Untergeschoss of Filth, Violence & Terror

Sewer Goddess – Hymns Of Infliction CD Filth and Violence / Terror 2015

Snuff – III CD Untergeschoss / Filth and Violence 2015

S.T.A.B. Electronics – Born For Righteous Abuse / Temple Of Self-Disgust CD Untergeschoss / Filth and Violence 2015

With reference to the modern mantra that ‘nothing is shocking anymore’, Filth and Violence have seemingly taken this sentiment as a direct challenge to see how far they can push matters of unsavoriness and distaste within the underground (…or failing that, perhaps the agenda is more personal and is all about reveling in squalor and finding beauty in humiliation and depravity?). Regardless of the label’s motivations, here we have a few more examples of visual filth and audile violence from their roster, but with all of these albums’ having been co-released with either Untergeschoss (also from Finland) or Terror (from Lithuania).

‘Hymns Of Infliction’ from Sewer Goddess is up first and an intriguing listen given this recording steps back into the murky past of the project and when their sound was staunchly death industrial and essentially the solo project of Kristen Rose. This album represents the project at a time before an evolution into a full band formation to encompass a honed guitar/ drumkit driven death industrial approach (as showcased with scalpel sharpness on the latest offering ‘Painlust’). For this album the contents are derived from 2008-2009 and feature 8 tracks at a total length of 34 minutes. Dank and foreboding death industrial soundscapes are the central sonic preoccupation, driven by grim distortion, mechanized loops, dank pounding structures and smatterings of dialogue samples. Although vocals are not present on all tracks, where they do feature they range from wailing screeches and screams through to a more understated spoken drawl. Perhaps lacking the direct and focused impact when compared to current material, this is still a strong collection death industrial musings and far from being disposable ’throw away’ material.

Moving on to Snuff’s album, having not heard ‘I’ or ‘II’ from the group I am not sure how ‘III’ compares, although the group can easily be bracketed alongside the quintessential disturbing sounds and thematic visual approach of what might be coined as ‘Finnish filth’ which characterized a large bulk of Filth and Violence’s output. Generally speaking this is power electronics at its nastiest, based on rough, crude and overblown distortion. Likewise with the degree of erupting feedback and general sonic cacophony, it very much sounds like a live in studio recording derived from large banks of bass amps to inflate the distortion to extreme levels. Being relatively loose and unpolished in execution this has been performed in a way to create a sickeningly filthy atmosphere, which is accentuated by the ragged and gruff vocals, which here features the dual attack of two separate and distinctive vocalists, often repeating the same vocal lines. However for all its overblown intensity, a couple of tracks do take more subdued routes of stalking restraint. With this approach it delivers a disturbing and morbid tone, which is accentuated by the looped sample of a child’s voice speaking Finnish on the opening untitled track, or the a gruff male voice on the late album track ‘Driven’ which repeatedly states: “I can give you a ride” (…along with other statements which hint at far darker scenarios). Regardless of whether being in aggressive or restrained guise, Snuff deliver unhinged power electronics at its most depraved. You have been warned.

Up last and similar to the Sewer Goddess CD, the S.T.A.B. Electronics is a CD release of the two earliest tapes from the project. But following some background investigation it seems that ‘Temple of Self Disgust’ was originally issued in 2010 as a 12 track self-released promo CDr, which was then released as two separate tapes by Filth and Violence.  All 12 original tracks are featured on this CD, which showcases S.T.A.B. Electronics at a time when their sound and approach was being bedded down. With raw grit and general aural nastiness these noise infused power electronic recordings are notably less honed and focused than later albums.  As such the raw aggression and spiteful level of hatred displayed exceeds even that of later albums, which pushes the atmosphere here into all encompassing and emotionally draining realms. On selected tracks such as ‘Born For Righteous Abuse’ there is a rather large similarity to the works of Con-Dom, by featuring a bulldozing ‘barely structured’ noise-scape, coupled with whipping flange treatment of the vocals. So although later material from the group illustrates a more individually distinctive sound (both sonically and vocally), this album is still a strong early statement of intent and of clear interest to see where the project has evolved to from these early works.

Body Cargo / Pogrom – Resistance

Body Cargo / Pogrom – Resistance CD Terror / Cipher Productions 2012

As a split / collaborative release, this thematically focuses on the album’s title, albeit in markedly different contexts as indicated within the promo blub: “This album has united two Lithuanian projects under a theme of resistance. Papua New Guinea cannibals’ resistance against outsider effects is different from resistance of interwar period Lithuanian guerrillas, but you can find these associations on a musical plane, and Body Cargo and Pogrom each present their own interpretations”.  Regarding the format, both acts are well suited to this pairing as they travel very similar sonic terrains.   Here each act provides four tracks in addition to two collaborative tracks for good measure (each provides vocals for a track of the other).

Body Cargo is up first and although billed as ‘post-mortem’, they effectively deliver death industrial at its most lo-fi and dirty, where echoed, muddied and morbid analogue sonics are the order of the day.  ‘Black Smoke Obelisks’ provides an extended nightmare of muffled factory drones and croaked deathly vocals over what may or may not be sonically buried orchestral / radio samples.  ‘Gutpath’ presents a more forceful framework, consisting of a malfunctioning conveyor belt type rhythmic element, various distortions layers and a sampled / looped tribal chanted vocal for good measure. Alternately ‘Sacred is all Red’ presents a more meditative, muffled and windswept industrial / drone piece.  For Body Cargo’s final track (and the first collaborative track with Pogrom on vocals), is ‘Resistance (Survival Method)’, which delivers a great multi-textured death industrial piece of swelling / driving layers, vague pounding rhythms and waiving distorted vocal lurking within the sonic mass.

Moving on to Pogrom’s half, they approach their sound with a little more vigour, pushing their tracks towards a power electronics tone, but still sheathed in a heavy dose of muffled lo fi production. ‘Resistance (Guerrilla Method)’ is Pogrom’s first track (and last of the collaborative tracks), featuring muffled, idling factory machine sounds and morbid, catatonically spoken vocals of Body Cargo, which functions as a great introduction for Pogrom.  Next track ‘Dar negimes (Igarka)’ amps things up along the power electronics line/ sound with crude, nasty, scuzzy, no frills squalls of distortion and distorted vocal abuse. Likewise ‘Toks melsvas vakaras…’ balances the line between death industrial and power electronics sounds, with morbid spoken vocals, grinding industrial undercurrent and forceful squalls of distortion.  Final track ‘Girioj gules’ takes a slightly different tangent, where it commences with a maudlin solo folk type vocal sample, before succumbing to a muffled mass of grinding death industrial sounds, which also includes a sampled piano accompaniment to play the track though to its conclusion.

Taken in totality this is certainly a grim and harrowing release from these two aligned projects (which is a compliment for this style of music), rounded out with cover artwork which is also suitably old school and lo-fi with its black and white, cut and paste aesthetic.