Suero + Yama-Biko - Hansenbyó
Spanish cult label Marbre Negre is still very much alive and kicking! This time it will be with local Spanish experimentalist Carlos Suero and a mysterious anonymous vocalist from Japan called Yama-Biko. They have done this album together and had it limited released as a pro-CD-R, encased in a large DVD-sized cardboard cover.
The cover informs the curious that we are in some abandoned hospital-like building. Probably something which has stood empty since 1997?. The dreaded disease leprosy in Japan has been a case of complete isolation, rather than medical treatment! All leprosy patients have been isolated on a small island, and have been left there (more-or-less) to die in isolation. We´re talking about something which has been going on since 1953 to 1997.
"The Zenkankyo (Patients' Union) staged a number of struggles against the Ministry of Welfare and they finally won the abolishment of the 1953 Leprosy Prevention Law in 1996. It was ruled that the law was unconstitutional between 1960 and 1996. During this period, the law should have not been present. In 1998, many patients sued the Government for compensation and they won it in 2001."
A frightening concept for an album? Right?. Is it a frightening and dark album?... MY GOD YES!. Atmospheric and cold (and true) industrialism without the hints of dark-ambient! You cannot help to think back to the frightening (but real) concepts by SPK, but your also getting back to other Swedish evil moody roots like Machinenzimmer 412 (before MZ.412) and Archon Satani.
The first frightening track Sweez Arjosh starts with a hypnotic machine-like humming sound. This sound meets up with a cold and dry repetitive industrial ritual beating. Excellent effects occasionally treat the beat and turn it into a grimy and low-tech vibe. Ear-catching and haunting horror-soundtrack sounds vail and moans in the background sound like a mixture of a huge engine room and a human scream slowed down. Painfull and blood-vomiting ritualistic-background vocals are delivered beautifully by Yama-Biko. Wha6t a beginning!. Next track Filato Amato also has a heavy humming intro which again meets up with an excellent industrial beat, the cool and exquisite sound-aesthetic continues! It really DOES sound like being completely alone, to just die in isolation. The vocals get a more whispering-talking and throaty sound here, cannot help but think about the scene with Killer Bob from Twin Peaks hiding out in the hospital basement here. Really cool vocals, VERY convincing!
Third track Fi Inesr Par also being similar, but being more subversive (and noisy) than the previous tracks. Ritualistic death-beats pounds into oblivion while distorted and reverbed razor-sharp sounds cut you open! Might as well be about Unit 731 (look up on Wikipedia!), and yes!... VERY dark material, again... fans of Archon Satani and Machinenzimmer 412 will dig this. Fourth track Detistil Fardest just sucks you further in, the angst delivered here is powerful. At this point, you start to realize that there isn´t any hope... At all!. A strang looped beat, scythe-like sound effects, sound of a ventilation-system and lovely desperate vocals wishing deliverance.
I will not reveal how the other tracks are since I can keep on writing, about this amazing underground release. Seek it out if you need a new industrial fix, or plainly seek it out if you need something dark as hell!
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