Various Artists

[s23] Available from Somnambulant Corpse Recordings, PMB201, 15127 NE 24th Street, Redmond WA 98052, USA.

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THIS is becoming a habit. But then Somnambulant Corpse will insist on releasing an increasingly brilliant and diverse range of material. Susan Smith was a twenty-three year-old murderess who killed her two sons after the man she loved, Tom Findlay, had made it perfectly clear that he was not interested in someone who had children from a previous relationship. On October 25th, 1994, Susan strapped her children into their car seats and drove to the edge of a lake in Union, South Carolina, where she lowered the handbrake and allowed the car to slip into the water and slowly drown them. Consequently, she blamed the tragedy on an imaginary Black carjacker and attempted to play the sympathy card. Nine days later, however, she was forced to confess her crime and sentenced to a period of thirty years to life. This gruesome tale, therefore, is the dominant theme for no less than twelve tracks from twelve different sources.

The first, Baal's 'I'll Kill The Kids For You', begins very rhythmically with a looping guitar strum and a wild rush of swirling wind. When things settle down a little, the rushing wind takes centre-stage as the muffled vocals seem to recount one of Susan's visits to the psychiatrist's couch. The wind then escalates into a vicious scalpel of oscillating sound, like the terrifying symphony of a deranged mind. The finale is less harsh, with light electronic beats and an encroaching silence. Axiomata's 'Womb With A View' opens with a torrid blend of opera and aggressive frequencies, the subsequent melodies resembling a cross between a television and a tumble-dryer. Fierce and threatening vocals can be heard alongside a clattering bell and screeching effects, swinging from ear to ear in a calculated bout of stereophonic sadism and wedged between Dani Filth's larynx and Whitehouse on a bad day. A gentle, five-second outro calms the mind.

'Dredging Up Memories', by Sickness, is no doubt a reference to the two slightly decomposing bodies that were found in Smith's submerged car. The light sound of dripping water reminds us of the fact that it took a full six minutes for the vehicle to fill with water, although the calming atmosphere is - ouch! - soon interrupted by a sudden burst of pure noise and a painful gouging of the eardrums that makes Aube seem like the Spice Girls. Evil throbs and nasty electronic stabs are coupled with distant yells and bludgeoning rumbles. And then a quick chance to draw breath as a brief, knock-knocking interlude smoothes us into the climax. Recant's 'Ruined' sees a whining bandsaw capitulate to a mixed flurry of warped static vibrations. A low organ and high-pitched frequencies assail the senses as a tentatively-plucked electric guitar brings this short and eclectic track to a close. The opening salvo on Edicius' heartlessly-named 'October Drive (Lake Bottom Blues)' sounds like R2D2 on speed, beeping merrily through a dark undercurrent like an oblivious bird tweeting down the barrel of a sawn-off shotgun. The beep then becomes a squeak and one is reminded of a wheelbarrow that has seen far better days, soon joined by a deep ripping like somebody training a laser beam on your mum's favourite armchair. The remainder is a series of distorted accusations, shocking in their intensity: 'You killed your children!'

Inhalant's 'Scream Baby Scream' takes this theme another step further and is one of the best tracks on the album. An inhuman and childlike wailing is cut through with electronic razor wire, adult male voices are slowed until they become a terrifying drawl, and the vicious Noise accompaniment rips your ears off and feeds them to the drooling hounds of the jealous deaf. Despite resembling the name of a popular Dorset folk trio, Yeti are a little different. To say the least. 'Matthew 5:21', a biblical reference to 'Thou Shalt Not Kill', sounds like Freddy Kruger's fingernails glancing the top of a drum cymbal. Again and again and again. As the volume increases, an American preacher can be heard waxing lyrical on 'this worst of all evils' and an infectious beat drives home the point like a crucifix straight through the heart of a vampire. The words are gradually distorted, however, until the preacher disappears altogether and submits - not to God - but to the fluctuating sonics that drag him into the mire of the underlying activity. And then come Kuru, whose excellent 'Blood-Brain Barrier' I reviewed elsewhere. Their contribution here, 'Blackwater Lullaby', combines a humming ambience with flowing wisps of an approaching breeze. It sometimes adopts an accelerating, honking scrape that resembles a goose pretending to be a helicopter. Again, this is one of the better tracks on the album, but more Cold Spring than OHM and far more laid back than the likes of Sickness and Inhalant.

Ergastula's 'Post Pardum Dissociation', on the other hand, is rather unusual. The cacophonous mess of dissonant sound is interjected with slurred vocals and everything but the kitchen sink, but it's a little too busy for my liking. Xterminal's 'As Cold As She Is Beautiful' is one of the heavier Noise tracks and is addressed to the bitch herself. High frequencies jostle menacingly alongside wavering feedback until everything is absorbed into one merciless Heathrow screech and then sent rustling off into the void. Next comes the aptly-named Antichild League. This project belongs to Gaya Donadio, already well-known on the London scene as the promoter for Hinoeuma Malediction and here established in direct opposition to human childbirth and the world's spiraling population. Antichild League's 'Agony Or Ecstasy' is a bitter pill of hardcore power electronics, forced down with a cocktail of subversive blips and angry metallic squeals. A watery flush penetrates the bombastic gloom of sharp vocals and a constant Industrial surge. Not bad at all.

The final offering on the album sees the return of Baal, albeit this time with Berith in tow. 'Wash It Out' acts like Susan's second visit to the prison psychiatrist, her brain cleansed of mental sin as the soothing doctor conjures up an image of running water and chattering birdsong. A drumbeat and shrill interference reflect the stubborn energy of a diseased and infected mind, as an hysterical German can be heard shouting: 'Das ist das ende! Das ist das ende! Das ist das ende, das ende, das ende!', until his voice is finally submerged beneath an explosive rattle of confusing beats. Finally, the soothing tones of the doctor return: 'Try to make it go away. Try to clear your mind'.

So, after twelve extremely good tracks, my conclusion is that this compilation will stay in your mind for a very long time. Whilst many compilations are a disappointment and contain the usual selection of sub-standard throwaways, the quality of this CD is truly superb and the contributors are to be congratulated. Meanwhile, Susan Smith will be eligible for parole in 2025.