HgM - Iridium 192
Obscure field-recording/industrial-noised based project from Portugal, been churning out toxic harshness since 2013. Been active through labels like Cranial Fracture, Big Pharma Records and also through its own label Ho.Gravi.Malattie. This release came out on CD-R through HgM directly and also on cassette (30 copies) via another Portugal-based label called OTA (see link below!). Released back in January 2018. 5 tracks, 25 minutes. So we are dealing with an EP/Mini-album.
It´s a lovely back-to-basics experimental industrial-noise treat. Very drone-based, looped and cold distorted sounds, hypnotic suggestions with almost heavy post-rock´ish psychedelic-textures at some tracks. First track Kill Blast Furnace has that lovely primitive and harsh sound-quality, kind of early death-industrial with atmospheric noise-drones. Signal Steel Explosions welcomes the listener with that old modem sound (the ones we used to get on the Internet back in the day!). This track kind of takes of where the first track ended. Some of the same sound-elements and samples are used, but they are used in a way which makes the track sound like a new one (or just a good and decent continuation of the first track).
Third track Cardio Nickel Alloy puts the listener in the bowels of a deep mine, while monotonic loud machines are churning through the mine. Sounds like screaming rusty machines falling apart literally. Oxygen Gas Fusion is something very interesting for the ambient/soundtrack geeks. Ghost-like whispering, droning and deep echoed human-voices, eerie reversed recordings. Like being trapped somewhere as a ghost between heaven and hell? Very nice!. Last offering Iridium 192 goes further into soundtrack ambiance, almost esoteric ritualistic in nature. Post-rock´ish texture are present here, being fused/mixed together with classic industrial ritualisms like Controlled Bleeding and Nocturnal Emissions. Also very good!.
A delightful (and interesting) journey through blast furnaces, steel explosions, gas fusions and ending up chilled ritual-moods. If this release was meant to work as a soundtrack from the beginning and to the end, I would say that it has succeeded (VERY MUCH!). Absolutely no reason why you should check this one out!.
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