‘Day ov Torment’ by Inanna

SINCE leaving Archon Satani in May 1993, Sweden’s Mikael Stavöstrand has certainly been very prolific. In fact between 1990 and the present day he has released something in the region of eight cassettes and five CDs, not to mention a whole host of compilation tracks by way of the Old Europa Café, Cold Meat Industry, Kaon, Slaughter Productions, Arborlon and Discordia labels. This latest release originally appeared on the Staalplaat label back in 1993, has been mixed by Jouni Havukainen of In Slaughter Natives and its influence on the Industrial scene fourteen years ago was nothing short of tremendous. Cold Spring released Archon Satani’s ‘Mind of Flesh and Bones’ just last year, so it’s good to see that the recent trend to reissue some of these classics from the early-1990s is being continued. Sandwiched between a statue of Perseus, a pride of monarchical lions and several tiled chaospheres lie sixty-five minutes of aural delight. ‘Zounds’ is a hollow pressure-valve that awakes slowly like a dragon with a bad case of asthma. Two sets of drumbeats rattle over one another with competitive abandon, until a heavy crashing brings one of them to a sudden halt. After four minutes we hear synthetic extracts of an old war anthem, before the beats pick up where they left off. More disjointed snippets can be heard towards the end, but things are far from harmonious. ‘Body ov Light’ jingles and jangles like garden wind-chimes in a tornado, soon joined by a darkened humming that rumbles in the depths like an uncontrollable fart about to be delivered in the most inappropriate of places. Like the soundtrack to a 1980s horror movie, the tolling bell, choral effects and long swathes of sinister hissing work beautifully. ‘Her Essence’ snorts like a pig with its nose caught in the bars of an improvised sty. Various clicks and clanks are swamped by neo-Gothic keyboards and rattling tins of loose change, whilst the drowned vocals are full of electric bile and nasty intent. The whole thing is amazing and, as a relative newcomer to Inanna’s unique sound, I must say that I’m extremely impressed so far. ‘Thorn’ is a series of long sirens and watery tinkling, each combined with something not dissimilar to someone having their vocal chords sliced through with a junior hacksaw blade. The Ken Bigley impressions are eventually replaced by deep drones and a few fleeting seconds on the church organ. ‘Zonei’ is characterised by loud horns and military snares echoing off into the distance, reminding me a little of UB40s ‘Present Arms in Dub’. At first there is an ambient and minimalist feel to this track, but more tortured vocals and looped yells later on help to keep the listeners on their toes. Despite the name, ‘Ancient Flesh’ is not a morality tale about the dangers of necrophilia, but a crashing volley of heavy drumbeats accompanied by wisps of pressurised steam and industrial ear-aggro. Put your speakers to the test. You know you want to. ‘Submission to Solitude 1-3’ starts very gradually and allows you to gather your thoughts for a moment, but more heavy beats soon arrive to chase away the atmosphere of calm. The attempt to return to all-out chaos is tempered somewhat by the softly-spoken vocals of Lotten, but this is merely a temporary respite and things soon take off again with a furious hammering of sticks against dustbin lids, shrill frequencies and dive-bombing drones that plunge themselves into the yawning abyss. ‘Besides Eternity’ is an erratic fumbling that oscillates like metal rings being kicked around a stone floor, an irritating child in a doctor’s surgery that invites the maternal chastisement that is sure to follow. The synths are soothing at times and the track almost dies out completely at one point, before re-energising itself in a slightly harsher and less palatable form. The concluding track, ‘Exalted Inanna/Hurt’, seems rather unplanned and disorganised. But it’s actually very complex, with various layers of ambience spread across a bustling litany of repressive drumbeats and slowed vocals. It’s an exercise in brazen experimentation that crosses and re-crosses the fine line between Darkwave and Industrial, defying all attempts at classification. After a couple of stops and starts we are even presented with martial drumrolls, cheering crowds and a muffled choir. This is a very brave and challenging album and comes highly recommended. Inanna doesn’t have a website of its own at this stage, but more information is available from www.coldspring.co.uk