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PT16
Nick Hoffman - HELL
HOUSE zine/CDr
56 pages ///
8.5" x 11" /// xerox, some color, some silkscreen.
Music by Eyeless Executioner.
Track List:
1. First Aethyr
2. Hell is Never-ending
3. Floating Crypt mp3
4. Second Aethyr
5. Demon Swim
6. Drag Heavy Stones
7. Putrid Mist
8. Third Aethyr
100 copies
Released
February 2012
OUT OF PRINT last copies at Printed Matter
REVIEWS:
Gumshoe
Grove
April 2012
Holy LYLE LOVETT ABOVE WITH A BURNING TRIDENT SHOVED UP HIS GOD-FEARING
AZZZZZZ, I have been meaning to cover the “Hell House” art book/CD-R
for weeks now and, much like the New Jersey Nets’ un-storied franchise,
every time I came close to making shit HAPPEN something went awry. But
the darkness has passed, at least temporarily, and unless the gods of
U-Verse strike down my internet connection RIGHT THE-FUCK NOW, you’re
going to hear what I have to say about the latest from Eyeless
Executioner, which descends straight from Pilgrim Talk (a label that,
now that I look up close, released the Locrian/Katchmare split 7-inch).
After perusing the wonderfully death-obsessed (yet playful?) book —
check pics up-top — I got that dreadful feeling … Yeah, the art is
good, but will the music suck? Even harder than usual (you know that
most of the music out there is terrible, right? I mean, if you didn’t
you wouldn’t be reading this in the first place, would you? Nah; you
wouldn’t.)?
What a surprise to hear a fitfully viable onslaught of
treble-worshiping black metal filling up my cup — which, as well all
know, runneth the-fuck over — with mist and steam and scrum and scum.
Frankly, I just like to hear people take a crack at b-m glory because
it’s so easy to get the basic ingredients right yet almost suicidally
difficult to stand above the myriad bands that have been there.
Eyeless Executioner don’t swing for the fences, but what they do
attempt comes off naturally and relatively painlessly, particularly in
the vocals and songwriting, the one caveat being that the drums (to
these ears) tend to sound a bit … automated. I like that they’re loud,
but, in the end, they’re astray from the mix too often (not that
production is the first thing I look for in a CD-R) not to mention it
here.
I’d liken “Hell House” to many of the cassettes on the great Husk label
or Striborg with higher fidelity or many of the murkier b-m outfits out
there that zoom in on the quality aspects of the genre and focus
intently. Strip a Wolves In The Throne Room recording down to its
essence and “Hell is Never-Ending” is what you’d likely find, and as
the CD progresses we’re bludgeoned by a bit of everything: Double-bass
blast-offs, slower meditations in abandoned cathedrals, deliberate
marches held together by ride cymbal, twin-guitar tantrums and solo
six-string exercises.
If you’re into heavy shit you’ll have little use for the latter, but
the rest of the pot bubbles to the top and explodes quickly. “Demon
Swim” might be the most ornery soul-suck, shitty with more of that
ride-cym and swirling like the wind that swoops in halfway through to
lighten the mood. As it turns out, nothing can un-blacken the
proceedings, so a helping of more of the same is appreciated.
“Drag Heavy Stones” brings all the bones to the yard as well, more
double-bass than you know what to do with and more tubby riffs that
ripple and roam with abandon, while “Putrid Mist” echoes the
rhythm-less, crazed grandeur of a track Josh Lay (there’s another Husk
mention!) once sent me for the Going to Extremes compilation. Sometimes
it’s best to whittle metal down to the floor when much is at stake …
Did I mention the art? “Hell House” is a well-conceived package, so
make sure you eye the images above a few minutes extra while you sample
the workmanlike audio portion. It will all come together, I swear to
you … just give it that chance.
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