It is 09/27/2020 and I have come to fix some errors. These releases along with several others are a part of a 2 label team up between Helicopter and Troniks. I want to make sure all the parties involved get the credit they deserve, especially when it comes to such fantastic collections such as these. My apologies for my research errors. Cheers. Symptoms.
LHD “In Mono” / 2xCD / Helicopter + Troniks
The names Phil Blankenship and John
Wiese should be pretty familiar to all you fans of all things noise related. Their respective discographies are fraught
with urban crumble, suffocating infrastructural failure, and wrecked electronic
hymns. When they team up as LHD then the
dread gets turned up a few notches. “In
Mono” is one of 2 LHD collections (the other one being “Even Still”) that
collects this cadre’s recorded works in concise and handy 2 disc
collections. This collection includes
their works spanning 2002 through 2005. If
you know about LHD then you already understand what you are in for.
For the uninitiated, disc one finds
LHD dumping heavy loads of grave soil on your face in ever increasing
amounts. Its 11 tracks are crackling,
crumbling, screaming blasts that seem to build upon each other that by the time
you get to the final 3 tracks from their “Opaque” release you are getting
beaten about the head, neck and chest area with heated fury and pure
unadulterated LA death smog. Does the
mugging end even though you have lost consciousness?
Disc 2 consists of one lone track “Limbs
of the Fawn” which dives headfirst into a blistering rush of deathly static. It kicks off in such an unrelenting fashion
that you almost miss the small undercurrents of noisy gasps, buried buzzing,
and frantic yet desperate squalls. This
to me is a crucial element to what makes LHD such a great formulation. Its more than just harsh for the sake of
harsh. LHD are able to evoke textures
and feeling in amidst the miasma of caustic noise pissing in your face. It is incredible how they manage to create
something absolutely deadly yet majestic at the same time, much like their Los
Angeles home base.
So the bottom line is this, if you
like your noise administered like a fist to the face then get this collection
immediately. LHD takes you on a bleak
ride through a devastated dystopian nightmare and leaves you laying there
wondering what the fuck just happened.
Go to www.iheartnoise.com and get
your shivering mitts on this collection.
You can even go a step further and get both “In Mono” and “Even Still”
for a special package price. Do it
fuckers.
LHD “Even Still” / 2xCD/ Helicopter + Troniks
Here is
another lavishly packaged collection of frequency wrecking diatribes courtesy
of LHD. Much like the companion piece “In
Mono,” this 2 disc collection documents LHD’s recorded output from the years 2002
to 2007. Right from the first 2 tracks
on disc one, LHD is handing you your ass.
Disc one kicks of with chaotic, schizophrenic jags fraught with synaptic
errors that keep you guessing. However,
LHD does not simply throw themselves and their gear down the stairs, they
settle into a catatonic blast that remains focused on the violence and leaves
nuance to languish in the far distance.
However,
this is not to suggest that LHD just does the HNW thing that so many artists
resort to. Not at all, this crew knows
how to let the textures come in and out of focus organically. All hints of reprieve are simply new
opportunities to strangle you in and out of consciousness, there really is no
let up. Making engaging noise is a fine
balancing act that can often teeter into generic territories no matter which
way one falls, LHD manages to tread a gloomy yet gloriously nerve wrecking
path.
Especially
unsettling is the track “Hotel Fire” which is a yawning furnace of despair. This track is a rusted out factory yawning
out a fiery final cry for help, which of course never comes. The next 2 tracks “Rau” and “Wasp” are
previously unreleased, and I am unsure why because these are just as toxic and
raging as the rest of their work. Disc
one concludes with the track “Fascination” which of course is another banger rife
with pulverizing throat cutting goodness.
Disc 2 jumps
right in with “Triple Void 1” which sees LHD being joined by Hive Mind head
honcho Greh Holger. This track is another
ear scouring jaunt complete with gloomy waves creeping in and out from the layer
of face on concrete dragging harshness. Here
come the blackened sirens call blasting forth through the grime, it fills the
open space with a glorious death yell. Yes,
this team up works as you can probably gather, powerful stuff.
“Triple Void 2” features another LHD team up,
this time with Oakland California’s own Gerritt. I have experienced Gerritt live and it was a
disorienting experience that I still regale to all the homies. Here again, this team up works as all parties involved
liked to dish out the punishment. Their
combined might is dense, nearly impenetrable if not for the high-pitched
feedback squalls signaling to the listener that you might want to get out of
the building.
“Trap” is strangely not as loud as many
of the other compositions, but its noxious fumes are a sure sign that society
is collapsing. While it can sometimes
bother me when tracks are not quite as loud as others; this here is an
exception. The shifting layers and tones
make this a very engaging listen for the entirely of its considerable
length.
The final two pieces on this
collection “Electrophorus” and “Capri” are both monolithic compositions that bellow,
fall to pieces, and emit piercing metal on metal scorches. These could be the 2 heaviest tracks on the
entire collection but this could of course be debatable. In classic fashion LHD cultivates a dense,
raging current that crumbles and has its way with your hearing. The concluding moments of “Electrophorus” are
especially interesting as the track gives way to a brittle layer of crumbly
leaves. “Capri” has moments where the
end surely should arrive, the stumbling, the wavering, but then returns to saw
away at your patience just a little bit more before beating a hasty garbled
retreat, almost a hollow apology.
In making some sort of comparison
between these two collections is nearly impossible. As a listener I love both for varied
reasons. “In Mono” maintains a pacing
which is hard to deny. However, “Even Still”
has a wider sonic palette, complete with some guest appearances by 2 of the
noise world’s heaviest hitters.
Additionally, “Even Still” has unreleased material which will surely
excite the completists out there.
Ultimately though the choice is clear, in
order to fully submerge yourself in the world of true California dystopian
harshness such as what LHD issues forth, you must own both collections. Head on over to www.iheartnoise.com and join in on the welcome
back party along with this momentous collaboration between Helicopter and Troniks. You can order both of these sets for a special discounted price. Do not fuck this up, you have your marching
orders soldier, now do it.
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