Dissecting Table / Sektor 304 – Utopia / Decay LP Malignant Records 2014
Dissecting Table and Sektor 304 have teamed up for this split release which is the second paring of these two industrial projects. On the earlier split CD from 2012 it featured each act remixing the others source material, whereas this split features new individual material from both.
Dissecting Table lead off on the first side where Ichiro Tsuji delivers a slab of his trademark pummeling, manic and chaotic rhythmic industrial. ‘Ideal Market’ features digital squalling noise placed over a base of fast paced tribal/ rhythmic metallic percussion including mirroring bass guitar playing (…in amongst the general chaos the track does fall into occasional moments of respite). ‘Cover Pressure Rank’ follows and matches the commotion of first track, but here the drumming approach is more of a standard kit style than tribal driven (…in fact segments of this track are even more squalling and chaotic than anything preceding it). Whilst the last of three tracks ‘Blind Despair and Hope’ does not significantly deviate in style, it does evoke an atmosphere akin to a ‘chase’ scene from a 1980’s styled horror movie. Being stylistically quirky in tone the final segment pulls back to a short section of calm Asiatic ritual chimes before one final chaotic rhythmic run to the final vinyl groove. Essentially your appreciation of the first side of the vinyl will be very much guided by your feelings for prior Dissecting Table material as this is pretty much solid and typical fare for the project (…aka overblown rhythmic industrial chaos).
Moving onto Sektor 304’s side, it presents a singular sound work spanning 4 interconnecting tracks. ‘Motion Through Pressure leads off with a lurching militant industrial throb, which is clearly less of the industrial percussive style the band is known for (…and effectively acts as the introductory segment). Leading directly into ‘Vertical Structure Control’, the second segment is more stereotypical of Sektor 304, meaning excellent classic sounding ‘oil barrel’ industrial with a heavy percussive structure. Here Martin Bladh is featured as a guest vocalist, where his slightly treated spoken vocals make an appearance (…seemingly reciting technical related information), as a second heavier vocal line urgently yells in the background (…is this also Martin? Not quite sure…). ‘Aftermath Data Analysis’ falls into a more minimalist camp with a metallic throb/ clinical pulse and sparse industrial scraping textures, again featuring the layered spoken vocals of Martin. The final segment ‘Power Through Strength’ arrives to reprise the slow lurching militant industrial rhythm of the opening passage, but drawing this out over an extended length. Here the piece expertly builds tension through the gradual introduction of heavier percussive/ metallic elements, in addition to a misanthropic dialogue sample. As displayed on their side of the vinyl Sektor 304 continue to expand the scope of their now recognized ‘old school’ (but forward thinking) industrial approach, by pushing their sound into more diverse sonic territories, with simply excellent results.
Given the chosen format it is great to see that Malignant Records are embracing the vinyl medium which also includes the recent Jarl/ Skin Area collaboration split LP. However with a limitation of only 200 copies, this is unlikely to be around for long.
noise receptor 