It’s close to a few minutes before the end of Side A that you might sense it. A true sonic confrontation with the Big One. That’s right — death. The ol’ grim reaper, grasping his sharpened scythe. Dust to dust, worm’s food. Mortified matter oozing from the stereo speakers. And so, our first confrontation with Torture Corpse’s debut release ‘Particular Sufferings’ was a heavy, heavy affair indeed. We felt beauty and awe, we felt dread, we laughed, we damn nearly cried. In addition to such visceral gut reactions, we became increasingly convinced that very few musicians maintain such master-level control as TC’s Robert Kroos displays over these weighty 46 minutes. This is deep bardo death bliss from Holland hung on a thematic scaffolding of the Buddhist hell realms and their respective inhabitants.
Torture Corpse could have merely crafted a depressing literal interpretation of these dim zones even the grimmest of us rarely glimpse at. But instead he infuses these prickly places with an insightful, affirming poise. It’s a bold testament to fearless artistry which wields the flame of creative consciousness through both blistering noise blackness & ambient White Light floating. Funny all this talk of the dead, then, for something so thrilling and ultimately lifelike at the end of the day. Limited edition of 100 pro-dubbed and imprinted c46 tapes with double-sided color jcard.
Stunned Records no.47review: