review of BLACK NOISE CANNON's UNSAVED: THE REALITY OF THE SILENT WAR
by www.rawnervepromotions.co.uk
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With a running time of just short of an hour for just 3 songs, and definitely a very dark outlook in the lyrics and general titles/artwork combination, I was expecting, nay hoping for a full on doom spree.
In fact, this is more of a minimal ambient spree as the first 8 minutes of "A descriptive introduction to the silent war" is beatless, and all just based on beautifully swarming, floating atmospheres, before the introduction of marching band style snare rolls add to the drama, hypnosis and all round brilliance of this opening piece. Finally, at the 10 minute mark, the rest of the band drops in the thoroughly evil, plodding, sinister doom notes that brings to mind Esoteric mostly, and Bethlehem (the slower parts of the Dark Metal album). BLACK NOISE CANNON manage to convey their mood amazingly well with very simplistic notation, and the intensity of the middle, calmer section, with single chiming guitar notes and deep, eerie piano hits almost freezes time.
Vocals arrive after just over 22 minutes, and all of a sudden a very Godflesh inspired trip unfolds as that weird, droning, speaking style delivery becomes BNC's aide to view their thoughts.
All in all, this is an incredible opener that takes up half the album, and must be heard by fans of anything slow, atmospheric and disturbing.
"There will be tomorrow" has a lighter opening verse and reminds me a little of Sloth, Melvins, but still the Godflesh influence is there to be seen in the chorus, and flows really well from the starting monster. A word that gets over-used in music sometimes, and more freely than it perhaps should, can be reserved for this band, and that word is apocalyptic, thoroughly apocalyptic in fact, with lyrics like "Destroy yourself, since you can't destroy anything else, now lose yourself, since you've lost everything else" and "it comes in waves, and it always ends the same way" help to give the music an even more tormenting, distraught stranglehold.
"The reality of silence" is the relative calm after the storm as lighter, more emotionally sung vocals ring out over softer music and less discordant chords. The whole thing becomes very cathartic as this third song takes shape and takes hold.
What a recording!
Fans of Godflesh, doom, sludge, ambient and deep music in general really need to hear this album!
***
We plot. We execute. We speak on your behalf. We do not assault the senses, rather, we celebrate, and attempt to legitimize the senses. A catalyst for the politics of the next breath.
Our songs are generally too long for the MySpace player. Go to: http://www.blacknoisecannon.com/music.shtml to hear two songs.
BUY our record through iTunes .
