Glaukom Synod - Androjungleous

Rating: 8.3

Country: France

Release Date: 2007

Track list:
1. Cumult
2. Androjungleous
3. Propulse (Transcend 2)
4. Oestropathologia
5. Androjungleous (The Cave Mix)
6. Abstinence and Enucleation
7. Genome Cancroide (Hydrolicism X27)
8. Poboznosc
9. Centrifugal Dominator (Remix of Groundzero Deathtrap)
10. Visual Hallucination (Remix of Dysphemic)
11. Hydrocephalizer

Band Website: Glaukom Synod

Glaukom Synod - Androjungleous

Gabriel Skowron - Everything

A brief glance at the black and white cover image and blocky white text had me idly thinkin' that this might be a d-beat laden slab of fusty ol' Crust, but my predictions couldn't've been more inaccurate, seein' as this is an Electronic/Industrial/Noise affair, replete with pulsin' rhythms, chrome-plated drum patterns, whirrin' groove mechanisms, swirly soundscape capers and a few ear bashin' blobs of noise. This is actually a project created by Gabriel Skowron, who many of you might know from the French webzine, Nihilistic Holocaust, which doubles as a label peddlin' the works of numerous Thrash, Death and Grind bands still with old skool mentality and aesthetics, scraped out from the dustiest corners of the underground and slapped onto his roster, such as Impureza, Rammer, Hellspawn and Hutt, as well as a slew of comps and stuff.

So, this is a drum-machine driven affair, with all kinds of different broken up rhythms and unpredictable patterns that stutter and stammer all over the place, whilst numerous layers of whirrin', swirlin' VST instruments and patches swarm around them. There are also infrequent bursts of heavily gated guitar segmentation and random explosions of jarrin', face-gratin' noise, along with a wee bit of splurgy vokill gurgle. To your shite-faced reviewer, Androjungelous is quite an anomalous affair, and you can never be sure what kind of unsettlin' sounds might be waitin' around the corner ready to pour themselves into yer ears. Though the judderin' rhythms are almost always present, the other elements get sprayed all over the shop in a highly changeable fashion, seein' as one moment you'll be noddin' away to adrenaline-infused club beats filled with dirty synth-parps, the next you'll could be lobbed face-first into a pool of white-hot noise, afore havin' your digitally inflicted wounds soothed in extremely twee, saccharinous daftness, only to be chucked right back into the middle of the disjointed mayhem before you can process what's goin' on. So what you have here is hectic electronic horror that encompasses poundin' Industrial Metal, scattery Breakcore, grubby Cyber Pornogrind and ear-shreddin' Harsh Noise to give you an enormously volatile beast that slobbers away at your face. It has ominous overtones and a murky, hallucinogenic feel, but also has a whimsical heart, buried under swathes of rubbery, unclean flesh and slimy synth-sinews.

On the Cybergrind corner of the Glaukom Synod coin, I could hear what S.M.E.S. [review] would sound like if Erwin de Groot sprouted extra limbs and heads and stuff, givin' him greater scope for sound manipulatin', pattern-mashin' and plug-in clickin'. I felt a grimy, bleary eyed yet still thoroughly energized kind of Libido Airbag guiltiness as the filth gushed thru my system and had me dancin' like a twat, ultimately leadin' me into a harrowing, Nihil Fist-type comedown. Along the way, I experienced a diverse range of flashy, strobey visions, includin' glimmers of Industrial veterans G.G.F.H., traily swirls of eGrind gurners Ganglia and some very vague Gigantic Brain apparitions, plus many lethal shards of Breakcore luminary, Venetian Snares.

The bulk of it is made on his computer/workstation with any analogue elements from outside it being processed to buggery once they're in, so you can expect a decent sound quality and some creative mixing and experiments with atmospheres and textures.

I liked this a lot. If you're an Electronic/Industrial listener and enjoy Grind and noisy, lo-fi stuff as well, then you'll like it too. In fact, if you're after some current Cyber/Grind debauch, then you might like to get this and the Eyetofuk/Putrid Whore split [review] for an extended bout of sordid listenin'.

May 27th, 2008