Graveflowers

This is not only a split, but a collaboration between Cordell Klier (aka Monstrare) and James Keeler (aka Wilt), as each worked from sound sources supplied by the other. This album is much better if you reverse its order and play Wilt's half before Monstrare's. In that order, Graveflowers seems to make more sense and provide a more intense experience. Both artists work in the darker realms of glitch, noise, and industrial music. Wilt's four tracks take us as close as possible to the front of a raging war. A deadly wind blows over the plains, carrying the echoes of falling bombs, explosions, and the despair the earth itself exhales as it is being relentlessly pummeled. It sounds like we are underground, just a little too close to the action to be truly safe. Everything happens in the lower frequency range, from roars to distorted screeches. Occasionally, a lone mid- or high-note passes through, but it is soon eradicated. Monstrare's half seems to present the aftermath. We visit the ruins of cathedrals and plants, the walls still echoing the recent destruction: vast, empty, devastated places. Monstrare's set is somewhat calmer, peaceful, but electronic activity resurfaces amidst the remnants of civilization. Wilt's music is doom-laden and paced very slowly, his "Hemophilic Root Plow" evoking Doc Wör Mirran's Soundtrack of Death. Graveflowers is not a jolly listen, but it offers a very powerful and convincing take on the essence of dark noise. ~ François Couture, Rovi