Some brutal and sick stuff goin' on here. Azoikum is the other project of the German unit Narbenerde, who has just released a full-length cd on Art Konkret and a limited cdr on Spatter as well. While Narbenerde should be more into harsh noise, Azoikum is a letal mix of power electronics, harsh noise (see track 4) and some rare atmospheric parts (not quiet at all, anyway). Tracks are fairly long (10 x 64') but manage to be BOTH obsessive AND well structured, so torture fortunately doesn't become a bore. Heavy doses of repetitive synth patterns, feedback galore and low-pitched filtered vocals. The best parts alternate static death-like drones with full-on noise explosions. Lyrics are not included, but judging from titles and samples there's an anorexia/bulimia concept behind most of them. The cd-r comes, like all Spatter releases till now, in a DVD box, and is limited to a mere 100, probably already selling out. Cover features a female cadaver, back a cunt full of worms. Again, sick and brutal are key-words here.

After a series of tapes and a massive 3-hour tape-box, N. comes back with its first cd, collecting recordings from '97 to 2000. What immediately puzzled me is the cover with a simple, abstract design – could be the sleeve for an emo-rock band or whatever. I suppose it's a choice. The back cover and inlay, on the contrary, delve into the medical/biological field, which seems more appropriate to the titles and samples used. Unfortunately, no further graphics are used in the cd, which is a sort of lost opportunity in my opinion. As for the sounds, N. stays true to his old-fashioned, nihilistic approach to industrial/power electronics anti-music: equipment is a Korg Poly 800, tape decks, memory man electro harmonix and a big muff pedal. As you can guess, tracks are mostly repetitive synth patterns with layers of washing distortion. Think of Atrax Morgue's "Cut my throat" cd to have a clue. What I really think is missing is a plus of sonic violence, as lots of the tracks seem static without being really obsessive. Some titles work better with the pathological samples, and the last track ("It's better don't exist" coherently being unexisting!), "Valeria", is a long sampled child song with underlaying noise, which does have a disquieting effect. I think that with the new recordings N. will have either to push the violent approach or to develop the more subtle and morbid side of his sonic pathology.

Over the last few years, Puertorican musician Jorge Castro has offered, as part of the Cornucopia duo, some of the most brutal and intense harsh noise in the (overcrowded?) international scene. But he has also developed a very interesting solo project of ambient guitar sounds. This cd-r (which must have been issued in early 2001) features four long and homogeneous tracks of drones and gulfs of sound which manage to be both abstract and emotional, constantly shifting (the title is indicative, but there IS change within the pieces as well) from lighter, serene atmospheres to hypnotizing echoes and darker moments. If you've had the chance of listening to Steve Roach's recent "Strems & Currents", you can find a similar style here, only even more pushed towards abstractness and impalpability. Definitely worth listening to many times. As usual, Public Eyesore design and packaging are minimal but very elegant and eye-catching, and fit well with the contents of the record. The label has also issued a more recent collection of Castro's works, I'll try to talk about that in the next future.

A cd-ep (5 tracks, 22') featuring exclusive songs and remixes as an advance of the forthcoming new album "Global badlands". I recall listening to davaNtage's previous work, but I can't trace the review right now, so I hope my memory doesn't betray me... I think davaNtage's electro/EBM has become a bit lighter – while "The Warming" has that slow, darker groove, "No candle light" (remixed by Future Trail) and "Defense" (normal version and remix by Future Trail) opt for a relatively fast-paced rhythm and ear-catching refrains, while maintaining a kind of sullen mood. Ok, then there's "Switch Off", a track featuring Cyborg Attack's Sandro F. on vocals – I haven't liked C.A.'s cd and I don't like this one, I think the gruffy death-metal vocals are really dull and over-the-top.

Sophia is, with Arcana, one of Peter Pettersson's projects and while the second one is more concentrated on classical atmospheres, Arcana has a "industrial/military" sound structure and I assure you that SPITE is really powerful! The eight tracks of the CD (the seventh, "Stained", and the eight, which is an hidden track, have been recorded live in Bochum on December 2001) have got as main structure powerful percussive sounds along brass or strings and are capable of overloading your nervous system because they are: tense, hypnotic and sick. If you have not idea of what it could sound, try to imagine an evil version of the first Laibach: the ones which were shouting songs like "Brat Moj". As reported on the label presentation: "Evolving the theme of spite certainly spawns anger. Here the rhythmical pounding, a bit more tasty clinical than before, spews forth a scary atmosphere and the oppressive walls of heavy string arrangements fuels the picture of an imaginary, personal hell". Really amazing...