I had previously reviewed an album from this artist, so I was interested to see where the cynic takes us this time. The answer, of course, is the grave. It is rare that an artist shows their work, but The Eternal Cynic has, in this case, provided commentary on all of the tracks and describes the album as "an avant-garde auditory journey through the ephemeral whispers of existence, captured and distorted in the raw, unfiltered essence of harsh noise wall. This album serves as a profound, albeit jarringly cacophonous, meditation on the fleeting nature of human life. The titles of our compositions—Ephemeral, Memento Mori, Perchance To Dream, and Totentanz—each evoke a different aspect of our inevitable march towards oblivion." And on that note, let's dive right into the void.

"Ephemeral" kicks everything off with static that ebbs and flows throughout the track over slow droning tones. The artist explains that "the static symbolises the relentless passage of time, while the underlying drone serves as a reminder of our inevitable demise." "Perchance to Dream" is where we get the heavy harsh noise wall that Inner Demons is known for. This is constantly shifting rumbling noise. Around 9 minutes in, it shifts to drone in the foreground, overpowering the noise that remains in the background. The artist explains that "This track explores the fragile boundary between our waking nightmares and our sleeping reveries. The interwoven layers of sound mimic the erratic and unpredictable nature of dreams, providing a stark contrast to the harsh reality we escape from nightly." The noise and the drone make for an interesting juxtaposition, but if I were to play this for my wife, I suspect that she would not get it. Still, I appreciate the sentiment.
On to the second disc as we dance with death. The notes for "Memento Mori" read: "Remember, dear listener, that you must die. . . . The relentless wall of noise here represents the ever-present shadow of death that lurks behind our every action, a humbling reminder that we are but temporary residents on this spinning rock." There is sparse, crackling static and voice that I can't really make out (although it sounds like an old phonograph recording). I expected a full blast of noise, but it was just the static and the voices. But that was enough. It worked, and the voices being just outside of comprehension only enhanced the track. Finally, we close it off with "Totentanz," which opens with heavily distorted voices that quickly give way to rumbling noise wall overlaying the sounds of howling winds. This continues, constantly shifting, until it sputters to a conclusion. There is enough movement to keep it interesting, and the ending reinforces the idea that it will all come crashing down in the end because all of us will eventually have our own dance with death. As the artist explains, "It’s a celebration, a lament, and a conclusion all in one."

Noise is a difficult medium to use for a philosophical argument, but musically it works well, so all is good. If you like your noise with a bit of melancholy and existential dread, this is well worth checking out. This album weighs in at around 42 minutes and is limited to 42 copies, which is the meaning of life, the universe, and everything. I will leave the last word to the Eternal Cynic: “So, dear connoisseurs of the avant-garde, grab your finest beverage, indulge in your most decadent pleasures, and let the walls of noise remind you: eat, drink, and be merry, for tomorrow we snuff it.”

I was unfamiliar with this Japanese artist, but the release notes calls this “A sacred whisper from a world slowly closing. A hymn for the last light before silence.” This release consists of one track that weighs in at just under 3 minutes, so let’s get to it.

This track consists of hardcore techno beats, some sampled voices, some synth that then shifts into synth washes that slowly fade in, along with sounds reminiscent of sirens makes for an interesting track. 80’s rave techno was not on my Inner Demons bingo card, but here we are, and that is one of the things that I like about the label. As a single it is a fun track, and I would be interested to hear a full release from this artist

I was unfamiliar with this artist, but the webite says “Barcelona/Soria,” so I would guess that he hails from Spain. The liner notes state that “Albert Negredo uses various disciplines such as photography, video, sculpture, installation, sound and digital art, or fashion, to perform works that revolve around 3 positions: the patient in his environment, temporary, perpetual or finite, the doctor or specialist, and the social. To do this, Negredo creates pieces linked to pathologies, discomforts, states, healings, treatments, illnesses ... to combine the visual arts, not only with the psychology and psychiatry, but also with religion and philosophy.” With that as an introduction, let’s dive into the music and see what the diagnosis is this time.

This release consists of one track, CortexM3. Evidently, Cortex M3 is a type of processor for microcontrollers, but I do not know if this is what the track is based on. This track is an interesting mix of noisy drones. There is a mix of low drone and high pitched, heavily reverbed sounds. If this is based on pathologies, as the liner notes suggest, it feels like Negredo is channeling the feeling of anxiety, because the overall work is somewhat unsettling. I mean that in a good way, of course. Overall, an engaging work. This album weighs in at just over 11 minutes.

I was unfamiliar with this artist, but they hail from Moscow, Russia and describe themselves as a "Dark techno project." The label describes the release thus: "This project is a dreamy, hazy nightmare that tells the story of the real and virtual worlds of the post-apocalyptic Soviet Union after nuclear war. It explores abandoned networks filled with sentient remnants of once-human inhabitants, introduces posthuman horrors, and leaves the listener with a hypnotic, eerie, and slightly unsettling taste." Well, let's give it a listen and see what we have here.

I am old enough to remember duck and cover drills and living with the specter of nuclear holocaust hanging over us. This release consists of one 3-minute track, "Black Key," and the music is nowhere as bleak as what I was expecting. This is some good heavy, melodic techno-industrial. If you miss the mixture of industrial and goth that Cleopatra Records used to throw down, this may scratch that itch. This makes me want to hear more from the artist, which is always a good start.

The only artist I was not familiar with was Terbeschikkingstelling, so I was interested to see how this collaboration panned out. Here are the personae dramatis: Rutger van Driel (LÄrmschutz) on trombtronics, mixing, mastering; Volker Störtebeker (Terbeschikkingstelling) on trombone, sousaphone, didgeridoo and jaw harp; Chaos V.G. on noise with scrap and other destructible objects; and Fail on electronics. The way that this went down, according to the liner notes, is that “Original tracks and material by Fail (1 and 2) and Chaos V.G. (3 and 4) and manipulated by Rutger van Driel (LÄrmschutz) and Volker Störtebeker (Terbeschikkingstelling).” Well, this sounds like a lot of cooks (and trombonists) in the kitchen, so let’s dive in and see what they cook up.

We kick it off with "Stepping Stone," which is chaotic as hell. Training video voiceover is mixed with trombone, synth, and random noise. The voiceover is then looped and processed. I like how it all disintegrates over time until we are left with just some horn. “Another Try" is a bit less cut up and more organized as a noise track. Clattering metal, analog squiggly noises, and electronic noises mesh with digeridoo and horns to provide some low end. All of this is covered in a thin layer of static. "10.000 Ways That Won't Work" opens with the sounds of someone with an arcwelder and a bad case of flatulence working in a factory. This gets noisier as the wall of noise takes over. Walls of static and electronic noises interrupted by multiple horns. The sousaphone really shines in this piece, giving it a lovely low end. And when was the last time you heard a sousaphone on a noise album? Truly the heaviest of the brass in all ways. "Give It Up" closes it off by bringing the horns to the forefront. Lots of noise and a jaunty brass tune make for an interesting combination.

If you have ever had someone say that noise is just some dude with a bunch of pedals daisy chained together, give them this release. This is one of those cases where the collaboration makes it work because of the differences in approach. The entire thing is a lot of fun and well worth checking out. This album weighs in at around 20 minutes.