Datacide 12 record reviews by Nemeton

Ritalin War Dance / Neurosis Orchestra – SPB12020
The a-side is two tracks by Ritalin War Dance (Robert Schirmer and Martin Maischein aka Goner aka Heinrich at Hart). A2 Eye Flys resonates with a mixture of dub and experimental noises and distortion that creates an impressive dark feeling. The b-side by Neurosis Orchestra opens with Lucid Dreams that is dominated by dark guitar riffs and dub influenced doom ambiences. B2 Trap is the beat oriented track (140 bpm) with an enticing groove, distorted synth lines interlaced with some heavy bass. All the tracks, including a1 Hypertonic Solutions, are a physical journey of beats and moody ambiences that demonstrate thoughtful and well developed structures. Recommended!

Genosha One Seven Five 008
For some time now, many of the hard dnb labels are releasing tracks made by 2 or 3 or more artists, often to little effect. One of the worst examples is the newly released counterstrike recordings collaboration part 5 with this jingoistic track by counterstrike, panacea and robyn chaos or the aside of that record by the first two artists. While nothing good comes from that type of ‘collaboration’ and may be some money making ploy to try to sell some records from ‘big’ name artists, Gen175-008 a1 favorite sin is a great hard dnb with hardcore influences track written by DJ Hidden (although the artist is given as The over it, what Katharsys contributed to the straight, gritty distorted hardcore/hard dnb track is a bit more opaque. Totally fitting to the label, which has many great releases.

Tantrum 002
This is the side label of Fallout Recordings from Sheffield, with tracks by relatively unknown producers Zeal and Litta. A1 is a Current Value remix of the Screams of Another, which is a well done stomping dancefloor track. B2 is the original track that sticks straight to the hard dnb paradigm and is a good tune to play out.

Killing Sheep Records 012
The label celebrated ten years in 2011 (which is advertised on the printed record sleeve), and they put out quite a few good hard dnb releases, although some others were quite weak including #10 by Facs and Fon. KSheepV012 opens with Never Look Back by Tymon, with convincing broken up hard dnb programming, although the dubstep style breakdown midway seems completely out of place, and adds nothing to the overall sound or quality. The bside The Difference Between by DJ Producer is another decent track that mixes more breakcore style programming, hardcore and hard dnb elements together.

JK Flesh: Posthuman – 3by3 09
Justin Broadrick (Techno Animal, Godflesh, Napalm Death, etc) joins the 3by3 label with a handsomely produced 140g 2×12” with reverse board, hand silk screened and numbered sleeves, which is surely intended to be a high demand collectors item that will be picked up by the wide array of fans from the artist’s other music projects who don’t necessarily follow 3by3’s noise, experimental sound. (The release is also a cd and digital download on 3by3, and a
special issue cd with 30 min of extra material on Japanese label Daymare Recordings.) A total of nine tracks, the first three follow a similar path of metal inspired guitar riffs, distorted and mysterious vocals, interwoven in dark, desolate soundscapes. B2 breaks that mold a bit with a more abstract, electronic, hypnotic, mind bending track. C1 is a slightly faster track with eerie synth lines and a nice acid feeling. D2 is a down tempo, contemplative track. Perhaps the track order is confused making the album seem a bit disjointed and lacking in flow. In general I am a bit underwhelmed by this release, especially given all the hype 3by3 made about this, but those who follow doom and metal more closely may be more excited by JK Flesh’s first full-length contribution.

Oyaarss: Bads – Ad Noiseam cd 159
First off, while we are glad this has been released, these tracks should be pressed on vinyl! Unfortunately, the label is only selling the cd and digital downloads. Oyaarss from Latvia became more noticed through work with 3by3 label artists, his first and only 12” from 2009 titled A La Holeage (Abstractions 001) that included a remix by Cloaks (discussed in a previous Datacide), and he also released his own digi albums „Smaida Greizi Nakamiba“ („The Future Smiling Wryly“), which Ad Noiseam will re-issue as a cd and LP as ADN 163, which you can get for free download from the artist’s page, and an earlier one called “BPM 666.0”. He also did mixes for Sub FM, Mantis Radio, Electronic Explorations, etc that are worth checking out. Oyaarss definitely has a totally unique sound and “Bads” shows a great progression from „Smaida Greizi Nakamiba“. Although the artist has an interest in dubstep, it is inaccurate to label his music, or that of Cloaks, as ‘dubstep’ since he and they really work to deconstruct the genre and thoroughly push extreme sounds, noises, ambiances and grinding metallic pressures. This album has a real feeling of a surrealist handling of sounds and interest in the physical experience of disparate collages. Oyaarss offers a powerfully intense experience of imaginative and evocative musical soundscapes. Highly recommended!

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