onsdag den 20. september 2023


Michael Idehall - Recepitulation
reviewed by Anders Berggren



Michael Idehall is a Scandinavian veteran of ritualistic industrial music. This is the first time I get to listen to one of his numerous works, besides being a recording artist he also manages his own ritual-music label Belzebez. This release called Recapitulation is a limited 50 copies cassette compilation released by Rabbau. The cassette is sadly sold out, so you have to locate it on Discogs. Well, onto the review itself.

It's a bit of a journey into the dark. A damp, oily darkness. In places, it is hot and humid, while at other times it is freezing cold.

It reminds me a lot of the atmosphere of cyberpunk novels and stories (think people like Gibson and Sterling) when you move around bars and seedy tech shops, the places where the illegal implants are implanted.

The music leads the listener on a journey into the dark.

The first track has a very ritualistic feel. The text is almost read as if it were a creed or a political statement - slowly and clearly. At the same time, a very mechanical sound universe runs with various effects, both of a rhythmic and noisy nature. The idea of ​​using a ticking clock to drive things forward works pretty well. It is fine that it is used as an element in the track, while it is also good that it is not used all the time.

In the second track, you are led deeper into the darkness. With a consistently sharp rhythmic beat that repeats very quickly. The lyrics are delivered very mechanically, and throughout the song, the vocals become more and more disturbed as if it were a cassette tape recorder slowly running out of battery. There are some nice little breaks of silence throughout the track, just long enough to make you wonder. Is there something completely new, or is it just a break? There is a combination of rhythmic elements and, in some places, almost ambient passages. It generally works very well.

I'm not sure where the second issue ends and the third begins, but these two are closely related.

The fourth track is very noisy, where many effects and elements are used at the same time. An atmosphere of chaos and unrest is created. The vocals are somewhat harder to follow here.

The last track on page 1 'Shall be once more' has a very industrial feel. The text is first performed almost in a whisper but then becomes rancid, harsh, and almost threatening. Here we are almost down in the deepest darkness on the album.


It starts on side 2 with a very mechanical number. A repeated 'XMI re20' occurs throughout large parts of the song, as if it were a tribute to a piece of mechanics. While this messes, a steady noisy rhythm runs in the background. This track was the first one that made sense to me when I got to know this album. Since then, the middle of side 1 of the tape has received more attention from me.

The next number is very marked by chaos and madness. It is laid out quietly. Both in terms of effects on the vocals and the background sounds, which sound like a mix between cicadas and a cutting torch.

First, the vocals are like a bunch of mad monks saying a little phrase in each other's mouths. Since then it dives into a jumble of effects.

The last number is disturbing and cold. The vocals have lots of reverb-like effects on them. Underneath, a mechanical rhythm emerges by hand, a bit like a ticking clock or a machine that repeats the same action. The rhythm and the effects of this gradually take over more and more.

It's a very ambient track to end the album with, which I like.

For people with a taste for industrial and noisy electronic music (but not exactly noise), the album can be recommended.

kl.