Barrera - No Input Can Release Me
From My Fatherland
From Greece to Spain, from Mai 12 to Barrera. The powerful blows of HNW continue to flow from the sun-baked parts of Europe. A new album from this relentless Spanish beast, the first time on CD-R, while the other releases have been on cassettes. This is a limited CD-R released on Black Artifact, an experimental US-based noise label from Fort Worth, Texas. The pro-duplicated thing comes in a nifty-looking black poly case, adorned with some gritty WW2 photos showcasing soldiers' wounded and scared faces. There is only one track on the album, a track being 1 hour long. The title of the track is the same as the album title.
Flickering red flames dance on the motor of an old Spitfire fighter airplane, nosediving while all the splintered parts melt in a roaring sea of fire. Thunderous bass wall, sparks of a high-pitched tone, flickering painful sound-images and then... there is a ghost´s humming sound in there, giving the first 6 minutes a weird paranormal touch. At this point, I'm at 15 minutes. Minor alterations to the overall sound, but it isn´t getting monotonously boring... u get that warm feeling (subconsciously) that it´s a vibrant and living being! At around 25 minutes, it´s almost becoming pleasant.
Are we being told (through noise) how totalism gets into people´s minds? The expression is constant, obedient, and without breaking a limb ( or thought ) through the process. Like standing in a shower of sharp knives, without shedding a single tear. In a lot of ways, the extremity of this simple beast leads straight back to the early days of NON. Simple, abstract, and incredibly efficient.
Halfway through now ( 31 minutes ) and I am enjoying it more and more. There are some kind of metallic ritualistic elements/sounds in the background, hidden... but they are there. At around 40 minutes, the high-pitched tones have a sort of telegram-sort-of effect, is there a hidden message in there... I'm not sure!
At around 45 minutes, it´s starting to hurt... just slightly. Your ears have been acknowledging and recognizing the sounds within, and at this point, they are telling you that it´s not all that pleasant! but there is a big but! Your mind wants more, so the record keeps on playing!
If you want to enjoy this, then you have to tune your ears (and mind) into complete slow motion. Or better even, the end of time! This album captures a certain conceptual moment in the blink of an eye. The blistering storm of trench soldiers in the 1WW, or the screaming sounds of German Stuka-bombers in the 2WW. It´s brutal and constant, and the thing keeps on pounding! Without a doubt, the most extreme noise-related thing of 2024!
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