Hell + II

Posted 31 January 2012 Music Reviews, Reviews

“Through me you pass into the city of woe:
Through me you pass into eternal pain:
Through me among the people lost for aye.
…
Before me things create were none, save things
Eternal, and eternal I shall endure.
All hope abandon, ye who enter here.”

Words are a necessary evil when dealing in the unsavoury business of describing music and sound. Crude though it may be, my first reaction to Hell II was simply… “HOLY FUCK!!!”

The first thirty seconds of listening were like the blast of heat that comes from opening the door to a furnace oven: It doesn’t so much as seer you with flame; it physically bowls you over like a tidal wave as the heat rushes out. It was literally enough to knock me on my ass being that I actaully needed to stop what I was doing in order to sit down, listen and give this my full attention.

No sooner had the initial shock subsided than a scorched, infernal voice calls out. I’m not sure if was a greeting of sorts, an utterance of damnation or perhaps a bit of both. One thing I am certain of: This was one of those rare moments where you realize an artist isn’t simply giving a performance. What I’m hearing in that voice is something that is being channeled from… well, you know. In any case, it was enough to make the hairs on the back of my neck stand up. All of this in the first three minutes of play.

Listening on, I’ll admit to being so super-stoked that I skipping through the album a bit just to see where things were going. Upon realizing that the damned infernal madness that I was hearing was in fact going to be a sustained listening experience, it dawned on me that this is the result of very serious and dire ambition. Hell II isn’t a work that simply paints a picture, it’s an active vehicle of transmigration that actually takes the listener there.

The album is forged of four parts: “Gog”, “Mental”, “Umbilicus” and “Trucid” which very between 8:00 and 20:00 minutes in length. Left to simpler minds, Hell II might be defined as “sludge” or “doom” (sloom??). Or perhaps “blasphemous drone” or “blackened noise”. Or as my dearly departed grandfather used to refer it, “that goddamn devil music”. However, thinking in these sorts of limited terms is to take away from what’s really going on here. It would be pointless to give a play-by-play description of the songs themselves.

Although it yields itself to chaos, there is still a strong sense of cohesion on this recording. In some respects, it’s not at all surprising that given the sort of singular vision put forward on Hell II is the work of a lone gunman. The album is credited to “M.S.W.” of Salem, Oregon who is also the mind behind Merkstave and Elu of the Nine.

Although it is a challenging piece, I should point out that Hell II is rather well recorded – schorched, crushing and yet not at all painful to listen to. Rather than being a collage of interesting noise, this is a piece that is best heard in it’s entirety as there is a definitely an orchestrated feel to it which resolves in a meaningful way.

Originally released on cassette via Eternal Warfare in 2010, Hell II has been brought forth in the form of vinyl in December of 2011 by the renowned Pesanta Urfolk. While I’d seldom frown upon those who take pains to put an attractive looking package together, the world has seen plenty of well-packaged turds. However, Hell II is the sort of release that not only deserves a fine touch and attention to detail – it DEMANDS it based solely on the quality of the music.

There are countless others who have set out with the same sort of intentions, but few have captured the horror of their surroundings so vividly and so well. Hell II is a definitive reminder that music begins as a sensory experience but is ultimately a journey and expression of the soul. Where this path lead? Heaven only knows.