KTL

V

Performance sound trackers/high grade drone explorers KTL deliver album five with much-talked about cover art which I won’t bore you with any chat about as, look, it’s there, lovely isn’t it? An inverted cross that looks sort of 3d. YAWN. I actually like it, It sort of suits V’s attitude; colourful yet sinister.

Messrs O’Malley (Æthenor, Burning Witch, Fungal Hex, Ginnungagap, Grave Temple, Khanate, Lotus Eaters, Pentemple, Sarin, Sunn O))), Teeth of Lions Rule the Divine, Thorr's Hammer) and Rehberg (Pita) again deliver an album worthy of any cunt's ears. KTL's genesis found the two sound fuckers originally forming to create the music for a theatre production entitled Kindertotenlieder ,by Gisèle Vienne and Dennis Cooper, about metalheads killing themselves at a gig (if only hipsters would do this at Animal Collective gigs). On this album, we even have a section from it, on the rather drab 'Last Spring: A Prequel'. Maybe if I could understand French I’d get more from it than a creepy voice talking over low drones, at times making noises like he is cumming. That aside, it was my only low point. In the past I’d always avoided KTL as I found their drone offerings to be excessive and boring. Maybe actually forcing myself to listen to V was the only reason I discovered the brand of beautiful they instill in sound.

'Phill 1' opens up with a cavernous hum which continues for twelve minutes. Slight atmospherics occur, with tone changes and background noises that give it an unearthly charisma. 'Study A' immediately hits you with a gentle tone that is quickly surrounded with the same note yet molested with distortion and overdrive. Continuing for near ten minutes, everything collides leaving you hard-pushed to recall what made this so beautiful at the start. I never expected the album to contain a track like 'Tony', an ethereal juggernaut of hope and light which slowly passes, gathering size, continuing onwards, leaving the listener with a feeling of optimism. 'Phill 2' is an epic, apocalyptic drone arouser orchestrated by Jóhann Jóhannsson, Performed by City of Prague Philharmonic and conducted by Richard Hein.  Considering the quality of the previous four tracks, you feel like they are taking the piss with finale 'Last Spring: A Prequel', this guy orgasming in French and then sounding like he is singing out the slash in his own throat that he's just cut open. Come on to fuck. Without the vocals, this would have been a decent ending to the album with its dark and murderous background noise/drone.

Ignore track 5 and dive into one of the best albums this year has offered us so far. Listen to 'Tony' ASAP. Pray to Iommi. Thank KTL.  

#Albums #Ambient #Drone #Editions Mego #Electronic #KTL #Darkwülf