In Search of Death - III

In Search of Death - III – Death Continues Records – DCRCD007 – CD – Belgium – 2015.

https://en-gb.facebook.com/deathcontinuesrecords/

10 Untitled Tracks.

I feel lucky to have seen In Search of Death play live at Henoeuma Malediction in 2015, I was impressed with what I’d seen, Xavier H (aka In Search of Death) gave a good performance that set the bar high as the start of a stylistically mixed line-up that night. The performance used huge arching noises and samples to build a large, atmospheric sphere of noise. Some recent reviews that I had done of a former Death Continues-Artist Nekrofellatio led to contact with Death Continues and boss Xavier H who gave me to the chance to obtain files of his project’s album III and hear them. I liked what I’d previously seen all those years ago and was keen to do a review of III. 

III was originally recorded in 2003 and it was finally released 12 years later in 2015. There is a new track called Anapath on the recent Death Continues compilation – Certified Dead. For review purposes, this album will be broken down track by track.

Untitled 1. Slow ambient, desolate, ominous build up.

Untitled 2. Ruthless, looped Industrial repetition forms a rhythm. Sampled dialogue eventually overlays this.

Untitled 3. Familiar ambient soundscapes establish themselves as synth noises begin to  murmur in the background. Metal bashing non-rhythms shatter the flow of things to provide an aggressive lead. Stuttered electronics rise and fall throughout the work until paralleled by distant melody; maybe a memory that is fading.

Untitled 4. Whippy sweeping sounds form a base for rude blasts of distortion. A whistled tune and repeated vocal sample build a four-source passage of sound.

Untitled 5. Noise explosions and gun fire become a rhythmic wall of war. I found myself being drawn into the background sounds of this sonic explosion. It becomes more unified as it progresses until it begins to break down.

Untitled 6. Further repetition cut into by waves of distortion. This builds into an urgent slamming rhythm.

Untitled 7. An impressive, militaristic sense of drama, scope and ceremony. Awesome use of overlaid synthesizers too. Vocal samples force the track to become a ritual.

Untitled 8 – Clattering loops, waves of distortion, samples enter to an build intense, anxious urgent track.

Untitled 9 – Suspenseful keys and drum beats wind things down to slow pace as waves of distortion maintain the edge. Repetition remains.

Untitled 10. Nauseous loops as Armageddon returns.

The album favours aggressive repetition on most tracks and it will often work different sourced sounds around this. It wasn’t as ‘Death Industrial’ as I thought it may be, it was a lot more varied in sound. It is ruthless and angry in its’ constant repetition. There are some clever uses of melody, entwined into the sampled rhythms. The album varies itself by allowing tracks to either function as narratives or sources that play off each other or to gradually blend sources together to form a new whole sound. There is also a strong, mixed palette of sound sources used throughout: method is the key that ties things together. This is a collection of solid ideas and a massive push towards a realisation of the self through punishing sound.

My review echoes that of Kate MacDonald’s Heathen Harvest review of this album in that I do want to hear more and see where this project goes. This portfolio of ideas points towards many possibilities, I question if I have missed any obvious pointers to that direction? Either way, a strong debut album.

Choppy Noodles 2018.

Nekrofellatio overview

Nekrofellatio – Dead Inside Me - 2012, 

Pesadilla En Una Noche Sin Estrellas - 2014.

Death Continues Records.

Dead Inside Me (2012)

Dissection Time.

Ti Ho Visto Morire.

Father’s Day.

Un Arcolris Manchado De Sangre.

Corpse Party.

Fuck Factory.

Noi Siamo La Morte.

Nothing To Do.

Victims (Peter Sotos Cover)

Dead Inside Me.

Anal fuck Before Death.

Pesadilla En Una Noche Sin Estrellas – 2014.

Sex Electronic Poison.

Unidos Por La Sangre.

Pesadilla En Una Noche Sin Estrellas.

Muneco De Came

Disgusted by Humans.

Come Back Home When You Are Dead.

Demoni.

Sete Di Sangue.

Reanimated Flesh.

Amore Sporco.

Nekrofellatio’s Dead Inside Me was the debut CD release for the Belgian Death Continues Records label in 2012. The label went on to release a strength of material from some impressive acts. These included In Search of Death, Sutcliffe Judgend, Femeheim, Autopsia and Skull:Axis. Nekrofellatio I had reviewed for another site on the release of Dead Inside Me. Upon hearing this release it was evident Nekrofellatio was a prime example of great Death Industrial.  The man responsible for Nekrofellatio was Leonardo Carballo Canto, the project seems to have ended sometime in 2017. My Shamanic hope from this review is to spark further interest, ideally more new work.

The first album Dead Inside Me, uses simple juxtapositions to create a dialogue of sound through around 4 different sources. Most tracks are unsettling through the nature of the sounds used and unexpected increases in volume. Canto seems to come through the electronic noises, it is if he is manipulating the dialogue used in each track, his persona embodied through the noise. Sickness and anxiety is depicted through the noises via nauseous violent repetition. Dead Inside me is chock full of abstract collages of horrible sickness, with Canto’s consistent noise commentary. The album later blurs into deeper abstractions of sounds and samples furthermore as it progresses.

It was only recently upon returning to Facebook after a long absence I thought of Leonardo’s work and set on buying the second album from Hagshadow which I had originally missed out on. This was released in 2014 and called Pesadilla En Una Noche Sin Estrellas. It had been received positively in Noise Receptor, but I was keen to hear what came after the impressive debut.

I am not sure if it is the mass of beer I have had tonight to celebrate the end of dry October but Pesadilla En Una Noche Sin Estrellas immediately radiates more sickness and suffering from the outset. The album seems to continue where the murkier end of Dead Inside Me left off, it is more complex and swampier in the overall sound. It is as if Canto has entrenched himself further into the wider sound of Nekrofellatio. The drones and samples of Sex Electronic Poison are unified together well. Father’s day uses violently relentless, repetition of sick noise sounds to check in with the projects core roots. It functions like wall noise yet with synth repetition replacing the walls of distortion, things go off in the background continually. The dominance of Italian language titles this time rounds only serves to add mystery and intrigue to the work. By mentioning this, I am aware of the development into deeper ambient/abstract territory, this lacks the shock elements of the first album, it is less traditionally Death Industrial; drifting elsewhere to it’s own territory.

With a lot of recent British Power Electronics stuff I have been hearing, there has been a shift into lower, murkier, deep regions of sound: this is a fucking earlier, strong example of someone doing that. Nekrofellatio warps his own work beyond belief to the point where it’s nearly unrecognisable; There’s been a massive shift between albums. As a side note  Pesadilla En Una Noche Sin Estrellas goes bonkers and ‘elsewhere’ as it ends.

I can only conclude this review bluntly, Nekrofellatio was fucking brilliant, both albums were brilliant shit. From an anonymous blog spot, internet and futuristic point of view my advice is this: “ Leonardo, continue your project, take it where it needs to go, this work is too good to be a footnote in some book or zine’s future history, go now, do it, find labels, make your own, we await for fucks sake!” End of review.

Choppy Noodles 2018

Atrax Morgue - Morder Machine

Atrax Morgue’s – Mörder Machine. 2016. Old Europa Café.  www.oldeuropacafe.com/ (Box Set - CD, Cassette, DVD)

Track Listing

Happy BirthDeath.

Living Dead

Night Is Coming. Forever

Lorna Green

Hell Is Here

Happy Birthday

I +M.

Deathshow.

I’m So

What’s A Human

Andei-Ice (Destructive Element)

I’m So (reprise)

DEATHSHOW

Territory

Music for Dead Brains

Reel 1.

Untitled

The Mörder Machine Live.

January 4^th 2003

May 29^th 1998

March 20^th 1998

December 9^th 1995

Reel II

Untitled

Untitled

Mörder Machine was one of several Marco Corbelli side projects during the duration of his Atrax Morgue project. The Mörder Machine name was used twice in 1998 for two albums that were originally released on Corbelli’s own Slaughter Productions label. The first album was DeathShow and the sequel was Happy BirthDeath and they are the basis of this Old Europa Cafe box set, along with two unreleased recordings on cd and cassette. The box also comes with two postcards and a DVD containing four live Atrax Morgue performances that span a period of 8 years.

Happy BirthDeath opens in a Purgatory of Dark Ambient fog which is cut into by rude electronics as Corbelli chants in the background like a threatening presence. Is Corbelli suggesting he is The Living Dead?  The album hastily intensifies and descends into Deathly Power Electronics by ‘Night is Coming. Forever’ as Corbelli’s vocals are doubled and dragged across the beats and harsh frequencies; imagine the soundtrack to the ritual scenes in Eyes Wide Shut, but made for a wilful execution.

Corbelli simultaneously embraces repetition and improvisation on ‘Hell is Here’ and ‘Lorna Green’ which I believe is about the pornographic actress of the same name who appeared in several movies in the early 80s.  It’s worth noting that the original release had a calendar with his birthday circled next to a death symbol along with an image of Corbelli as an infant. Lorna Green’s time as an actress spanned 81-83, what personal significance does she hold? The back ground samples her films as a synthesiser sound oscillates ominously. With each track, the sounds pulsate to create a slow death with all its horror amplified; Death Industrial personified.  Another addition to the original release was an illustration suggesting the best way in which to hang yourself; this release really isn’t for the faint hearted. 

The suffocating sequel DeathShow pulsates a fractured digital beat on ‘I’m So’, it descends into a dark ambient nightmare as Corbelli’s infected vocals radiate fear and anxiety. The layering progresses on ‘What’s A Human?’ as vocals combine with echoing chants, beats build to intensity. Sharp, Infected synthesizers then punctuate the vocal abstractions.

Deathshow disintegrates as it progresses, rhythms distort, vocals gain more prominence, whilst the electrics sharpen into Power Electronics and get uglier.  This is impressively brought to fruition in ‘I’m So – Reprise’ and ‘Deathshow’ the electronics are deathly and threatening. The sounds flit between wall like rumble and Death-hum to eventually combine as Corbelli’s vocal retch violently across everything to express his disgust and desire to become one with his music killing sounds.  

Deathshow builds up to splattering pulsations that assert themselves massively. Sounds form rhythms that dominate and step back to allow other sounds in to take the lead – Corbelli is in control, this is no release of anxiety or depression, just an intense journey through the mind of Corbelli at a specific point in time. ‘Terrortory’ winds things down for the entrance of lengthy nauseous repetition of ‘Music for Dead Brains’ to kill the album off.

Each Mörder Machine release is a sick soundtrack to Birth and Death in which Corbelli could be seen as the murderer narrating his actions and the eventual arrival of Death, someone fantasizing their own end or life murdering life?  It’s difficult to say if the two releases combine to form the duration of a life-span or its slow death. 

The live DVD contains footage of four entire shows over 8 years, the first from 1995 is just Corbelli behind keyboards and effects making noise as cut – up, graphic videos of death, surgery, serial killers and all manner of sickness are projected behind him. Fast Forward 3 years, Corbelli is beginning to become an imposing stage presence donning a long black leather trench coat and sunglasses. Vocals are now more prominent in his work as he begins to evolve away from behind the keyboards into an imposing frontman. The flickering video quality with its sudden jumps and rolls gives the performance a ghostly quality. The following 1998 performance recorded only a few months later shows Corbelli as a more confident frontman switching with ease from his keyboard set-up to prowling the stage. His identity is now really starting to become his own, visual influences are being shed. By 2003, the act is at full maturity, he’s using a wider range of vocal sounds, he looks odd and is totally in command - perfect. The DVD is as excellent due to the amount of shows on there and how they chart the development of Atrax Morgue as a live entity.

The unreleased reals were discovered by Corbelli’s friend Davide Tozzoli after his passing. They are rightly described as; ‘his last recordings, a cold and uncompromising analogue testament’. The recordings return to primitive noise of Maurizio Bianchi (with whom Corbelli collaborated) totally pure and futuristic in a retro way. A cold aggression that is refreshing and impressive through its simplicity, relentlessness and purity. The Tape (Reel II) is of the same analogue simplicity yet more aggressive. Both raise interesting questions, was Corbelli planning to regress the Atrax Morgue sound as a platform to further remove himself from the Death Industrial/Power Electronics sound he’d perfected; a regression before progression strategy? 

Anything Corbelli did has become insanely collectable, each release a fetish object with some reissued and repackaged in lavish box sets like this. As his legend grows, I ask myself who was he really? Urban legend suggests plenty of things. Images show him cross dressing, posing with knives- constantly toying with Death. I find myself impressed with his cross-dressing bravado, his prolific output and hard-work. When listening to his work it is hard to avoid being infected by him and getting stuck in cycles of obsessive thought. How do you avoid these things in the present day when listening to anything by Atrax Morgue? But do I want to avoid these things? Nope.

www.oldeuropacafe.com/

Choppy Noodles 2017