Well, this is another one of those unfortunate situations where a limited tape has sold out before we had a chance to get to the review. The good news is that Rainbow Bridge puts all of their sold out goodies online for free download via bandcamp, so if you find yourself interested in this release, you can make your way there or write the label for a link. Of course, there are plenty of other releases to be found from the projects featured here — all three of which also have other releases on Rainbow Bridge. False Flag gets the entire A side of this cassette and it’s no surprise as this is the project of the person behind Rainbow Bridge, Justin Marc Lloyd. Scant is the solo project of Virginian Matt Boettke, otherwise known as Sex Complex. Outside of a cassette entitled “Cloud Consumption” in 2011 on Kafkex Rex, his entire discography has been released through Rainbow Bridge. Whitewater Orgasm is a project whose founder is difficult to place, but one thing is for sure: they create some of the most intense and abrasive power electronics in the scene today. After all, it takes a bit more than amateur brutality to make it onto the roster of L. White Records.
False Flag’s specific style of noise-based carnage revolves around the concept of the New World Order and “government-sponsored terrorism as a pretext for total human enslavement” and everything that that theme brings with it including various conspiracy theories. “Explosions from the Inside”, the opening track to False Flag’s side of the split, seems to echo the idea that the twin towers were brought down via a controlled demolition rather than the heat from the planes that slammed into them. This is represented through solid walls of noise that embody the inferno above as well as the coming explosions all around. Moderate amounts of shrill electronic experimentation flutter through the mix of the entire eight and a half-minute track, being broken up by moments of choppy, broken sound. This noise-wall approach seems to falter in the secondary tracks, opting for a complete collapse into low-end drone and high-end harshness, playing back and forth at symbolising the final collapse through sound and the deafening silence that followed for those within the rubble. Taken as a symbolic journey with the images from that day in mind, these three tracks develop a central and authentic dread that is focused around alternative views of what really happened. In the end, False Flag’s side is taken to new disturbing heights with the inclusion of UK ex-Prime Minister Gorden Brown’s speech on the emergence of the New World Order and the realization of what that brings for the future, specifically for Britain.
Scant’s track, “Side by Side, Alone” is a work of harsh noise wall that, while having the potential to be a powerful blast of mid and low-end sound, suffers here from the lack of time needed to fully take hold as a visceral experience through the wall of subliminal destruction. Some might find the eight minutes of noise here comforting in that they offer just enough time to make it comfortable, but that seems to defeat the purpose for me. Regardless, Scant has a way of sneaking subtle high-end static into the mix that will fill out the full scope of sound before fading back and sneaking up again with a new face. It’s an interesting sound in that you don’t get the full blast of noise until somewhere mid-track, and then suddenly you’re taking the full blunt force of it without realizing it. White Water Orgasm’s two-track focus on a HNW style of power electronics whose vocals embody a wailing voice that is similar to that found in depressive black metal. Obviously inaudible, the vocals reflect only a desperate existence. Destructive and fucked up, but not entirely unfamiliar. That fierce screaming is directed at the heart of anyone who has experienced a deep unwavering frustration towards the world around us.
While this tape represents another solid release from Rainbow Bridge in regards to the quality of theme and the abrasiveness within, it is essential to note that, perhaps due to the home-dubbing job, one side of the mix of all tracks on side B operate at a lower volume than the other side — which side is lower or higher obviously depends on which headphone is on which ear. It’s a pretty serious flaw in this tape and makes that side difficult to listen to, noise or not.
Track List:
A1) False Flag – Explosions from the Inside
A2) False Flag – President
A3) False Flag – Prime Minister
B1) Scant – Side by Side, Alone
B2) Whitewater Orgasm – One Last Time
B3) Whitewater Orgasm – Just Kept coming back
Rating: 2.75/5
Written by: Sage
Label: Rainbow Bridge (US) / RB-113 / Tape
Harsh Noise / Power Electronics
