Toroidh

Available from Cold Spring Records, P.O Box 40, Northampton, NN6 7XQ, England.

This release comes to us by way of Nordvargr Kremator, who has already built up a formidable reputation in the Industrial scene with MZ.412 and Folkstorm. Having seen the latter support Von Thronstahl at London's Slimelight a few months back (complete with home-made pyrotechnics), I was relishing the thought of this new musical incarnation and was not to be disappointed. The track-listing on this two-tone digipack CD is fairly minimalist and simply runs from '1' to '8'; so let's take each of them in turn. The opening sequence of the recording takes the form of a sample from the 1930s, possibly a German waltz of some kind. The traditional two beats to every bar are pretty evident, that's for sure. It also contains a mixture of clashing symbols, trumpets, trombones and a shrill flurry of military pipes. If you can imagine an SS detachment goose-stepping its way through the Oktoberfest amid the intermittent yell of a demagogue, then you're halfway there. The second track besieges the listener with a moody hum, before expanding - rather surprisingly for Kremator - into an acoustic folk setting. The shouts, deep vocals and melodic strum is coupled with a thumping bass drum and provides a totalitarian backdrop to the sampled whoosh that sweeps to and fro like a descending pendulum. Track '3' contains pealing bells and a constant rumble, prior to the onset of a barely-twanged guitar and the approach of a high-pitched horn and the rhythmic clang of metallic string-plucking. '4' assumes a darker and more forceful tone, as a formulaic accent from 50's America lays down three simple ground rules with regard to firing upon the enemy. Some of the heavier beats on this track remind me of the repetitive cycle of grinding industrial machinery put to good use elsewhere by Allerseelen. The fifth track is very dramatic and has a Romanesque or ceremonial tone, the slight rattle of trench warfare and machine gun fire both preceding and then pervading the blend of jangling guitar and vocal ballad: 'Lead us to war / Lead us to battle / Lead us to victory / Lead us to peace'. The acoustic trend continues into track '6', this time with the vocals sounding incredibly similar to those of Doug-P (Death In June) and appearing far more muffled. The song is short and sweet and a clattering finale takes us into the seventh. Here we are introduced to something decidedly more hymn-like, a harsh tinkle of wind-chimes hissing through the pews in a ghostly cathedral brimming with distorted incense. The whole soundscape is pierced by a frenetic drum-roll and hammering. A second committed orator is heard amid the cheers and singing children whose voices can just be heard above the chest-shaking hum of what could pass for a Biggin Hill Air Show (albeit with the flypast being performed by none other than the Luftwaffe). And finally track '8'. No more than a six-second volley of inexplicable vociferation; like the legacy of a dead chorister from another age. Leave the CD running for a few minutes and you'll discover the hidden track; a weird and enjoyable cacophony of Jamaican ska, additional gunfire and a cut-glass English accent. Wonderful stuff!