Satori - The Brutal Truth.

Satori – The Brutal Truth – CD/Cassette/Download - COD Noizes – 2021 – SHUM36

https://codmusicdistro.bandcamp.com/album/the-brutal-truth

https://satori-industrial.bandcamp.com/

     1.    False Prophet.

     2.    Poacher.

     3.    The Way of the Warrior.

     4.    In Isolation.

     5.    Hypodermia.

     6.    Morphia.

     7.    I Will Shake Your Hand and We Will Talk.

     8.    God and the Human Spirit.

     9.    Black Light.

     10.  Kuru.

     11.  No One Cared.

     12.  Walking In a Straight Line.

Satori was part of the second wave of Power Electronics, around the time of Grey Wolves and Con-Dom. During that time Satori was Dave Kirby and Robert Maycock, later members included Justin Mitchell and Neil Chancy. Satori originally released on Broken flag and Maycock’s own Mindscan Tapes who also released several important compilations of British Electronics at the time of which there were 5 volumes. After various line ups, Satori is now the solo project of founder member Dave Kirby. Since Kirby came back – there have been a series of new releases on labels like COD Noizes, Cloister Recordings, L-White and Outsider Art. You can’t miss the news about how Satori has stepped up in recent years. The Brutal Truth, their latest release comes in an attractive card wallet with inner sleeve, the presentation and artwork are impressive. COD Noizes have done a great job with every aspect of this release as we shall see.

False Prophet builds with samples from the film, There Will Be Blood. It starts quietly, as if simmering and slowly rising in temperature. This bubbles ominously with an infected feel until the distortion explodes, and the layers of the noise cut each other up, building a mass of anger that introduces Dave Kirby’s screaming – the guy really cuts it live and is naturally disturbing to watch. It feels like Kirby is in the centre of the noise projecting outwards at intervals whilst at other times happily buried within the hiss.

Similar methods are used for Poacher as distant noises and samples play out, tension is increased via feedback as rumbling and distortion grow like a distant threat that becomes impossible to ignore. The vocal sample that punctuates the distant noise has a menacing Dalek tone, this seems to rattle the noise to blast up to the forefront of the sound, a wall that pulsates outwards, the noise is particularly savage here. Kirby’s vocal spits out on this one, he seems reinforced by the noise he makes.

Chanting and Electronics collide to form The Way of the Warrior – this has the feel of a ceremony as different electronics introduce themselves to the ritual. The vocal comes in and out, it is muffled and whispered within the sounds, a sense of screeched depravity gives it a weapon like feel as it now punctuates the noise as both climax. In Isolation is a quieter track, with dark, infected tones and a guttural growling vocal that adds a real ugliness to the sound. Continued ominous growling and bleak atmospherics serve as the introduction to Hypodermia until the sound gets big, despite restrained eruptions, this allows for a sickened vocal to return and spew dialogue over the proceedings.

Morphia plays with the same atmospherics as Hypodermia and explodes periodically allowing for the sound to fill the space and reach outwards at the listener. When Morphia isn’t erupting, it plays with tribal drums and ambient landscapes. Slow drones then playout along with deeper ominous drones over the top of this for I Will Shake Your Hand and We Will Talk as Reggie Kray samples menace over this - this is bleak. It doesn’t stop there, God and the Human Spirit features samples of Alex Jones, which is nastier and less subtle than the Kray samples of the last track. This really allows the samples to be the nastiness, the noise behind serves to highlight it.

Ambient atmospheres and samples form Black Light which progresses to demonstrate pulsating noise that uses a slow rhythm whilst Dark, ranting vocals deliver the sermon with impressive shifts in noise building to its delivery. The shifts I mentioned included what I saw as a very Death Industrial synthesizer, that has that sharp ‘EEEEEEGH!!’ type resonance, this is brought through to Kuru and they are more ever-present throughout the track and build up a lot. The vocal is a sharp, cutting rant which I feel is the best vocal performance on the album. The sharpness of the vocal is continued at a sharper pitch with distortion heavy electronics on No One Cares, this is occasionally caged in by the noise as it kicks off into demented rage.

The ritualistic ambient sound that runs through all The Brutal Truth builds Walking in a Straight Line as it plays with off a wall of distortion, both battle for prominence. This features Neven M Agalma, I am unsure if he is just the vocal or part of the noise that erupts and buries the track to its’ death, bringing the album to an end.

I think that this is a strong modern day Satori release that doesn’t play on any past glories; I feel Kirby still has something to prove and is constantly trying to do it – he can’t stop. I feel he is achieving it yet suspect he doesn’t feel that he is. If that’s the case, keep trying as the results never fail to impress me. Having seen how this project delivers live and what I keep hearing, I am a fan for sure and rate this release highly amongst this years best.

Coventry Soul 2021