The final tape of the batch is "Take Up A Lament" by Golgotha Toll. These tracks were recorded on January 19 and 20, 1992, and they've been hidden ever since. RSW weaves scrap metal, radio signals, and electronic composition into a fraught web of basement noise assemblage. Restored from its 4-track masters by Grant Richardson.
"How Art Thou Fallen" is a whole side on this C30 cassette and is a collage of noise samples where scrap metal doesn't sound like scrap metal. I've read the promo text, and it should be there, but it's very well manipulated. It's building and building up to the 6-minute marker where a guitar (?) enters the mix and sounds from what seems to be a merry-go-round. The atmosphere is gorgeous here! An amusement park where noise heads can even enjoy themselves! And at the end of the day, we cool down with a minimal approach to the ambience, which initially appears slightly dissonant, but everything falls into its place.
The reverse side has two tracks and opens with "That Ancient Serpent". This could be labelled as a 'song', opening with a harsh bass sound, loose beats - no rhythm to speak of and then what I can only describe as a gothy/psycho/surf guitar like someone is peeking into Bela Lugosi's coffin. I imagine hearing this on a goth dancefloor where minds will be blown. The final track, "Lightning From Heaven", is again an exercise in building ambience. Slow higher pitched sounds form a ground layer, and towards the end, a loud, dissonant dark sound takes over.
The world would have been different if this had been released in 1992 when the tracks were created. A better place? That depends on who you ask, but I think 'yes'.
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