S.T.A.B. Electronics - Day of the Male.

S.T.A.B. Electronics – Day of the Male. Unrest Productions – 2015 CD. http://www.unrestproductions.co.uk/

Tracklist.

     1.       As it is.

     2.       Because I could.

     3.       Day of the male.

     4.       Indifferent and Inimical.

     5.       Marquis complex.

     6.       Metal and Excrement.

     7.       Mouth Bites Blackness.

     8.       Sick Human Syndrome.

     9.       This Can Not Be My Eternity.

It always makes me smile when I hear S.T.A.B. Electronics was started in tribute to Marco Corbelli after he passed away as I truly love Atrax Morgue but feel S.T.A.B. very quickly evolved into a next level project and there couldn’t ever have been a greater tribute.  Day of the Male is a few years old now, I got it around a year ago in 2018 from Unrest, it had a massive impact on me, and I feel the blog must occasionally look back to gain a better whole picture. Prior to buying this all I knew of was a recent interview in Special Interests. I bought this and Born for Righteous Abuse/Temple of Disgust and then not long after Enemy of Pigs was released, I saw S.T.A.B. play live and very quickly, this became one of my favourite present-day PE projects.

When I first heard the album, I was blown away by the vocal performance on the opening track ‘as it is’, it quickly became evident to me this project had a strong identity. The pulsating electronics and vocal that seems to berate itself or someone else was barely human, just a mass of ever intensifying rage. In comparison the vortex of sound of Because I Could is an implosion to the explosion of as it is. It takes the old style of warbly PE vocals and incorporates it into the entire sound of shrill noise so that both reinforce each other. The Death Industrial Throb of Day of the Male warbles the vocal so it’s a noise that rides the massive synth sounds, a wall of distortion is woven in subtly too. Distortion intensifies and the vocal becomes rhythmic, rising the works levels whenever something is vocalised until waves of noise drown it out completely.

Pulsating continues with pure blasts of distorted humming as the vocal clearly coherent roars over the noise, as tonal shifts in noise occur, the vocal does too the noise seems to lead the vocal through its diatribe. The vocal is untreated and brings another level to the work as if to demonstrate how it can function fluidly without effects.  Distorted noise and warbled vocals make Marquis Complex, the waves of distortion form a hurricane of noise around the vocal, the sharpness of the vocal cuts through. Again, it seems to lock with the noise through shrill warbling, the continual separation and bonding of the work are impressive. This piece plays with Wall Noise but allows the vocal to function and not be drowned out, just held under for periods of time, I feel Finnan allows himself to act out punishment, torture and violence to the self through his work.  

Metal and Excrement is an exercise in allowing massive synthesizers to do their work and pulsate against each other. Big Death displays of resonating, pulsating Synthesizers are a frequent guest on Unrest recordings, this is a prime example. Their growling resonance here is pure and effective. As the noise erupts and warbled vocal kicks in, I realise I was being primed for a sonic beating. The vocal is so treated and so sharp that it cuts into your hearing and isn’t forgotten in a hurry.  The vocal seems to be drowning in the infected noise of Mouth Bites Blackness, even warbling it doesn’t help, the waves of distortion seem to grow in intensity and multiply, eventually the vocal gradually resurfaces to gain more clarity and win the war and make its point.  Samples, pulsating drones and a spoken, slightly distorted vocal interact on Sick Human Syndrome – the vocal is warped with effects as the dialogue of crude social commentary becomes more explicit. The pitch of the vocal is tweaked continuously to become more disturbing and inhuman. This Cannot Be My Eternity erupts immediately, there vocal is bolstered by explosive walls of noise, the vocal a sharp pitch that seems to erupt with the wall. There is some sort of ethereal backing sound that adds dimension and some bizzare, warped spiritual essence to the track.

I’ve gone way into S.T.A.B. after that live show and this album is the starting point of that journey. I haven’t heard everything, that makes me excited as I’ve got so much to discover. I can’t praise this project enough, I might have missed out on some classic, older projects but I’m right here for this one. Get this album if you don’t already own it.

Choppy Noodles 2019.