Scum/Edge of Decay - Repugnant Rattle.

Scum/Edge of Decay – Repugnant Rattle – CD – Aussaat – Aussaat 39- 2026

https://edgeofdecay.bandcamp.com

https://scumcumcum.bandcamp.com

https://www.facebook.com/Aussaatundernte

E-Mail: ernten@aol.com

1.     Premature Ejection (Edge of Decay)

2.     No Attempt (Edge of Decay)

3.     Laser Liturgy (Edge of Decay).

4.     Like A Rats (Scum).

5.     Fatigue, Chills (Scum).

6.     Brain Activator (Scum).

7.     Repugnant Rattle (Edge of Decay and Scum)

On this split cd, Aussaat brings together Japan's Scum and Finland's Edge of Decay, both have released on the label before. Edge of Decay started releasing in 2014 and Scum in 2010. Coming together for Repugnant Rattle, there are Three Edge of Decay tracks, three Scum tracks and one combined track. The amazing cover art is by Aaron Aspinwall of The Repos and Death Dedication.

Edge of Decay - Premature Ejection,  I was taken straight away by the farting distortion and how it juxtaposes with sharp, harsh, feedback noise. That heavy bass fart noise is so good, it resonates well and the shifts in a tone and speed that can be felt through the body immediately. The feedback kicks in as the deep sound pulls back, like a push pull reaction made from the two sounds as the entire sound morphs into glitch and a hum. It is simple and impressive. No Attempt is a distortion heavy and harsh, the feedback and the deep hum seem stuck in joint position in a race with both taking turns to take the lead for short, sharp, bursts of time. Both elements accelerate and decelerate rapidly, it is fast moving work. In contrast to the first two tracks, things sharpen to shrill noise on Laser Liturgy. Sharp digital glitch sound pulsates as pulsating tweets jar against this and then bind with it, before repeating the cycle again. Laser Liturgy is an angrier track than the previous ones and as the track progresses, the noise warps and intensifies constantly.  Edge of Decay pulls the noise rapidly into a deeper, heavy bass roar, clashing it with sharp feedback. These three tracks are top tier, present day harsh noise at it’s very best.

Scum – Angry, sharp wailing tones are cut into by thick, crunchy distortion and an insane shifting, warbling noise shifts from left to right and explode together as Like A Rats.  This track gets sharper, choppier and falls into sonic insanity as the seconds progress. It is a bold opening statement by Scum in answer to the damage Edge of Decay just did. The sound seems to get suffocated towards the end, but high pitched digital wailing cuts right through it. Ominous drones and crackling form the opening to Fatigue, Chills. This uses an ambient background and allows crackles, hisses and slurping sounds to interact over the top of it. I feel swamped in murky darkness here. The lack of backing distortion or bass roar gives the noise a lot of space within which to interact. Things get harsher for Brain Activator, This again allows space into the sound with no backing bass, the distortion and wailing feedback dance together as metal is hit in the background. The quick-fire bursts of deep distortion in the background shift things up for brief periods of time. Throughout their tracks, Scum use a minimal palette that can become busy or separate into sparseness, but it is always effective. Intelligent is a word that I would use to describe this work.

Both acts come together for the album's title track Repugnant Rattle, this is also the album’s longest track. This is at once full and minimal, full through the bass drone, minimal as a few distortions and crackle play out on top of it. Each element is allowed to resonate perfectly through the space that is left in the work, interactions are clear and highlighted because of this. The strengths of both artists are in full force here, which makes for a high standard, well planned and perfectly executed piece of work.

This album uses minimalism to full strength on this album. It is very good work, it might even be excellent. Had it been 7 tracks of full on assault, it may not have been as good as this. It demonstrates the high quality of output you expect to be released on Aussaat. I have played this album a lot over the last month and would really recommend that you buy it.

ZG 2026.