09 August 2012

DEN


Waves of sonic aggression in the form of space age electronic sounds doing battle with ferocious noise rock bass and drums. Sporadic vocals affected into complete oblivion and a collection of sounds that command attention from start to finish. Like THE VSS harnessing tortured JESUS LIZARD vibes and interpreting the result through the filter of modern noise punk. Moody and dark, but DEN never lose their grip on chaos, and they often tighten the grip with alarming results. "The Ground" might be the most traditional sounding song (due largely to the steady tempo I suppose), but the synths that swirl in and out of that sound are deadly, and from that song they launch into "TDJ," a full speed mind fukk that shows DEN could rip you apart with blistering hardcore....if they wanted to. Likewise, "Kuiper Belt DNA" is a noise track that builds with a subtle intensity that would rank these kids well into the upper echelons of sound dealers, and the bizarro SABBATH cover that follows seals the deal. Thankfully their overall approach is substantially more awkward than any one of these angles.

This was the debut release from Retrograde Tapes, a pretty good start, I'd say.


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