- Label: Cold Meat Industry.
- Year: 2009.
- Style: Industrial.
- Format: CD.
- Note:
- Score: 83%
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If I were to start some kind of industrial band, I’d certainly make sure to have John Murphy with me.
KNIFELADDER is a three-piece band consisting of the one I just mentioned, known for his legendary SPK and also for being a more or less steady piece in DEATH IN JUNE for the last couple of decades. Plus more. Plus more. We also get to meet Hunter Barr (ALTERED STATES, INFANT SKULL SURGERY...) and Andrew Trail (ANTIVALIUM, AUTOGEDDON...). With other words, these gentlemen know what they are doing, since they’ve been doing it in several forms for ages already.
”Music/Concrete” is their third full album together. I’ve actually not heard the first one, but I absolutely loved ”The Spectacle” from 2006, and also, I thought their split with NAEVUS the year before was alright by all means.
Compared to ”The Spectacle”, I really think the new album lives up to its name. May I say it’s less noisy, less fragmented and more of a solid, and concrete album?
It’s also the kind of album that sets a decent level from the intro, and don’t fall in quality very often. Compared to ”The Spectacle” that had an OK level, with a few less interesting tracks and two super hits.
Anyhow, their significant combination of violent electronics, old-school industrial and voodoo drums continue to evolve, and it now sounds better than any previous material I’ve heard. I’ll try to shuffle a couple of tracks and describe what I hear and what makes it special as well. OK, my first stop is ”All for the Culling” which actually is the standout one here, with some strummed guitar chords from Lloyd James (that’s not more than fair since John’s been banging NAEVUS’ drum-kit for years now) behind a wall of pounding drums, electronics and Andrew’s frustrated vocals. This one makes me think of DEATH IN JUNE and their ”NADA!” album in particular. A very nice neofolk song and a total surprise!
”You Don’t Own It” is my next way station. ’Tis probably the most violent song on the disc, flirting quite freely with the power electronics genre in, especially the vocals. I like how it feels rusty, oily... Unpolished! If the artists decided not to work on getting it to sound clean, of if they actually put a lot of effort into making it sound this way, I don’t know but it fits and I like it. This is my number one choice at the buss on my way to work in the mornings.
Now I take two steps back, to the fifth track, ”Fearsome Engine” which is a most chaotic trip built up by a rapid, flickering keyboard, random percussion bangs, funky bass and repeated vocals. Quite interesting one full of power.
Another killer is ”Come” near the end. Listening to it without giving it your full attention, you could maybe confuse it with some old JOY DIVISION live bootleg. A deeper analysis will tell you that it really doesn’t have much in common with them at all apart from, once again, quite frustrated vocals, and some melody lines.
Well, you get the point now I think. ”Music/Concrete” is a damn fine album from some of the most accustomed performers of industrial music out there, for those with iron ears. Even though it’s created with most simplicity, it’s quite varied and very well-balanced. New listeners could find their way down the KNIFELADDER here, and old listeners should be more than pleased.
I couldn’t ask for more. But I do. Please give me more?
Tracklist:
- White Walls
- Eden Falls
- Cut and Run
- All for the Culling
- Fearsome Engine
- Torn from Memory
- You don't own It
- Alpha Male
- Blind Spot
- Come
- None of You
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