AntichildLeague - Entrenched Extreme.

AntichildLeague – Entrenched Extreme – Obsessive Fundamental Realism – CD- 2020

https://antichildleague.bandcamp.com/

https://hagshadow.wixsite.com/antichildleague

http://obsessivefundamentalrealism.blogspot.com/

Over the last four years, ANTIchildLEAGE has become an insanely violent, desperate louder version of itself. Recent releases have demonstrated this with the choice of recent labels including Old Europa Café and Obsessive Fundamental Realism documenting the newfound, intensified extremity of the project. Since the gig promotion has stopped, the focus on the work has brought out a focussed delivery that continues to deliver amazing results.

Purge Humanity erupts and churns as clanging repetition forms a base for echoed shouting and noises to ejaculate all over the place. This is horrible noise that harks back to the project’s impressive debut Hellworm and the nastier early days of Power Electronics whilst sitting comfortably with the present-day dark side of the genre that keeps the nastiness active (see label’s roster of artists). Everything about this track resonates broken, haunted hatred, it is the artist’s sense of self made into a barrage of noise.  

Horror evoking sounds build into Death Loves You More than God, the noise uses restraint to allow different elements to take turns as the lead to make an entrance into the track’s landscape. The pulling back of sounds makes for a minimal landscape that is a type of noise ambient, any raise in sound creates walls of tension – this method is toyed with to exaustion.

When I said Insanely earlier it was for a reason, The Kiss is insane use of warped noise and vocal that makes for a disturbing track. What is noise and what is ACL’s trademark inhuman vocal is hard to make out as the noise seems to communicate and talk, this is the artist mastering the medium to perfection. The vocals and the noise seem to take turns to communicate to the listener – they are united in their purpose.

Raw, simple beat rhythms of old come back for Paranoid, we are talking RJF (early) beats to the point where they add a slight humour to the horror. The inhuman vocal starts shouting at the beats and feedback. Whenever ACL uses beats now it is to rawer effect than earlier work, making it do its’ job well. The vocal competes with itself further in the track getting nastier with time.

A serious wall presents itself on God never loved you, rich crackle runs over the back sounds, this quickly transforms into Abuse where the noise is cut up into sections as the vocal shouts orders at the noise. Abuse demonstrates a good use of raging distortion, but the added nastiness of approach makes for a threatening display of Power Electronics that keeps getting louder until it dies suddenly.

Those beats return for Negative Control, a repetition forms as the shouts return. This  hits you in the head, you can’t trance out to it, the sound hates you and is literally a form of Negative Control. There is a mid-track eruption that goes off until the reoccurring punishment returns. Brace demonstrates further negativity with a discordant display of synthesizer torture, this is a total shift in sound for more vocal terror to erupt within the nest it forms. That voice is so distinctive I know where I am straight away. The electronics here configure new ways to assault the listener, showing the diversity the album uses whilst weaving everything in together.

Splutter walls form for Entrenched Extreme, this really farts and churns into as a wall. Good textures show themselves as the subtle shifts begin to take shape, this is a good wall that in some ways pulls back offering some respite from what has just happened. Eerie feedback plays off other eerie feedbacks and the respite feels like it never happened, this is Born Again 3319. The layering of feedback increases in volume that resonate and harmonise off each other. Chaotic noise quickly takes over as Transcendental, a shifting distortion and feedback become one accelerating and speeding until in faulters and dies.

Entrenched Extreme has a strong variation of approaches amongst its’ 11 tracks. The history of the project and the person make this album what it is, these are the themes continually displayed. ACL is one of my favourite present day projects and Entrenched Extreme is easily amongst if not the projects very best work, everything that is great about ACL is displayed here and built upon. The evolution of the project continues giving us a great album along the way.

Sonicdeathwishposse 2020.