Coming Out From the Decks and Into the Pit: Deathface “From Beneath” EP

In my absolute devotion to music as the focal point of my life, I find myself wandering through the infinite cellars and ballrooms of sound’s mansion with little regard to decorum and dogma. With that in mind, it’s safe to say that I give equal time and interest to electronic music as I do the grim hordes of punk, metal and the like. So it’s interesting to me when I see an artist I appreciate in one realm began wandering over to the camps of the others. Such is the very case with EDM anti-hero, Deathface’s new, “From Beneath,” EP. (out on Trouble & Bass, July 17th)

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[audio:http://staging.cvltnation.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/07/02_From_Beneath.mp3|titles=Deathface-From Beneath]

Full review after the jump!

Infernally hailing from Chicago, Deathface arose from the inner workings of the underground DJ scene there, as Johnny Love, where he quickly gained national mobility as one half of heavy electro duo, Guns N’ Bombs. However, from the moment that group disbanded, he’s been slowly grinding the wheel towards the exploration of harder and darker sounds. After pinning on the name,”Deathface,” and joining the horrored-hall of Trouble & Bass, Love quickly poured out a new sound utilizing the bluntest aspects of the American dubstep scene. But even then, fans who gave his, “Fall of Man,” album a spin, knew he was heading somewhere else entirely.

Which brings us back to the black sign born, “From Beneath.” Leaving almost all convention of DJ music behind, these are eight tracks that have been hammered and welded from a far more industrial toolbox. And while the names the label drops, such as Big Black, Nine Inch Nails and Skinny Puppy, do peer through from time to time, it’s the mention of Atari Teenage Riot that most aptly nails this sound on the head (especially when it comes to the clear voiced, yet gun-fired siren’s call of vocalist Effy). In fact, roughly half of these nihilistic odes immediately took me back to days of aggressive electronic music in the 90’s. Beyond ATR, the sounds weave through the more frantic and pummeling moments of My Life With the Thrill Kill Cult, Pig, KMFDM, Chemlab, or even Ministry from that era. But far from a nostalgic ride through the darkest moments of 120 Minutes, “From Beneath,” pushes these sounds through all of the devolutions since, hitting hard enough to even touch the horns of such blackened industrial groups as Black Lodge.

While tracks such as, “Prince of the East,” “Body Count,” and, “I Will Be the Killer,” (incidentally, the only place on the album where anything remotely dubstep oriented rares it’s head), still reveal veins of EDM here and there, the other five fingers parlay foundation in exchange for fury. Haunting in with horror-esque chimes, “Black Magick White Drugs,” soon gives way to a machine gunning of drums that beat against an equally ferocious guitar riff, neither of which, playing off the frantic vocals, relents until a short breakdown allows a sharp synth to join in the melee to the bitter end. In fact, sonically caustic percussion leads the charge, more often than not, combining live drum samples, with industrial sounds, and even such off the chart punctuations as chainsaws, (used on, “Slaughter Pact,” to drive home a brutally unrelenting hook). Though buzzsawing guitars power the EP’s namesake, “From Beneath,” and synths that slide far more comfortably under the nails of Arcturus’ first album than across a dancefloor, form it’s skeletal background. All in all, Deathface pulls no punches, never quite allowing the listener to come up for air through these discordant and driving sounds. In fact, my only real critique here would be that most music this hammer-handed doesn’t need to average four minutes in length, or could explore murkier dynamics to make way for the breaking of bones. But all in all, “From Beneath,” is a fantastic departure from traditional electronic music, and into something much more sinister. Regardless of where you fall on the sound spectrum, so long as you favor raw aggression, give this a spin and see if Deathface lands a meat hook in the right spot.

Incidentally, Deathface is actually on the road right now for, “From Beneath,” and several stops on this tour include a live show with vocalist Effy. So, if these sounds haunt your soul, maybe they can be exorcised in person.