In many ways, industrial music is psychedelic. Think about it, the whole objective of psychedelia is to blow your mind, to overload the senses. And industrial music does exactly that. Throbbing Gristle boasted of making music from ugliness. And, as time went on, the ugliness overpowered.
Which leads us nicely to Disconnect… Hailing from Newtownards, Disconnect were a three piece in thrall to the likes of Godflesh, Swans, Fear Factory and Oil Seed Rape. They only played live a handful of times and this is their second release (an EP ‘Dis-Ease’ preceded the album by a few months).
Beginning with a mixture of feedback and a Bill Hicks sample, ‘Scrutiny’ attacks those who “cower to dodge the blame…life shall never be the same” over mechanised industrial metal riffage. The keyboards are very reminiscent of Aphex Twin (never a bad thing if you ask me).
‘Private Suffering’ is pure Godflesh worship, with a neat acoustic motif making it sound like a wind up toy. This contrasts with the full on doom of the main riffs. Perfect. ‘Industries Rising’ is a partial rewrite of ‘Thieves’ by Ministry but that’s no bad thing, is it? More ambient/dreamy keyboards and a ‘wub wub’ sound effect in the middle all adds up to make it the best song on here.
At 16 minutes, ‘Thrones’ is a tough listen, but a powerful one. A mixture of Sabbath and NoN, it’s political lyrics (“A law unto your own, you stride on/Etonian scythe, strike us down”) capture the anger and despair of the poor. Closing with the acid housey ‘Sudden Realisation of Closure’ it is a testament of how you can still question yourself while remaining defiant in the face of adversary. The riffs come on thick and fast on this one.
To conclude: a more rounded and ambitious release, but one that lacks the focus and nihilism of the ‘Dis-Ease’ EP. Some of the songs could be cut by 3 or 4 minutes to make it a more concise and direct LP. But it’s still a strong effort from the lads. It’s worth noting that the three members went on to form M.J.D (which carried on from where Disconnect left off) and Abbotoir (funeral doom). Still writing and producing great music, look out for them.
Disconnect. Lest we forget.
◀ STANDOUT ⁞ Industries Rising ▶
◀ CONNECTION ⁞ Godflesh | Swans ▶
