'Zu Allen'
The début outing from
Scottish one-man-band Plastic Noose, is another one of those albums
that has been floating around for a while that occasionally pops up
and makes you take notice. A minimalistic style centred around big
drum beats and distorted bass lines with , Plastic Noose has an old
school kind of feel that balances industrial experimentation with
extreme metal atmospheres.
The album kicks things
off with 'Road To Perdition', a groove-laden sleazy industrial track
with utterly compelling dance beats that should inspire a lot of
bumping and grinding in the clubs. 'Snow King' on the other hand
descends into almost doom metal territory with its Celtic
Frost/Triptykon-esque construction and heavy guitars work.
The title track on the other hand returns to the beat and bass orientated industrial formula, this time with a more complex sound that makes good use of some gregorian backing vocals. 'Before The Lord' revisits the atmosphere of 'Snow King', albeit via a more ambient and soft manner that at first feels a little out of place with it's short length, coming across as simply a stepping stone to the next track. 'Slutcentric' again walks the sleazy industrial style by way of an early Nine Inch Nails drum line and an effective Gary Numan style chorus.
The penultimate track 'Lie Back' makes a detour into early-Laibach martial territory with it's militaristic drums and slow pounding synths underneath a spoken manifesto, which is interesting but lacks the same bite as the Slovenians. The final song, 'This Is Not A Grave' is a nine-minute industrial opus of chugging guitars and looping beats broken up by a soft interlude that, while quite repetative, still manages to hold the listener's interest throughout.
The title track on the other hand returns to the beat and bass orientated industrial formula, this time with a more complex sound that makes good use of some gregorian backing vocals. 'Before The Lord' revisits the atmosphere of 'Snow King', albeit via a more ambient and soft manner that at first feels a little out of place with it's short length, coming across as simply a stepping stone to the next track. 'Slutcentric' again walks the sleazy industrial style by way of an early Nine Inch Nails drum line and an effective Gary Numan style chorus.
The penultimate track 'Lie Back' makes a detour into early-Laibach martial territory with it's militaristic drums and slow pounding synths underneath a spoken manifesto, which is interesting but lacks the same bite as the Slovenians. The final song, 'This Is Not A Grave' is a nine-minute industrial opus of chugging guitars and looping beats broken up by a soft interlude that, while quite repetative, still manages to hold the listener's interest throughout.
This is a first effort
and it is impressive, with some great dancefloor tracks. But it still lacks something. Perhaps it is the slow pace of the album, as it never really has that hard and fast track to break up the steady beats and pulses. It's by no
means perfect, but for fans of sinister, sleazy industrial this will
be a rewarding listen.