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great death - CMI.23

Amidst the suffocating gloom of this double CD lies a sense of humour that's fairly evident when listened to as whole - "comic relief" as it were. "Samples" (or whatever, as there are no samplers used in BDN) telling shoppers with sweet tooths to go to aisle six, a short little hummable disco ditty (Abba?), and even a '40s jazz humber hidden at the end of "Laudate Dominum II%quot; (the last track on Great Death II). Other than that, this is pure unadulterated hardcore power electronics - slow, dense, and oh so heavy. Once again, the titles are quite revealing - "Death Craft", "Exsure Morto", "Gore" etc etc. Simplistic frayed tones are set, oscillated and built upon with a low-level rhythm working as its spine. Enveloping this are horrific buried vocal snippets, monstrous groans, an occasional machinic screech, and a heavy dose of distortion. This is more than a peek into the dark side of life, it's an all out apocalyptic vision if played at the right volume! Maybe I've gotten used to this stuff, but I definitely like this better than The Slaughterhouse CD reviewed a couple issues back, despite the fact that the sound has changed very little. Those up-to-date on their BDN releases will notice that Great Death I is simply a remastered version of an LP of the same name released a few years back. Great Death II is all new works. Look for a third release in November to complete this trilogy, but available only with the order form that comes with this. Cold Meat Industry.

Jason Mantis.

Great Death I: One of the best recordings I've heard in this genre. Music to lie down, close ones eyes, and relax to. Calm, moody, satanic industry. Completely free of sampling and programming. A masterpiece without competition.

Great Death II: This album has few similarities with its predecessor. At several points it makes nearly impossible turn-arounds in the music. Some moments it's really pleasing and relaxing, while at the next moment, without warning, it tears your mind apart.

The few attempts to copy the calm and moody falls, according to me, fairly flat. This is far from the best I've heard from BDN. The highpoint of this box is, however, without doubt Laudate Dominum II.

Staffan Damm.