DeaD!!! - A Terminal Grief [DeathSexElectrionics - 2015]A Terminal Grief is the second releases from DeaD!!!, which is the new project of Manchester based James Patrick (of Cherry Blossom At Night, & runner of HNW/ PE label DeathSexElectrionics). The release comes in the form a CDR, and it features two mid-ranged length slices of walled noise that focus in on slowed & extremely bleak wall craft. The CDR comes in a hand folded A5 sized card sleeve, and this takes in on its front a stuck on murky picture of a graveyard & the projects name/ title. And on the back cut out & stuck on text taking in the following ‘Deep in earth my love is lying and I must Weep alone’. Patrick’s other project Cherry Blossom AT Night focused in on bleak & battering walled noise, and really DeaD!! takes that projects bleak-ness to new levels, while slowing it’s ‘wall-craft’ to a muffle & murky tonal sludge. Track one is entitled “It was a time when only the DeaD smiled”, and this comes in at the thirty two minute mark. The whole ‘wall’ starts off with bleak & repetitive mesh of murky & aquatic like bubbling & rumble tones, & this is edged by a very fine & thin grain of constant textural crackle. The whole thing really does bring to mind a feel of utter & completely stark-ness, and slowly drowning with in it- there is zero hope, light or peace just a end-less bleak muffled-ness. At around the 8 minute mark you get a sudden stop/start burst of low end roasting appearing over the top of the ‘wall’, then by the ninth minute these elements are constant over the murky under swim- the first couple of times I played this ‘wall’, I felt the stop/ start part was seemed awkward & a little sloppy, but the more I’ve played the track I think these moments are effective in portraying the feel of stumbling, then finally falling into complete suffocating despair. As the track progresses from this point on the ‘wall’ stays in a fair set pattern with Patrick (possibly) adding in the odd extra sub-tone to the mass, but it’s difficult to tell as the whole thing is fairly tonally similar in it layers, and of course it's damn thick & murky too. Track two comes in form of “Until we have Forgotten” it comes in at thirty five minute mark, and this really is truly one of the most hopeless bits of walled noise I’ve heard. It’s built around an extremely muffled & slowed low-end semi- buffeting rumble, and this has a crust of thinner jittering static on top. The whole track remains fairly firm- though the jittering seems to get thicker & more pressing as it progresses( this could be an illusion of the ‘wall’). The ‘wall’ really is completely desolate in it’s crushing bleak-ness- you almost feel like you’re been buried alive in the ‘wall’ it’s self, yet for all it’s suffocating & grim mass it still mangers to keep you locked into it’s truly doomed setting for the tracks full length. Of the two tracks here I’d say the second is my favourite due to it’s appealing yet totally hope crushing weight & stark-ness, that said I still enjoy the first track, & they work well together. So in summing I’d say if you enjoy very thick, ultra bleak & terminal oppressive wall -craft this is something you must try & hunt down, as I really think Patrick has managed to create some of the most unforgiving & grim HNW ever. Roger Batty
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