TRTRKMMR ‎– Avec La Souillure Nous Entrons Au Règne De La Terreur LP

Iron Lung Records

From whatever bunker TRTRKMMR is hiding out in, he has chiseled out a reputation for himself as a true outsider. His splits with Dead Times and Husere Grav are very unorthodox, off the beaten path pieces of work of freak death industrial. As a former member of doom/sludge band Otesanek, you can be sure his releases have some metal influences as well.

There aren’t many records that can balance quality samples and hardware choices like Avec La Souillure Nous Entrons Au Règne De La Terreur can…sample abuse can kill your record with a plasticine quality(if the lawsuits don’t). So let’s understand that when we’re talking about TRTRKMMR’s use of samples, we’re not just talking about religious cassette poaching, movie quotes theft, and maybe some pilfered and processed Goblin scores, but something more akin to what a rogue hip hop beatmaker might do with a severely deviant approach for drum breaks, some whiskey, and a total disregard for whatever anyone thinks. Even further, TRTRKMMR is also in a class of his own with his ability to wield harmonies and melodies across the different tarps of his songs, be they through keyboard or guitar.

The variety of tracks on Avec… are palpable. “Skinnertrakt” represents the blown to bits aspects of this record in typical death industrial style that incorporate clumps of looped scrap and punishing barbarity. The cover of Bloody Minded‘s “Cro Bar” will sate the industrial purists. The in between fragments will keep everyone mesmerized. But it’s the symphonic arrangements of the left field samples and tones on tracks like “The Northern Winds Approve”* and “Bewail The Dead, And Restore A Serene Sky”* that really showcase the songwriting capabilities of TRTRKMMR. “Cross Of The Profane”* is a full on rockin’ doomed out jam with some unexpected, yet not out of place riffing.

While Avec… isn’t as overtly brutal as the Dead Times split, it is more focused and more dense and more inclined to explore without resorting to trampling the fuck out of each song with abrasive textures for the sake of obnoxious inhumanism. The themes of isolation, pain, non-redemption, reluctant perseverance, and lashing out like a wounded animal ring throughout the LP, even without the 20 page booklet and cryptic blood imprinted postcard insert…together though, the music and words leave much food for thought of the pains taken (both figurative and literal) to pen this beautiful piece of work. Much like Pig Heart Transplant’s For Mass Consumption and the Wolves of Heaven/Nyodene D split, at its core, Avec… is a punk record which is part of the reason why it sounds unique to me. The admixture of punk/hardcore and noise is often fueled by different desires than that of the electronics/gear enthusiast with a mean streak. The materials used here are desperate and creative instead of high end and elite humdrum.

When Iron Lung Records announced this record’s release over two years ago, it flew over the heads of the label’s mainly punk/hardcore constituency. Still, those who were in the know were skeptical about it ever actually being released. Its creation was surrounded in mystery and it was not until very late in September of 2014 when we were given “Skinnertrakt”. Informed by the old guard of industrial from whence TRTRKMMR gets its namesake, and so much more, at long last, we are given a record that was probably very difficult to make in many dimensions, and one that howls for pushing the boundaries of death industrial/power electronics. I hope there is more to come.

* Disclaimer: due to the seamless transitions between songs, I may have some of the song titles listed inaccurately. All the more reason to explore this killer slab of vinyl for yourself!

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