking who are looking for the projects more Harsh Noise wall side. But for those who enjoy often rapidly shifting Harsh noise with industrial & power electronics edger’s will find a lot to enjoy & punish them self’s with here. Roger Batty
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