attackdos.php - found in Apache logs mp3
b&e - break and enter
DMZ - de-militarized zone
DRM - digital rights management
evilbit - as above
incidents - mailing list for discussing network incursions and related security
klez - lo-fi email virus
list washer - spamming for profit
total information awareness systems - privacy is over
DRM - digital rights management (Absurdgod remix)

Another day. Another CD by a band I’ve never heard of before. Another label that seems to have sprung up suddenly out of no-where. I am seriously struggling to keep up to date with what is going on nowadays. Straight onto the internet. Thank God for broadband. I discover that the Deserted Factory record label has released a variety of Doom Metal / Noise / Ambient / Experimental recordings by a variety of artists, of whom New Risen Throne is the only one I know. This doesn’t surprise me. Looks like some tasty stuff on there though.. Not interested in the metal / rock shit. Pity I don’t have a credit card. Damn the banks for ripping all mine up.

Straight onto the Griefer web page. Not a lot to see there. Love their slogan. ‘Malicious satisfaction in the misfortunes of others’. Here are sick boys I can relate to. And from Canada to boot. Love Canadians. Salt of the earth. Great names too. Moron & Soma &…Owen?. Kinda roles off the tongue. Nice photo of a leg…I hope it’s a fucking leg… being operated on. Discover that ‘Evilbit’ is their debut recording and they had contributed a track to the "Tonal Destruction Vol 2" V/A compilation. I don’t have that one. I do have "Tonal Destruction Vol 1" but that’s of no use to me here.

They classify their music as harsh ambient / death industrial. Can’t argue with that. Although I think after listening to "Evilbit" a few times that I would also put them into the experimental side of things. There’s definitely an experimental edge to their music. They may agree to disagree with that statement. Which all of course means that you’ll need a pretty strong stomach, coupled with the patience of a saint, to listen to their electronic dirges. Luckily I have. Plus they’ve caught me on a good day when I’m in an appreciative mood to listen to any heavy going / duty noise that chunders and thunders from my speakers. Don’t get me wrong. There’s nothing so hardcore here that makes it unbearable to the ears. The very opposite in fact. But the mere fact that they make uncompromising music will, inevitably, not appeal to everyone. Take Owen. He, of the only sensible name in the group, contributes vocals but not in a way you would recognise. His voice is so fucked up electronically that it becomes an instrument of noise instead of expression. Likewise Soma & Moron provide a musical backing, scarily unreal and fragmented, that hides any hint of melody that may have been lurking beneath the surface. You know the sort of stuff. All ‘ZZZWWWAZZZAZZZ’ & ‘SSSQUEEEEELLL’ in low and high tones with assorted bumps and thumps. Invigorating in a comforting manner. How it manages to somehow keep itself together without falling apart into a confused mess I‘ll never know.

The allure of the sounds of machinery breaking down and gone wrong has always appealed and is showcased here for all to hear. They can agree to disagree on this also. A fine debut that will appeal to its target audience and to weird and wired up music freaks everywhere.

ANM