Control & Grunt & Moribund & Propergol - 'St Bartholomew's Day' 2xC-30

sic19

Control
1. Blood Will Flow
2. Militia Of Force (mp3 excerpt)

Grunt
1. Bloody Streets

Moribund
1. Aug. 24, 1572
2. Soaked (mp3 excerpt)
3. Te Deum

Propergol
1. Le Tocsin Des Croix Blanches

first edition of 100 copies released February 14, 2005
second edition of 100 copies released May 13, 2006
first edition of 100 copies - SOLD OUT
second edition of 100 copies - SOLD OUT

Reviews

This is a double cassette compilation that features four bands, each getting their own side of one of the tapes. Which means about 15 minutes a piece. It's nicely packaged in a double cassette box with full color artwork. The premise behind this collection deals with the St. Bartholomew's Day Massacre, in which the French Army and Roman Catholic clergy attacked and slaughtered tens of thousands of unarmed Protestants in little more than a week.
Control is first up with two tracks of the bristling rhythmic Power Electronics he's come to be known for. Densely composed "Blood Will Flow" builds from a rhythmic throb of loops and is expanded on with shifting layers of grating noise, electronics and feverish screams that still manages to be both vicious and convey an atmospheric horror at the same time. "Militia Of Force" is the second track and while the cyclic foundation isn't quite as out front it's still there providing the root work for the more biting frequencies, rusty textures and vocals atop it.
Side B is occupied by Grunt with the single track "Bloody Streets." This is a dirty, snarled track of scathing feedback and rugged distortion built up from a deep sub bass drone that gives the sounds a steady driving power. There is a crude brutality to it, I'm not sure what it is, but the fractured nature of the distortion and the cutting highs of the feedback with that steady throb really get the point across. As the track progresses, the sonics become a bit more minimal and the abrupt vocals shouts come in briefly and that ultimately gives way to the ambient drones that end the track.
Tape two brings us to Moribund, who gives us three tracks. "Aug. 24, 1572" is a rapidly pulsing track with spoken and shouted processed vocals, and intermittent mid and hi frequency electronics sweeping through that eventually build to a grimy, harsh climax of feedback and sputtering noise. "Soaked" is next with an oddly rhythmic pulse cycle, and some low-fi screech distortions, it's a short track. The final piece, "Te Deum", begins more subdued than the others and gradually piles on the corrosion and piercing hi end.
Propergol brings it home with a single track "Le Tocsin Des Croix Blanches." It begins very atmospherically with church bells and a nervous ambience. Distant clangs, scrapes and windswept drama build the cinematic tension erupting briefly and slinking back to the distance. I kept expecting the track to explode with the worming throb of electronics that have become Propergol's calling card, but it never does. He keeps the whole track panting with a dread that is tangible, but that never screams out.
This is a first rate collection. Despite it being a cassette, none of these artists phoned it in, everyone presents strong work and the sound quality is great. I believe the first edition of the release is now sold out from the label but I think there is a second edition in the works.
Scott
Taken from Worm Gear

The history books tell us that on the 24th. of August, 1572, a general uprising of catholics against protestants resulted in a massacre of holocaust proportions in France. Some say this was a suggestion of Catherine de' Medici in response to failed attempts to curtail the rebellious Admiral de Coligny (who, it is said, died honourably and with courage at the hands of his oppressors). Others that it was at the bidding of the French court's Jesuit spritual advisor to a supposively (and apparently, at the time, quite pissed) decadent rulership. Others, that it was royal house feuding that got out of hand in the general bigotry and time of civil warfare. The role of the Holy See at the time, Pius V, seems duplicious at the least. The Emperor Gregory XIII, whose coat of arms was a satanic dragon, had a coin struck to commemorate the event. For both catholics and protestants, the jury still seems to be out; but at the toll of the castle bells, so the story goes, the murders began, with the stabbing and be-heading of Coligny and then, like a terrible plague, to everyone else. The numbers of the dead reached the tens of thousands; 11,000 in the Cemetary Of The Innocents alone. The Seine was chocked with corpses. Those not slaughtered where enslaved. Some took the opportunity to plunder the houses of the rich, despite religious denomination. Atrocities where commited against the very corpses. Both soldier and civilian took part in the orgy. Apparently Pope John Paul, in an effort to be remembered as history's man of reconciliation, has offered a recognition of and apology for the crimes. No doubt humanity will wait centuries for an apology for the church's blind eye to the Shoah.
In any case, some people have cast their minds back to that time and have come up with ... interesting results.
Getting Control to start the proceedings was a great idea. A fine blend of different generated and effected sounds that rise quickly and accumulate to get that satisfying psychedelic crunch without relying on just one sound source. The alarms of heaven raised to no avail; let the holocaust begin. Sounds like a voice in there too, in the first track "Blood Will Flow" (yea, not the most origional of track titles, but anyway), either calling to destruction or responding in curse. Voices of the oppressor and the oppressed in abhorrent harmony. Nice looped stuff. Then "Militia Of Force" (this could be any Noise release with titles like that, really) is a build-up of higher pitched tones and more looped variation; I like how Control really mix disparate sounds rather than form some tasteless aural pudding. One can enjoy following the different flows being swept in the stream. More vocals but once again, part of the overall sound. A pity no lyrics where present with the packagin.
Grunt; normally I quite like Grunt, and Mikko Aspa's presence on this release was one of the reasons I got it, but I can't help feeling he's going through the motions on this track. I had rather hoped for something along the lines of "Europe After Rain", but this track "Bloody Streets" is mainly feedback fuckaround, first half with a grainy drone in the background, then with the feedback sounding annoyingly like a creaky door opening and closing. Add to this some fairly trad sounding noise crunch, and you've got a track that's decent, but Grunt can do better.
Moribund get down and dirty with a nice down and dirty shuddering pulse laced with high synthy woodles, a grubby sound that also likes to sneak around the floorboards looking for feet to massage. The second track "Soaked" still has that dirty hue over it's sound although like Grunt it also gets pretty obsessed with the feedback. Lots of flanger effects on this thing too. Impossible to sus vocals swell under the thick film of grime. Moribun's final track is much more satisfying, deep, growling pulsing synths and burning distorted effects not too overuled by the ever-present feedback. Some fine control of the sounds here, an interesting lo-fi atmosphere.
As for Propergol, he digs deep into the darkwave well to fish out sonorous sounds that flee from speaker to speaker, mixing nicely different samples and synthesized sounds to darken the day and chill the air. Much more tour de force than the other projects, and fortunately doesn't get all wanky-droney but maintains a lot of composition in the soundtrack. Laying on the echo is always a good idea. More than a passing nod to Lustmord with the background fog-horn style sounds and wooshing effects. I don't listen to a lot of darkwave-esque music these days but "Le Tocsin Des Croix Blanches" at least doesn't outstay its welcome as it gets a bit nasty after a while. I particularly liked the low rumbling drone that came in about halfway as the wind occilates through the deserted and corpse-ridden streets. Highly evocative. Things get even nastier from there. You can smell the death and feel the flies landing on you. The synths are growling, the speakers shiver in stress, visions unbidden remind the listener of the tale. Someone make a video for this thing.
This, then, is another above average release from Cipher. Crionic Media also deserve credit for the superb packaging, professional looking job with snazzy graphics, very Cold Meat Industry in fact.
Taken from Taped Crusaders