Friday, January 19, 2018

Music Review: IUGULA​-​THOR / CRONACA NERA "Abraxas Mortuary" (Signora Ward Records)


https://signorawardrecords.bandcamp.com/album/iugula-thor-cronaca-nera-abraxas-mortuary

While I have been a fan of and listening to the music on Signora Ward Records for quite some time, I do believe this is my first time reviewing anything released by them.  I am trying to make a better initiative to stay up to date with releases from this point going forward, to give them a mention any way that I can if I cannot give them a proper review.   I looked back at all of my reviews from 2017, compared it with the Bandcamp Top 100 and realized how much I write about that no one else does.   Now, I feel going forward, it is time for me to write about even more music than ever before that no one else (probably) is.  Or, you know, at least not the reviews which are oversaturating the market.

IUGULA-THOR begins this split with some deep, lightsaber type of synths.   It drones but can also have this sort of marching rhythm to it.   There are screeches and laser shots fired.   On the third track, "In A Cunt Supermarket", it reminds me of a Stormtrooper death march but then there is still also this screechy feedback.    It could be imagined that we are trudging through the sewers as some bass notes come underneath the heavy layer of distortion.   It becomes haunted and slower, with a metal feel of feedback.   It can even become grinding, rattling, not too much unlike a locomotive and in that sense you can even hear the steam whistle blowing.

CRONACA NERA opens things with static darkness that feels like it is circling the drain.  Compared with the previous side, it feels a bit lighter but on the whole it is no where near being light.   It has a hollow sound to it, as if ghosts were trapped in the wind.    There is talking in the background of this but I cannot understand what is being said-- it's too far back there.    There is a certain level of Ghost In The Machine in these songs as well, since they seem to have talking buried inside of static-- it makes me feel like technology is finally turning against humans. 

As "Natural Porn Polloutions" begins there is this sort of scrambled sound which makes me think there is mumbling going on, but I think it's because of the music and not actual words.   Words can be heard coming out back there and, no, the fact that I'm picking the most fun song titles is not a coincidence.   The audio clip in the background of this song could be pulled straight from a porno.   And, yeah, a lot of these song titles are also rather sexual, which, I mean, if that bothers you at all I don't know how you'll be able to sit through this music.

If nothing else, from the IUGULA-THOR side of this split you should take away that it is dark distortion with screeches.     On the other hand, I don't know if I would call CRONACA NERA the opposite of that as it is not light and fluffy, but it has a different feel to it than IUGULA-THOR while seemingly accomplishing the same level of harsh terror. 

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