Paul Watson aka BBBlood has been a friend of mine for the past few years. We started talking around 2008/2009, and put out a split release together, I under my retired REACHING. moniker. We stayed in light contact throughout the years leading up to the release of 'Destroy, Shatter, Stun, Intoxicate' c20 that I just put out with Void Seance.
BBBlood has always been of interest to me because of Paul's keen sense of texture when creating his tracks. Layers and layers of seemingly different textures are contrasted together to create atmosphere and emotion unlike that of most harsh noise today. A sense of sophistication and obvious well-planning shows that Paul certainly knows what he is doing. Each micro-detail, each new element carefully planned and laid out, as if each track were telling a fucked up story.
RUST c20
SELF RELEASE, December 2010
Side A immediately pummels my speakers with HNW textures and shrill droning feedback that split into deeper bowel moving, blotting rumbles and high-pitched harsh noise scratching and scraping, sounding like contact mics. The feedback comes and goes, the rumbling begins to slap-back echo before churning and thrashing into higher gain territory. What's nice about this track is about how elements and textures come and go- returning full force. The low rumbling ceases, leaving only the scratching and scraping, like 1000 nails on a chalkboard, over and over in what sounds like a circular, almost whirlwind motion. The churning returns briefly before fading once more. The feedback also ceases. A new mid-range swirl is introduced, sounding similar to ocean waves. The scratching turns into a higher pitched static and what sounds to be cymbals or junk metal fade in. At this point the track is stripped bare of all low end, before HNW walls burst through, also bringing back the scraping that was a mentioned earlier. A sense of fried circuitry can only be felt here, the charred black wall surging with swampy lows and electric-shock high crackles. The wall turns into a moster, screaming before cutting out- leaving a looping organic texture before fading.
Side B slowly sneaks out of my speakers, dark-ambient atmospheres gradually building up. A drone starts to take center-stage before fading back into the ambience. Heavy contact mic'ing emerges almost instantly, smashing, hitting, bashing. The atmospheres are no more. Violent Japanese-style bursts, blown out low ends throbbing and pulsating while the scraping continues on. Feedback emerges before everything cuts back into the dark ambience. A certain fuzzed out circuit sound gains momentum and volume over the ambience, going from it's constant volume to dominating the track, before going back to it's regular presence. Crackling flame-spewing starts under the ambience, not quite white noise, not quite hnw, before cutting quickly into contact micing under the same ambience. Feedback flies by, shifting and disappearing in waves. The scraping piles on thickly, only stopping to let feedback make repeated cameos. Again the harsh japanese thrashing starts once more, but way more blown out, extremely blown out. And then cuts off. More violent than the first track, but clearly thought out in the placement of each movement.
This cassette makes me want to listen to it again. And again. The tracks are JUST the right length to get that certain itch that leaves you wanting more.
5/5
I will be reviewing 'Lazar House' momentarily.
BBBLOGSPOT
