It has been a while since I reviewed something that can be described as a mix between industrial and dark neofolk (genre No Festival of Light or even In Slaughter Natives). Sweden has always had that special touch with dark industrial and hellish soundscapes. Fredrik Djurfeldt (Severe Illusion) has send me this one and I’m happy to touch another genre and try it out.
Hundar is a dark and slowly evolving soundscape, whilst Den Vägen Vandra is dark and hellish: hear the monsters, feel the fear, feel the heat of Satan underneath your feat … fear this dark one as if there is no hope! I think that this quote from the Analfabetism Facebook describes it the best: ‘Frederik Djurfeldt creates back to basics, stripped down, bare bones old school industrial; relentless cold frequencies and sinister atmospheres fleshed out with samples, looping dirge, and pounding machine clangs, and neatly wrapping it in an embrace of distortion and mechanized gloom.’ Illdad is a dark Industrial soundscape, with a very scary vibe, absolutely forbidden to listen to in the dark, late at night when you are all alone in the house (and for sure not the part where you hear suddenly a voice coming from somewhere far away). It’s clear that this one would have been a vintage Cold Meat Industry track if this label would still be alive and kicking! Slowly the heating is turned on and more scary noise seems to attack us. Pa Dina Bara Jävla Knän gets a more repetitive sound, but the blowing horn (or something that sounds like it) still gives that feeling that there is something dangerous around the corner. Träldom gets a more tribal vibe, but the sound is very mysterious with a dark feel and yet again it feels as if the danger is only one step away ... I Vredens Tid gets back to the hellish sound, coming very close to what I remember was the typical sound of No Festival of Light. We already passed the gates of hell and are getting boiled and industrialized! Final track is Under Hjorden is a bit a strange track, for sure as I don’t understand the few words that I hear, I feel like I miss something. It’s a bit guessing in the dark with no clue at all what this one is about or is meant to be … Analfabetism came in darkness and leaves us in darkness, with burned flesh and scary thoughts.
This record is for death industrial fans, for sure and for me it was nice to get back to a sound I haven’t listened to for a while. Cold Meat Industry fans will for sure be pleased by this new record!
