2014 seems to be a full year when it comes to releases, but in fact most of the material put out recently was recorded in the period between 2010 and 2013.
The exception was this new split with Dissecting Table, released a few days ago on Malignant Records.
The recordings, which began in 2013 and finished in early 2014, were done by the original duo and have the contributions of Martin Bladh (IRM) and Miguel Azevedo (Plus Ultra).
DISSECTING TABLE / SEKTOR 304 "Utopia/Decay" LP
(press release)
A follow up to 2012’s split CDr on UPD Organization brings these projects together once again, this time for a limited split 12”. Dissecting Table (aka Ichiro Tsuji) is one of the most iconic names in the history of industrial music, and has been pushing the envelope in extreme music as far back as 1986. Early material was completely groundbreaking… over the top, maniacal drumming, dirty bass, and guttural vocals that was like grindcore meeting death industrial before either term even existed. Their influence was undeniable, and can still be felt today, even as recently as Sektor 304’s previous release, the “Engage…Forward” 7”. Newer Dissecting Table material has moved into a more psychedelic, fully chromatic and glitched out area, but the tracks here bridge the gap between the two eras, mixing a veritable mine field of percussion and metal bashing with spastic electronic mis-wirings and crazed oscillations. For those unfamiliar with Ichiro’s work, this is a great introduction.
The flip side gives us perhaps the most perfect collection of Sektor 304 material to date…4 tracks flowing together and carefully sculpted into a sprawling and epic display, encompassing all aspects of the their sound; pummeling sheets of tribalized junk metal percussion in the early part, to desolate decay and pure apocalyptic dystopia in the mid-section, where radioactive transmissions intersect low slung bass, and the infected vocals of Martin Bladh (IRM/Skin Area) . The final piece, Power Through Strength, is one of most ominous and oppressive tracks they've ever done…a slow, shambling dirge of looping, mechanized percussion, industrial drone and resonating steel mill din with an almost Karjalan Sissit style rigidity. It’s a monster of a track and the perfect closing statement from a band that continues to grow and mature into something truly astounding.
Lmtd to 200 copies, this is a must for all appreciators of the tried and true old school sound.
