Filled Like A Hole – 2002 – Muchausen Sound 5 – CDr
Previously released tracks with 2 unreleased tracks*
Tracks:
1. Breathing Cold Memories 8:53
2. Suffering Is You 2:38
3. Beautiful Scars Remind 12:24
4. Last Sound Heard* 2:19
5. Pigeon-Holed* (Bastard Noise cover) 3:53
6. Travesty In C# 3:46
7. Vaginal Blasphemy 15:05
8. Hail The Goat 4:06
Total Length:
Aversionline
6/10
This is a collection of previously released material from over the course of Marax's existence, along with a couple of unreleased tracks. "Breathing Cold Memories" starts things off with almost nine minutes of excellent lo-fi dark ambient tones. Things start out incredibly slow and quiet, eventually bringing in a bit of guitar to add some melody. Things stay relatively monotonous and simplistic, but it works out well, you just have to crank the volume but watch out, because "Suffering is You" follows at ten times the output level of the first piece, complete with fluttering distortion, burly vocal shouts, piercing blips and whirrs, etc. "Beautiful Scars Remind" clocks in at more than 12 minutes and creates a superb death industrial atmosphere with suffocating low-end, subtle and indecipherable vocal manipulation, and light distortion. Sadly this track lacks the hypnotic qualities of the opener, so its length is far too tedious, but the atmosphere is there. "Pigeon-Holed" is a Bastard Noise cover, but having never heard the original I have no idea how it compares. It's mainly an ambient sounding bass hum with some midrange distortion and distinct vocal shouts somewhere in the distance. Not bad. The final three tracks basically amount to around 23 minutes of rather typical harsh, blaring noise. To be honest, I find it a bit boring, and aside from the blaring pain and insanity of "Hail the Goat", it doesn't really do anything for me. All of the recordings here are tastefully lo-fi, so while there is room for improvement, there's also a certain necessary quality possessed. The only thing I don't like, and this is a minimal issue, is that you have to keep adjusting the volume from track to track so as not to annihilate your speakers when things change up from crazy noise assaults to dark ambient soundscapes. The packaging is a bit disappointing. The CD-R just comes in a xeroxed black and white sleeve with very simple text and a pixilated image of a woman involved in some sort of sexual bondage act on the front. I know for a fact that Marax is capable of far, far more original ideas than this, which is the most disappointing aspect of the decisions made here. Nonetheless, were the picture clear and the fonts a bit more interesting/consistent, the simplicity could have been pulled off. I don't know, I'm picky. I think this CD does a very good job of displaying the boundless diversity that Marax is willing to explore. I prefer the calmer/more varied pieces such as "Breathing Cold Memories" or "Beautiful Scars Remind", but most of the tracks have their moments. I know that a lot of this material is pretty dated at this point, but if a constructive balance of styles can be reached (along with a more cohesive and appropriate visual presentation) Marax will indeed be a forceful unit.
6/10
This is a collection of previously released material from over the course of Marax's existence, along with a couple of unreleased tracks. "Breathing Cold Memories" starts things off with almost nine minutes of excellent lo-fi dark ambient tones. Things start out incredibly slow and quiet, eventually bringing in a bit of guitar to add some melody. Things stay relatively monotonous and simplistic, but it works out well, you just have to crank the volume but watch out, because "Suffering is You" follows at ten times the output level of the first piece, complete with fluttering distortion, burly vocal shouts, piercing blips and whirrs, etc. "Beautiful Scars Remind" clocks in at more than 12 minutes and creates a superb death industrial atmosphere with suffocating low-end, subtle and indecipherable vocal manipulation, and light distortion. Sadly this track lacks the hypnotic qualities of the opener, so its length is far too tedious, but the atmosphere is there. "Pigeon-Holed" is a Bastard Noise cover, but having never heard the original I have no idea how it compares. It's mainly an ambient sounding bass hum with some midrange distortion and distinct vocal shouts somewhere in the distance. Not bad. The final three tracks basically amount to around 23 minutes of rather typical harsh, blaring noise. To be honest, I find it a bit boring, and aside from the blaring pain and insanity of "Hail the Goat", it doesn't really do anything for me. All of the recordings here are tastefully lo-fi, so while there is room for improvement, there's also a certain necessary quality possessed. The only thing I don't like, and this is a minimal issue, is that you have to keep adjusting the volume from track to track so as not to annihilate your speakers when things change up from crazy noise assaults to dark ambient soundscapes. The packaging is a bit disappointing. The CD-R just comes in a xeroxed black and white sleeve with very simple text and a pixilated image of a woman involved in some sort of sexual bondage act on the front. I know for a fact that Marax is capable of far, far more original ideas than this, which is the most disappointing aspect of the decisions made here. Nonetheless, were the picture clear and the fonts a bit more interesting/consistent, the simplicity could have been pulled off. I don't know, I'm picky. I think this CD does a very good job of displaying the boundless diversity that Marax is willing to explore. I prefer the calmer/more varied pieces such as "Breathing Cold Memories" or "Beautiful Scars Remind", but most of the tracks have their moments. I know that a lot of this material is pretty dated at this point, but if a constructive balance of styles can be reached (along with a more cohesive and appropriate visual presentation) Marax will indeed be a forceful unit.
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