Pvrgatorivm - La Voie Des Onze Mille Coups
It's a highly obscure new act on a highly unknown (and new) label. A so-called debut with an act called Pvrgatorivm, and their mini-album/EP is called La Voie Des Onze Mille Coups (translated as The Way of Eleven Thousand Blows). The label is called Ars Bellica Recordings, and the release is being distributed via the Greek label E.C.T Recordings. Highly limited to 20 copies, the whole thing (mini 3" CD-R) comes in a nifty-looking handmade sleeve made of paper and maquette paper with some additional inserts related to Ars Bellica and E.C.T Recodings.
Additional info about this mysterious act and album. The recorded material has been recorded in various locations and moments between 2021-2023, mixed in 2023 by someone called Incisio in some studio called Geräuschkammer IV (Not in Germany, but in Greece!). You can also get a digital version of the album via a Russian label called Boiled Angel Recordings. (Link below)
I keep pondering about the picture being used on the artwork itself. Do I see a pair of human legs & torso, with a smothered sun-bleached background maybe? And how the photo is related to the esoteric-sounding album title, I don´t know... Maybe, we will find that answer within the recording, which is simple... there is only 1 track on the album.
It starts like a classic old-school industrial album from the southern parts of Europe. Slow, gritty, and mechanical-sounding loops of a bass sound, a flanged whining sound cuts through the air like a warm surgery knife through butter, and a strange and esoteric sounding... thing in the background? Is there a melody in it? I'm not sure. Some extra thrash-metal sound effects are added as well.
At this moment, it does sound like someone who has just turned on a huge industrial machine to work in the early sunrise. Although it does sound like a really old and rusty piece of machinery. For some reason, I'm thinking about those old drilling machines being used in mines. At the end, I can hear a distant synth? Combined with the monotonous and gritty machine sounds, the presence of the synth is an angelic presence!
I find the whole thing to be rather pleasant to listen to, pleasant in a good way that is. The atmosphere is a very sincere thing here, and the listener will find themselves... somewhere else! I also really dig that old-school industrial aesthetic! Kind of like early NON in a way, really gritty and minimalistic. The whole recording also being a very... kind of organic. Feels like, that all the recorded sounds are working together toward a specific mood or goal that is. Everything is almost melted into a single sound (with sounds within) if that makes sense! This stuff is pure magick and addictive, already heard this for the 6th time today! Do yourself a favor and get the physical release!
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