| Sonic Terror (CD) | 2002 | No Label (mp3.com CD) |
Seemingly devoid of melody, Uncertainty Principle's music consists of nothing more than frightening noises and feedback. Every single note has been distorted and twisted, while the music plows forward at a painstakingly slow pace. At times this reminds me of Esoteric or SUNN 0))). You won't hear any clearly distinguishable vocals except of some distant sounds resembling a voice; sick, twisted, tortured, angry and never understandable (in fact, I'm still not 100% sure they actually are vocals).
At rare intervals the music lulls you into a false sense of security and you can dream away on a flow of ambient sounds. Only to be send tumbling into a mental abyss again by the rising and falling distorted and twisted guitar & drum sound. Due to the slow pace of the music it might sometimes seem like there is no melody at all. Especially the strange distorted sounds flying all about give the music a very disturbing and chaotic feel. But those who listen closely will discover that all their tracks actually do contain melody and structure. It has just been slowed and distorted to a point it requires some attention from the listener.
Is this drone or noise? Well perhaps we should just label is "drone noise"? I do think that suits it best. Drone noise with dark ambient hints. As such I would recommend this to those into the unholiest of the unholiest sonic terror acts within the doom genre. If you're into acts as diverse as Zaraza, Esoteric and SUNN0))) I am sure you will also love Uncertainty Principle. If you however rather float on mushroom clouds of drope or wallow in romantic misery you might want to skip this one.
Anybody interested can buy this (and other) release(s) from Uncertainty Principle through their Mp3.com page: http://artists.mp3s.com/artists/320/a_culturalembolism.html
1. Pain:Hate:Fear
2. Indifference
3. Dirge
4. Hatred
Approx. 47 minutes
| Grand Unification Energy (CD) | 2002 | No Label |
'Compromised Cell Structure', the first track, has no beat at all. The entire song evolves around noisy and slow guitar riffs combined with distorted spoken lyrics, that are so cold and emotionless they send shivers down my spine. It seems like just everything is drenched in distortion; even the cold electronic sounds that emerge from the drones have some twisted atmosphere hanging around them and tear right through your mind.
The next track, 'Grand Unification Energy', is a mix between funeral doom and ambient/noise. Pounding murky basses and distorted drums (yes, even the drums are distorted!) guide guitar-leads that are hidden in multiple layers of noise and distortion while a sick and twisted grunt in the background occasionally adds even more maddness.
Even more bass in the next track, 'Stationary State', introducing a slight hint of melody and upfront drums. This instrumental piece is among the more doomy tracks. There's absolutely nothing joyful about this track: it sounds like an ever-lasting descend into darkness and pain...
'Programmed Cell Death' is a very disturbing track. Although still extremely distorted, slow and droney, there are actually clean sounds in there, spread all over the track, always fighting to be heard over the drones and vocals. The introduction of these crystal-clear ambient-riffs, however, doesn't introduce any feelings of hope, but only increased the gloomy atmosphere this album created so far.
And it only gets darker and gloomier in here when the first notes of the last track 'The Chandraeskhar Limit' leave my speakers. Well over 15 minutes, this is a true masterpiece and my favorite track on 'Grand Unification Energy'. It is so very majestic and powerfull, so slow and heavy, it belongs to the best tracks in the extreme funeral/ambient/noise-doom genre. It even has the power to make most funeral doom tracks sound like regular party-music! Starting with clean guitars that fade into pounding drums, slow rhythm-guitars and an amazing nihilistic doomy lead, this instrumental track takes the listener to a realm of pure emptiness, from where there is no return. It fills my mind with a strange desire to stay in this void, this black hole and just lay down to await the end. This track (and this album as well) is over way to soon and my soul cries out for another portion of funeral-drones...
This is music that would certainly appeal to fans of Khanate and Sunn O))), and i urge those to check out this project as it is even better than the aforementioned bands. Uncertainty Principle shows that ambient/noise/drone-doom can be far more extreme than metal. It's the rare kind of music that is both extreme and very deep, it also has a certain twisted beauty to it, that most extreme bands simply lack and mixes several genres into a powerful noise/doom fest that will leave most listeners completely drained of energy, hope and will to live...others, however, might just get addicted to this album...
Mp3.com site: mp3.com/_a_cultural_EMBOLISM
Web site: uk.geocities.com/whitesp2002
Email: thoraxembalmer666@hotmail.com
1. Compromised Cell Structure
2. Grand Unification Energy
3. Stationary State
4. Programmed Cell Death
5. The Chandraeskhar Limit
Approx. 62 minutes
| Torture Wheel / Uncertainty Principle Split (CD) | 2003 | NULLL |
The first band to be set loose upon the listener, is the newly founded Torture Wheel, a project of E.M. Hearst (perhaps better known in some circles from noise/ambient solo projects like Margaret Hearst and Wraith of the Ropes). Contrary to what the band name might suggest, Torture Wheel doesn't consist of a dazzling collection of extreme and agonizing sounds; instead it offers a more insidious, subtle point of view on torture and pain. A mysteriously floating 'feel' dominates the three tracks, which seem to dwell in unknown realms, freed from the constraints of time and space. An almost laid back, jazzy atmosphere characterizes those compositions, yet there is always an uncomfortable feel lingering in the background heralding a vague -yet definitely present-foreboding doom. At times reminding of the otherworldliness of Esoteric, at other times of the oppressiveness of Winter, there is definitely a very 'heavy' aspect in the sound of this project, although this heaviness is rather the result of the threatening atmosphere of detachment than anything else, as if the mastermind behind this work tries to distance himself from an impersonal yet omnipresent anxiety.
If Torture Wheel is the more subtle approach to the musical expression of pain and madness, Uncertainty Principle is exactly the opposite. The distorted, painful guitar sound brings tears to the listener's eyes. And sure enough, those are not tears of pleasure. All compositions seem to drown in this characteristic guitar sound, a terribly noisy and macabre expression of fear, humiliation and absolute submission to the unavoidable. Typical for this band -as well as for the other split partner -is the fact that the vocals are mixed carefully in the background, creating an atmosphere of paranoia and threat rather than offering a brutal assault.
The highlight of the three tracks of Uncertainty Principle -actually of the whole album- is the 12-minute long dirge 'Antilight', an absolutely devastating, breathtakingly heavy and painfully monotonous version of Beethoven's Moonlight Sonata. When you switch off your cd player and the track is still playing in your mind, you know that something special is going on here. The atmosphere of bleak monotony and utter hopelessness simply won’t let you go. Perhaps somewhat overshadowed by the releases of 'bigger' underground acts, this split album is nevertheless a raw diamond, a rare gem that can offer a lot to the connoisseur of the extreme genre. Contact Nulll records at greywinged@yahoo.co.uk today rather than tomorrow, for quality and talent must be supported and encouraged.
Torture Wheel:
1. Broken by the wheel
2. Shadow sect
3. Mary
Uncertainty Principle:
4. All these moments will be lost
5. Antilight
6. Ouroboros
Approx. 67 minutes
| Distant (CD) | 2004 | NULLL |
As opposed to the aforementioned release 'Grand Unification Energy' and the split with Torture Wheel, this album is less varied. There isn't as much experimentation with samples, noises and the traditional "soundscape" form. Rather, 'Distant' - apart from the intro and outro - is much more uniform in terms of style and sound. The heavily distorted guitars and pounding drums are always in the lead, and form the full body of the album. Now and then some additional features rear their heads, such as some samples at the end of 'Calling', and the acoustic guitar that forms the melodic theme of 'Lament'.
The more mundane issues aside, one could look at 'Distant', as were it a gargantuan beast that slowly tosses and turns its monolithic limbs and body. Hideous though it may be, its apparently slow, yet steady movements mesmerise you and you can't help but let your eyes follow every one of them, until it is done thrashing.
In other words, there is something about these mammoth-like tracks that grabs you by the head and hypnotises you. It's clear that projects like this don't have "easy-listening" song structures, but if you open up to what is there, you'll quickly find that unorthodoxy can be just as catchy, for lack of a better term. In any case, this high-quality underground CD-R release should be to the liking of anyone who enjoys getting drenched in waves of rough, noisy guitars, accompanied by soul-rending leads and solid drums. Not for the faint-hearted, though!
1. Distant
2. Calling
3. Lost
4. Lament
5. Object of the Divine (reprise)
Approx. 51 minutes