‘Division One’ by Sistrenatus

HIDDEN away in the province of British Columbia, Sistrenatus is the cavernous brainchild of Harlow MacFarlane. His previous incarnation, of course, was as Funerary Call, through which a spate of disturbing titles were released between 1996 and 2004 on, amongst others, the well-respected Fossil Dungeon and Fluttering Dragon labels. My favourite of these, ‘Beckoning at the Black’ (2004), was particularly good, especially the brilliant ‘Hill of Skull and Bone’. This present CD, however, which is adorned with grim images of barbed wire, power switches, brick walls and dark recesses, only serves to further enhance the growing reputation of its creator. But whilst very little is known about Western Canada’s leading exponent of Dark Ambient, the music speaks for itself. ‘I’ is a cacophony of slamming doors and clanking chains, full of melancholic squeaks, runaway shopping trollies and indecipherable vocal samples. ‘II’ begins immediately with the ching-ching of hammer against anvil and is infused with electronic discord and cascading water. Rhythmic machines seem to resemble marching feet and here and there sharp electric bursts appear on the scene, but again, the theme involves more slamming doors and conversations centred on the subject of incinerators: ‘Tell me about it, what the hell happened?’ Track ‘III’ is more of a Power Electronics affair, bustling with discerning vocals and jagged shards of feedback. A few extra layers are added and the sound becomes a whip-lashed blend of beeps and radio interference. The low voice at the beginning of ‘IV’ is soon channelled into a steady thumping and sounds like someone trying to tarmac an airport runway in the rush hour. The arrival of ‘V’, meanwhile, is marked by a combination of echoed clattering and a constant droning that eventually becomes a mixture of tubular muzak, machine gun fire, metallic shuddering and a sustained electronic gale-force that could part your hair at twenty paces. ‘VI’ has a slight choral dimension going on, submerged as it is beneath the sound of breaking glass, multi-tonal swirls, relentless throbbing and a vocal breathlessness. By comparison, ‘VII’ is fairly gentle at first, but the melodic strains of a 1920s ballroom are suddenly interrupted by the voice of a newsreader and what sounds like something forcibly entering a tooth cavity. I love the militaristic feel of this track, with its pounding bass juxtaposed by a discordant screeching and a cut-glass English accent that has been completely dissected and rearranged. Fantastic stuff. The sampling used for ‘VIII’ is delivered with a broad Yorkshire accent and there is a lot of violence and aggression in this track, the Industrial and Noise elements combining perfectly like two disparate peas in a rotten pod. The final track, ‘IX’, is the best on the album and makes for a great finale. This is an uncompromising war dance at which everything –including the kitchen sink – has been hurled with wild abandon. Martial discipline meets metallic frenzy in a futuristic war of the machines and all conducted on the plains of Waterloo. Eventually, the snare drums subside and the uncontrollable forces of iron and steel triumph. There’s no doubt about it, ‘Division One’ is easy listening for disturbed minds. For more information, please visit: www.sistrenatus.com