:Leichenlinie: is the first LP from German industrial noise act Genocide Organ, a group notorious for racist themes, violent imagery and transgressive performances whose discography is almost entirely out of print save a couple of their later works (only 291 copies of this album were ever made). It's title is supposedly a German term for "line of corpses", the sheer brutality of the image of dead soldiers present on the album cover a strong indicator of the type of music we are in for.
This is noise at it's most provocative and finest, from the synth laden drone of
Ave Satani to closer
Keiner Kommt Zurück, Genocide Organ have mastered the art of manipulating subtle noise frequencies into something utterly captivating.
Mind Control/Klaus Barbie is the first prime example of this, its abstract distortion and effects laden vocals lending something of a restrained anger, an attempt at catharsis threatening to blow at any minute. Instead of this anticipated climax however at 4:59 the second part of the track (presumably
Klaus Barbie) takes something of a left turn, with an infectious rhythm to it's white noise pulsating up and down in time to some percussion elements it is a completely thrilling moment.
Come Orgasm and
Negros In Sky War follow a similar suit to
Mind Control/Klaus Barbie, with a focus on harsh, brittle textures that manage to form a curious pattern in their repetition.
1.. 2.. Tot is a little more subdued, featuring a constant low pitched note trapped in an awkward rhythm it stumbles around with cut-off noise frequencies, metallic sounds and samples of explosions colouring it as some angry german vocals shout from behind the din in a most terrifying manner.
Stalin's Orgeln is equally menacing, driven by a pulsating, wobbling kick drum and based around harsh percussion elements that sound like scraping sheet metal on concrete and steel drums being thrown around it holds up to the high standards set by the rest of the release.
Face of Horror and
Keiner Kommt Zurück are a little quieter then the rest of the album, but its ambient drone provides a very nice "calm before and after the storm" dynamic. If it wasn't for these, in context of the entire album what Genocide Organ have created here might just swallow us whole.
:Leichenlinie: is absolutely terrifying, make no mistake. From it's front cover to the music itself to the intentions of the group who made it this is nothing more then completely unsettling business.
:Leichenlinie: is also completely thrilling, not a single moment feels like it has gone to waste. It is the worst kind of nightmare, one that is attractive in it's sinful allure. Burn in hell, those who tread here.
