Pimentola:

Sairaus Ryömii Silmistäsi Sisään (Krankheit schleicht sich durch deine Augen rein)
  I.
  II.
  III.

Dead Man's Hill:

Triumph I.
Triumph II.
Triumph III.

This split recording by Pimentola /Dead Man’s Hill is a timely reminder of how adversity can be eventually overcome with the power of will and self belief. The story goes something like this. Lempo, or Mr Pimentola as he’s better known, has the great idea of releasing a split recording with his mate from Dead Man’s Hill. He approaches a record label. They like the idea. Lempo goes away and lays down his tracks. Same for Dead Man’s Hill. Record label pulls the plug. The reasons aren’t important. What’s Lempo to do? Sit and cry into his beer. Forget about the project. Try hawking it to other labels…which is not only time consuming but soul destroying if they say the dreaded ‘NO’. Lempo chose none of these options. Instead he set up his own label to self release it. The little guy sticks one in the eye of the bigger labels. David beating Goliath at his own game. Before getting carried away one has to be a neutral observer and wonder if the record label in question actually had the right idea in the first place. Having played this split recording I would suggest that their decision is the Industrial equivalent of Decca turning down the Beatles. A bit OTT but you get the drift.

Onto the recording then: Lempo is first up with three tracks. Those of you unfamiliar with his work as Pimentola should head straight to the excellent "MM-MMV" on the Twilight record label which acts as an suitable introductory career overview. On the first track he combines his love of the ethnic / ritual vibe combining them with dark ambient backgrounds and chants. Track two takes a diversion into some strident martial beats and freaked out electronics with samples of N Hagen…though you would be hard pushed to know that by listening to it as he’s totally scrunched them up to be unrecognisable. The final track sees a more slow and sombre mood of neo -classical ambience and spoken word piece taking centre stage as a fitting finale. You can’t find fault with any of his tracks and it makes you wonder how deaf those at the record label that rejected this work must be for these tracks emphasise the multi-talents of an artist at the top of his game.

Dead Man’s Hill also contribute three tracks and in typical Death Industrial style for which this act is renowned. The "Legion" release being a particular favourite of mine. Don’t let the words Death Industrial put you off. The tracks here are far more musical than you would expect with great samples, gruff growling distorted vocals, massive thumping rhythmic beats, angelic and demonic choirs, heavy black atmospheric electronics with every track building to a suitable crescendo of noise. A blood letting salvation of sorts and indicative of Dead Man’s Hill take of the genre.

It just leaves me to tell you that this split release comes housed in an elegantly designed digi-pak and is limited to only 300 copies. For the music alone from both acts this is a pretty much essential recording. Add in the circumstances and tribulations and it becomes so much more. The fight to be heard is one we can all sympathise with and by supporting this release it will surely encourage others to do likewise. Power to the little people everywhere.

ANM