June 18, 2012 • Bed of Nails
I've known of harsh noise artist Prurient for some time now, though I was never really much of a fan for one reason or another. This sideproject of his, Vatican Shadow, is however a completely different thing altogether—instead of unforgiving noise, it's more of a subdued electronic/industrial project. And it's pretty darn good to boot.
Each of the four tracks is more or less the same thing: fast, thumping, low-end-heavy drum beats, accompanied by slightly dissonant, droning synthesizer and the occasional background noise. (The last track has a more ambient sound to it without the drumbeats, which is also pretty effective.) The EP has a muffled, futuristic sort of atmosphere that I find really enjoyable (though it's not as pronounced as, say, Burial). You can tell they were written by a noise artist, though; even though they have good buildup, the endings are either simple fadeouts or just nonexistent; "September Cell (The Punishment)" practically ends in the middle of a note. It's a bit strange, but a small nitpick I suppose.
Anyway I find myself enjoying September Cell for the most part. If nothing else, I'll keep an eye out for future Vatican Shadow material because I see some potential here. (Apparently there's been quite a lot of Vatican Shadow stuff out in the last year or so; I guess I could look into that.) All told: nothing mind-blowing or particular original, but a neat little experiment for sure.
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