Thursday, April 26, 2007

25 years later

Like a midget attending his first dwarf tossing contest I venture forth with trepidation amongst the geeks, nerds, dweebs and other hairy palmed pizza munchers that run this blog. I offer for my first post a music review, which like fine wine will get better over time, not like goat nipples which can only get wrinkly, shrivel and produce sour milk. With all this in mind here's my review...hitch your wagon to a chicken, pull up those hobbit feet and read on..


Throbbing Gristle are back after 25 years
(Part two: The Endless Not)
Throbbing Gristle those Wreckers of Civilization are back with their first proper album for 25 years. For those that don't know Throbbing Gristle is the band that "invented" Industrial Music back in 1975. What we have here is really the dog's bollocks for any lover of electronic and experimental music. Thee importance of throbbing gristle cannot be stressed too greatly.

So what do we get? We get an album of industrial children that modern pretenders can only hint at. We have droning vocals matched with drum and bass beats, non vocal laden disturbances that make you grab for the light switch if played in the dark....and that is just a highlight.

Opening track Vow of silence throbs straight to your groin and head all at once. Gen P's sonic vocals evoke an insane clown on crack; which burst into your ears. It's kind of like watching "IT" without the knives (in a happy way). Almost a kiss drones along like a French painting. You can picture steamy smoke filled cafes, strong coffee, naked French women in trench coats and a large bottle of Absinthe.

Worm waits its turn being composed by Genesis (vocalist) and his cohort Bryin Dall sounds most like their band "Thee Majesty." Think diatribes, prayers, poetry all set to sonically experimental soundscapes. Bryin Dall also plays his guitar with a machete and plays in bands called Dream Into Dust and 4th sign of the apocalypse .

The album itself swipes between old experimental industrial with little structure to an almost reminiscent of bands such Current 93, but does not shirk from being modern. This is a far more disturbing form of music than anything you're likely to hear any time soon.


After 25 years they have lost nothing.
This is perhaps what happens if you
take four strongly disturbed English
people, place in a pot and simmer
with electronica, breast implants,
moon worship and some porn.

For a band that brought us such greats as Zyklon B zombi, Hamburger Lady and
Hot on the heels of love,
this is more than we could ever want. For those that think
Industrial music ends with
NIN, Ministry and Marilyn Manson
you need to hear this.

Iconoclastic music for Iconoclasts.

"And there's several days And there's never
a way To convince people…..."

Throbbing gristle official site

Cosey Fanni Tutti

Peter "sleazy" Christopherson Chris Carter

Genesis Breyer P-Orridge


1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Ah, Ben... As usual you crack me up!! You have packed a lot of information in your post. And when it comes to the topic of industrial music, every-body's work has the obvious influence of Throbbing Gristle. Way to go chaps! You've paved the path for a very technological form of art. May you have 25 more years!!!