Murderous Vision – “Black Hellbore – A Quiver of Arrows” – [Phage Tapes]

Thurston Hunger   2/9/2013   A Library, CD

Murderous Vision, something that misanthropes and lycanthropes
can finally agree on. A one man project with Stephen Petrus
behind the curtain and the knobs, on this release he shares his
vision with a number of participants. The alpha and omega tracks
ascended the highest for me, or descended depending which way
your perverted cross is inverted. “Banishment Invokation” has a
guest priestess, Amanda Howland with a crisp clarion call a
across the wasteland soundscape. The closer, “The Horned Beast
Of Golgotha” commences with a lengthy sample from the film
‘El Espanto Surge de la Tumba’ the voices become thickly
processed, savage electronics tearing at the soul of the words
spoken (perhaps even more diabolical, somewhere in there a sample
of “Radar Love” rises from a Hippies’ Graveyard). The intervening
tracks mine the sonic pits of dark ambience, often voices still
warped beyond recognition, but frothing with fury a la Iugula
Thor; while the murkiness of the music might fetch the flavor of
Cold Meat from the bowels of your ears. Or ears of your bowels.
“You” has a dirgey thump and a Brewer in the industrial soup
address you and your colorful scars. Nice work on the always
intriguing Phage label. Also of note, a film “City/Ruins” by Petrus
and Aaron Vilk documenting their hometown’s noise scene!
Cleveland does more than rock.

-Thurston Hunger