Crucial Blast on Bereft 7-Inch

 

 

 

 

 

BEREFT   Tough Man   7" VINYL   (Bloodlust!)

A couple of the older "private series" 7" Eps from Bloodlust! turned up recently, allowing us to get both the hard-to-find Whorebutcher 7" and this 2006 Ep from the misanthropic New England power electronics duo Bereft in stock for the first time. As with the rest of Bereft's stuff, this is ultra-heavy shit that combines a hardcore-influenced vocal attack with excoriating lyrics and ferocious electronic noise. The a-side track "Tough Man" immediately launches into a sonic assault of extreme high-end feedback and distorted rabid vocals, a ferocious seething power electronics delivery that repeats the threatening lyrics over and over for maximum effect, while harsh rhythmic rumblings detonate beneath the acidic high-end skree, growing into the monstrous mechanical vibrations that take over the final few minutes. Real fuckin' intense. The other track "Religious Leaders" is at first a departure from the aggression on the first track, unleashing massive waves of cosmic synthdrift and metallic drone across deep, reverberating blasts of percussive power, creating a really heavy death industrial feel. The demonic vocals are situated deeper in the mix, adding to the malevolent atmosphere, but then it evolves into something harsher, erupting into roars of collapsing metal and nuclear blast distortion, transforming into a slow-moving and monstrous maelstrom of broken metal and irradiated synth noise that dominates the last few minutes of the side.
 
Comes in a plain white sleeve with a xeroxed insert, limited to three hundred copies.

http://www.crucialblastshop.net/

New B! Reviews on Unlistenable Music

From: http://unlistenablemusic.blogspot.com/

BEREFT - TOUGH MAN 7" (BLOODLUST!)
Tough little PE record from a few years back, showcasing a different BEREFT lineup without the current presence of Andrew Grant, instead featuring additional electronics by someone named Dan Fox from a project called LOSS. Beautiful white vinyl that runs at 33 rpm, the A-side "Tough Man" features high-end feedback (something that always sounds so beautiful when pressed onto vinyl) with Peter Lee's threatening vocal snarling about a "five year plan." Strange, otherworldly electronic hooks fade in from the distance, weird sounds that stay in the background but add an additional drama to the sound of the record. B-side, "Religious Leaders" sounds more like the throbbing and lurching BEREFT sound of their recent material, with piercing high end electronic noise jutting in at times. Strong and crunchy production once again sounds fantastic on this nice looking white record. Cryptic and sparse artwork, this record remains impressive upon repeated listens. A killer slice of early BEREFT sound abuse.

BEREFT - YOUR MESSIAH WILL FAIL CD (BLOODLUST!)
For those hoping that new American President Barack Obama would bring hope and change, New England Power Electronics unit BEREFT is here to tell you that "Your Messiah Will Fail." This CD is incredible, and light-years ahead of the other recent releases by the group (aside from possibly their split LP with FIRE IN THE HEAD which I have yet to hear), this release finds the perfect fusion of BEREFT's interest in dark and atmospheric electronics with a strong and unique American PE vocal delivery. Strong snarled vocals over very powerful industrial synth and noise work gives this work a very unique feel, this release in particular bring the BEREFT sound into a 90s European death industrial sort of sound, which is enjoying a very welcome comeback in the world of modern PE. Strong and thundering drums are used at several points to very strong effect, sometimes bringing to mind a fusion of PE, death industrial, and Neo-folk influence. The title track in particular has an extremely intense buildup with powerful payoff as the final seven minutes or so of the 15 minute track sound like the coming of Armageddon- war drums, harsh electronics, and what sounds like a recording of Tibetan Monks calling on the mighty savior Gompo with horns made out of human thighbones. Back to a blistering synth sound on "Just One Bullet," as the sound of a crackling synthesizer note is carried through many different variations in texture and sound, all with a destructive and unstoppable crackling harshness. BEREFT has a very high-tech sound that is easy on the ears but still bludgeoningly brutal. Another element in this music, in the basic construction and performance, is a tasteful influence coming from a hardcore punk background and interest that keeps the subject matter and composition of the songs firmly anchored in the real world. Much of the sound is based on percussive blasts of repetitive minimal electronics, but the sound is always very carefully crafted and specific. Very cool PE release that rides the line between cold and harsh Industrial electronics with very definite modern PE elements, bringing them together for a compelling hour of destruction.

MASTURBATORY DYSFUNCTION - GETTING CAUGHT CD (BLOODLUST!)
Interesting project from the West coast aimed around sneaking into Guitar Center and recording personal demonstrations on the sly. Recordings are all of full-volume synth blasts and sometimes long and meditative Death Industrial cold synth sort of feel. Interesting theme, and kudos to Bloodlust for giving a voice to this unconventional and frankly very strange project that is definitely worth a listen. Worth picking up for the curiousity of it, but also for the most part very atmospheric and pleasant synth work with a very dark overall theme.

Existence Establishment on Bereft

A really nice new review from Existence Establishment

Bereft – Your Messiah Will Fail CDR

9 August 2010 No Comment

Bereft – Your Messiah Will Fail CDR

Bloodlust!

Your Messiah Will Fail is a New England project that consists of Peter Lee (patron of Force of Nature Productions and former member of :MOMENT:) and Andy Grant (patron of Danvers State Recordings and sole member of The Vomit Arsonist). What happens when these two heavy-weights of noise collaborate? Basically one of the most intense noise and power electronics albums to hit my stereo for a while.

The first two tracks here are completely devastating. “Hidden Agenda” within seconds is balls deep in blasts of in-your-face screeching and distorted noise with gruff vocals screaming on top to form a rough power electronics experience. Oddly placed at second in the lineup is the title track “Your Messiah Will Fail” which is also the longest track on the album clocking in at no less than 15 minutes. Thankfully this is also the best track here starting off with a heavy drone that features some very detailed and interesting feedback interruptions that purely sound like nothing I’ve heard before. The track is long but doesn’t ever feel like it’s meandering because each moment heightens the tension-release of the composition until finally I find myself in a rhythmic torrent and winds of distorted noise proving to be an intense destructive force. I really can’t get over how great this track is, it just destroys me.

The next two tracks “Just One Bullet” and “No Change in Sight” are a little more freeform but still retain the burliness of Bereft’s aggressive sound with perhaps a little more experimentation. “Grinding Out” follows suit and is a meandering wall of monolithic harsh noise. Finally things are reeled in once again with “A Wall of Promises” which features a rhythmic pulse of cut up noise and some harmonic synth lines somewhat reminding me of Steel Hook Prostheses, yet another solid track on the album.

“No Choice/Victim” marks the beginning of the end with a subtle pulse joining whining feedback and more high-pitched vocals screams tilting more toward a Sutcliffe Jugend reference. It works on the same level with raw low-end blasts and the slowly morphing filters providing a great gesture to accentuate the delayed layers of noise. Finally “Resolution” breaks in to close out the disc and immediately reminds me a lot of the title track with it’s droning hums and odd feedback harmonies which eventually work up into some strange meandering melody. I really enjoy how the inevitable degrading of the feedback signal leads into these almost watery textures and finally to a dull lo-fi pulse which eventually leads to an unexpected synthesized serial-sounding textures that sound like it could be right out of a 70s psych-out movie. Point and case; it’s a unique and unpredictable closer that is effective and creative.

On top of all this the production quality is so burly with intense mids and highs and unbelievable lows. The recording is loud as fuck and with such intense aggressive noise Your Messiah Will Fail is an extremely brutal album but also one that has thought and some interesting twists and turns behind it. It’s a detailed effort and takes at least a few listens to scrape the surface of what’s going on here. Excellent work.

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