Review: Black Needle Noise w/ Bill Leeb – 'A Shiver Of Want'

BLACK NEEDLE NOISE w/ BILL LEEB
'A Shiver Of Want'
SELF-RELEASED 

Black Needle Noise may be better known to music fans as John Fryer whose resume within the realms of alternative music has too many highlights to mention. Black Needle Noise already has an impressive selection of releases in its own right and can boast collaborations with some great artists, including Jarboe and Spectra Paris.

For the latest BNN release Fryer has teamed up with the legendary Bill Leeb (Front Line Assembly / Delerium) and the result 'A Shiver Of Want' is a beautifully dark, sinister ethereal track that recalls Massive Attack at their most sinister collaborating with post-'Downward Spiral' Nine Inch Nails.

The track moves between slow and atmospheric trip-hop inspired industrial before erupting into bludgeoning industrial metal. It's a beautiful yet twisted track that sees Leeb's vocals twist and crackle with malevolent menace as fryer's compositional skills work their magic in weaving a sublime backdrop of grungy industrial intertwined with experimental trip-hop and dark ambiance.

The production has a nice 90s Wax Trax! meets Nothing records quality to it. It's grungy, grimy and gritty, yet it has a big twenty-first century kick to it. There’s a balance being struck between that classic sound and something that feels right for 2017, and Fryer achieves this with ease.

If you haven't delved into this project yet, then 'A Shiver Of Want' is a very good starting point, and there is still plenty to get your teeth into beyond that. It would be great to see just where Fryer takes this in the long-run, and with tracks like this it would be a shame for it to not get the recognition it deserves.  

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