I love Prurient and I love Kevin Drumm, so the two of them together… well, “unstoppable” doesn't even come close.
Dominick Fernow, Prurient for the dummies, is unquestionably my favorite figure in the noise environment. Say what you will about noise “music,” as a genre, as an aesthetic, as art, as whatever… Prurient is an artist, whether he would choose to accept that term or not. The music he creates is a faded photograph of nihilistic destruction; bleak and powerful. Kevin Drumm is equally impressive with his forays into deconstructed noise fields and droning walls of sound that hang heavy on the listener, like the breath of some sleepy deity.
Paired up, they balance their sounds together, creating a swirling world of blood reds and murky grays. What you're hearing on the collaborative effort All Are Guests In The House Of The Lord sticks closely to the sounds these men have become infamous and revered for. There are parts where you literally can feel them sonically high-fiving; their sounds crashing together, at times like a wave onto a beach, other times like a helicopter into a mountainside. It's beautiful, even though it's somber, dreary, and terrifying. The atmosphere holds together above all else. It's ethereal, even in the most dire, blackened vibrations.
The zones presented here are caustic and claustrophobic, but not entirely unlistenable. There's a melody that holds strong, even when its buried under miles of smoldering ash. It's not peaceful, but that's not the point. This is a warm, noxious miasma with pale red, poisonous fumes rising up and condensing into a deathbed for you to wallow in. This is dirty and beautiful all in one breath. It's depressing and enraging, at the very same time.
This isn't necessarily the most fitting album for someone unfamiliar with the noise genre, however, if you're a fan of dark ambient or even black metal music, this might be something to whet your appetite.
Test these steaming waters by slowly inserting your finger. See what it feels like.
