seven

I am glad to finally see black lung on ant-zen (not counting “rhic-edom” re-release), where it should have been long time ago (probably hymen would have been more appropriate though). black lung has always been one of the strangest and most versatile projects in the electronic music world. it never ceased to surprise me constructing most interesting and unusual sonic collages, combining dark ambient with edgy, at times quite noisy percussion.

this time around black lung released a four-track cd/ep. this current work is a lot more user-friendly (one of those terms that thrussell seems to be so fascinated with) – while keeping its experimental edge it never goes for the shock value of earlier releases where you could have been caught off-guard by skull-splitting white noise attack in the middle of quiet ambient piece.

black lung follows closely the title of this release with epic opening track “the dawn of love” that is probably one of the most consistent and beautiful pieces I have heard from black lung. it combines beautiful ambient pieces as well a few acoustic elements reminding me of western influences on dead hollywood stars (definitely a welcome addition, adding one more “cultural” layer to thrussell’s music). at the same time it features intricate drum&bass-like, almost idm-sounding percussion with solid atmospheric background and enough strange noises, random basslines and keys to resurrect dark and surreal atmosphere the band has always been famous for. rhythmic part of the track slowly fades out trading places with dark ambient landscapes filled with screeching, shifting noises.

rhythmic part of the album continues after short ambient interlude of “another moth – eaten happiness” (that at times became almost chaotic). “fucking the monsterous music” despite all the unusual sounds used reminded me more of older black lung. it is filled with strange random sounds, heavy percussion textures (that at times became downright violent) fading into atonal, eerie noises, disjointed acoustic elements, uneasy ambient, collapsing, modulated frequencies, dense atmospheric textures. the music constantly shifts and changes, fascinating with its diversity, and yet managing to keep together a solid atmosphere.

closing “the universal impasse” is yet another wonderful ambient track built upon distant strings and multitude of strange mechanized noises. it slowly gets darker and darker, moving away from its initial, almost serene moments, and finally disintegrates into disjointed mass of white noise and haywire electronics.

overall this short release is not as “intensely phantasmagoric” to the point of sensory overload, like earlier albums were. it is more cohesive, at the same time managing to keep its experimental edge. it is interesting to see some of the influences finding their way into thrussell’s music – be it idm-like percussion textures, or bleepy, tweaked-out frequencies backed by heavy abrasive rhythms. and no matter how much the sound has changed, the album still retains familiar distorted, completely alien, and fascinating touch of “the great architect.”