Black Lung - The Soul Consumer
David Thrussell is certainly not the lazy type of an artist. Since 1994, i.e. the year in which he founded Black Lung, he has released at least 10 LP’s of this project, not to mention the abundance of EP’s, singles and compilations which happened in between. ‘The Soul Consumer’ is his latest work, which I happened upon thanks to the sampler CD from Ad Noiseam label, which included one of the tracks from the LP. So, did the main dish of the full length tasted as good as the aperitif served on the compilation? Well, the matter is not as simple as I would like it to be.
For starters, a pinch of facts. The music of Black Lung revolves around industrial genre and something which is called technoid, a mixture of breakcore, IDM and power noise. That’s theory. In practice, the album is supplemented with dynamic percussion sections, which I personally associate with acid jazz, but that’s just my opinion. Tracks such as ‘The First Tender Cut’ (perfect for the dance floor), or ‘The Soul Consumer’ are the ones I found the most interesting due to the already mentioned rhythm. The rest of the tunes are a bit more classic, but that does not mean they are worse. ‘Sappic Tryst and Burnt Lips’ is an interesting example of IDM/industrial sounds, which is the same for ‘Secculent Bruises and Bruised Roses’. ‘Mr. Love Teeth’ has a trance feeling to it, and tracks such as ‘Nights Spent Dreaming of the Slab’ or ‘The Brazen Cellar Stomp’ incorporate classic ambient and noise glitches respectively. At this point, however, I realized what bothers me most while listening to the album. Usually I am not against blending of various genres, but only if done in suitable proportions. Unfortunately, the proportions on ‘The Soul Consumer’ are somewhat unbalanced, which deprives the album of its consistency. Another downside is the last original track offering 10 minutes of uninteresting industrial ambient (the ‘2 Minutes Silence’ does not count because, well, its just two minutes of silence). Additionally, there is also a remix of ‘Mr. Love Teeth’ which sounds like a tune from Aphex Twin.
Apart from a few drawbacks, ‘The Soul Consumer’ is an album worthy of recommendation, offering plenty of good musical experiences (the total length of the LP is over an hour!). Moreover, anyone finding the music of Black Lung to their liking, are welcome to explore the prolific past of the artist, which I’m sure will consume their time in abundance.
Tracklist:
01. Symphony For The Damned
02. The First Tender Cut
03. The Soul Consumer
04. Sapphic Trysts And Burnt Lips
05. Mr Love Teeth
06. Nights Spent Dreaming Of The Slab
07. The Brazen Cellar Stomp
08. Succulent Bruises And Bruised Roses
09. Curdled On Waxen Floors
10. If the Soul Resides In The Flesh
11. Moontide and Muzak
12. Sauteed Outre Members
13. The Ebullient Memorial
15. Mr Love Teeth (Afterlife remix by Monster X)
For starters, a pinch of facts. The music of Black Lung revolves around industrial genre and something which is called technoid, a mixture of breakcore, IDM and power noise. That’s theory. In practice, the album is supplemented with dynamic percussion sections, which I personally associate with acid jazz, but that’s just my opinion. Tracks such as ‘The First Tender Cut’ (perfect for the dance floor), or ‘The Soul Consumer’ are the ones I found the most interesting due to the already mentioned rhythm. The rest of the tunes are a bit more classic, but that does not mean they are worse. ‘Sappic Tryst and Burnt Lips’ is an interesting example of IDM/industrial sounds, which is the same for ‘Secculent Bruises and Bruised Roses’. ‘Mr. Love Teeth’ has a trance feeling to it, and tracks such as ‘Nights Spent Dreaming of the Slab’ or ‘The Brazen Cellar Stomp’ incorporate classic ambient and noise glitches respectively. At this point, however, I realized what bothers me most while listening to the album. Usually I am not against blending of various genres, but only if done in suitable proportions. Unfortunately, the proportions on ‘The Soul Consumer’ are somewhat unbalanced, which deprives the album of its consistency. Another downside is the last original track offering 10 minutes of uninteresting industrial ambient (the ‘2 Minutes Silence’ does not count because, well, its just two minutes of silence). Additionally, there is also a remix of ‘Mr. Love Teeth’ which sounds like a tune from Aphex Twin.
Apart from a few drawbacks, ‘The Soul Consumer’ is an album worthy of recommendation, offering plenty of good musical experiences (the total length of the LP is over an hour!). Moreover, anyone finding the music of Black Lung to their liking, are welcome to explore the prolific past of the artist, which I’m sure will consume their time in abundance.
Tracklist:
01. Symphony For The Damned
02. The First Tender Cut
03. The Soul Consumer
04. Sapphic Trysts And Burnt Lips
05. Mr Love Teeth
06. Nights Spent Dreaming Of The Slab
07. The Brazen Cellar Stomp
08. Succulent Bruises And Bruised Roses
09. Curdled On Waxen Floors
10. If the Soul Resides In The Flesh
11. Moontide and Muzak
12. Sauteed Outre Members
13. The Ebullient Memorial
15. Mr Love Teeth (Afterlife remix by Monster X)
