Black Leather Jesus - A.N.T.I.
A new bunch of releases to review from one of my favorite noise labels, Swedish Ominous Recordings (based in Stockholm). The first one I will sink my teeth into is actually a re-issue, not many of those these days. We´re talking about the early days of Black Leather Jesus, and one of those early releases was the A.N.T.I. album which was originally released on tape back in 1993 on Richard Ramirez's own label Deadline Recordings. Now re-released in a 200-copy CD edition, in a nifty-looking blackened digipack. Interesting and historic liner-notes by Sam Mckinlay (from The Rita) and remastered by Grant Richardson (from Gnawed and Atrox Pestis). The entire album contains one track, almost 60 minutes long. I actually do think that we (just might) be dealing with one of the first releases to explore that sound... which we today have chosen to call harsh-noise-wall. This release was made in 1993, and the first Rita album was released in 1998.
The whole thing starts with a textured crackle, and another crackle follows, and then... time simply stops. Imagine yourself on one of those big rollercoaster rides, and all of a sudden it goes so fast that you´ll forget the concept of time entirely. Kind of the same way this thing works. It´s a pretty thick bass-driven thing, and a hard and static density of distorted sound is guaranteed. I will recommend listening to the album on your stereo, then on your Compact-Disc player! I did that once, and my inner ear just kept... well... thumping and vibrating.
To many, recordings like these can seem kind of... beyond fucked? BUT, if one does give it time and some thought one will actually find a treasure chest at the end of the rainbow. There are dynamics within, and the is variation in the sound as well. I find the whole album thoroughly enjoyable, recommended listening after a stressful day for sure!.
To end it all up... A strangely comforting beast of sheer brutality, perfect background noise for obsessive minds... and perfect textured sound-recording for a decent power nap. Keep it simple, less is more and all that.
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