Die Reitenden Leichen - Bedem [Monolithische Aktion - 2010] “Bedem” finds German HNW project Die Reitenden Leichen (aka Matt Nihil whose also runs the Monolithische Aktion lable, and is in numerous noise projects like MX Nihil, The 120 Days, ect) offer up a c20’s worth of brutal, moving and rewarding HNW matter. The releases cassette box and tape are in are in a rather nice bright yellow which is a change from the usual more doomy ‘n’ dark look of a lot of HNW release. The sleeve features just black ‘n’ white printing, but it’s done in a quite nice and dense fashion with a mixture of mixed type faces, walls of different shapes, and the middle of a skull which all nicely prepares you for the shifting ‘n’ moving ‘walls’ inside. Though there’s a fair bit of movement and textured change on both sides of tape, this is sqauraly HNW because every shift, change or move that Nihil makes is wrapped in HNW displine and sound. Confusingly both sides here are listed as have two tracks a piece, but both sides just feature one ten minute track anyway onto the 'walls' inside!. Side ones track(s!) starts out with a grey ‘n’ thick slow monition judder scape meets earthmoving drone. By just over the two minute mark a hacking, yet dissolving in and out, static element has appeared over the top of the constant earth moving drone. And at just before the four minute mark the same hacking element takes on more slow -roasting to screeching subtones with the back ground earth moving drone seemingly growing and coming closer to you. The rest of the track nicely moves back and forth between static juddering, hacking greyness and roasting seers. All in all the tracks a rewarding piece of shifting walled matter which brings to mind aged and wire arcing machinery cutting out a vast underground tunnel. Over onto side two and the ‘wall’ starts out with a two way billowing and gray noise roar that has this jittering element that keeps trying to escape from the wall, but never does. By the minute and half mark the track has taken on a mid paced boring drone meets jittering and feasting tonalities’- it feels like your travel on a huge droning tank that keeps been engulfed by clouds of buzzing ‘n’ feasting flies. By the four minute mark high-pitched and spiral tone jitters have appeared as the drone seems to get deep and wider in its feel. Before at just over the five minute mark becoming alot tighter and enclosed jitter bound, with the lower and wider drone trappings all but gone. The remaining four or so minutes of the track finds Nihil switching between tighter and smaller jitters, ice cracking judders and tight jumping hacks all under towed by a less deep boaring drones. Again another great track, though I really felt it was over too soon, and Nihil really could have investigated father the great selection of noise tones here. So a nice, dense and brightly presented C20’s worth of HNW matter. seemingly this is out of print with the label, but it’s well worth tracking down if you enjoy your walled matter rewarding ‘n’ moving . Roger Batty
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