The first time I reviewed Kadaver was over three years and almost 150 Vitals ago. His personal output, as well as his label output (999 cuts), have been frequent visitors, and somehow, he still manages to surprise me. Regarding his label activities, it’s that he manages to find hidden pearls (Maskhead or Apex Parasite) or somehow connects to the right people, which has gotten him beautiful releases by, for example, K2, Atrax Morgue and the Contagious Orgasm split tape. Sure, they’re my personal favorites, but there is a proper factor of exploration with 999 cuts. And that exploration is also audible in the immensely heavy noise Kadaver produces. And these two tapes are as good an example to explain as possible.
The second release by Kadaver is again a tape, but this time it’s a 90-minute full-force two-tracker, released on the mighty Fusty Cunt. “Various Curses” it is called, and it has a Part 1 and 2 titled “Klalot” (curses) and “Od Klalot” (more curses)—two 45-minute exercises in how to make obnoxious sounds and still make people enjoy them. The tracks are close to HNW, so it’s challenging to write a lot about it.
SIDENOTE: That’s the only thing in my function as a reviewer that bothers me a bit these days. Minimalism in either drone or minimal music may be gorgeous, but how to describe the interpolation of two sine waves creating a fluttering layer in three or four paragraphs? Same with true HNW. True HNW is so static that you can describe the sound or concept, but then it’s pretty often ‘an hour of the same stuff’ … Does not being able to write about it, the release good or bad? END SIDENOTE.
“Various Curses” is a massive wall of harsh noise. Still, in contradiction to the static variant of this genre, Kadaver manages to keep it interesting through the manipulation of the sounds within the track. So even though you might think it’s HNW, it’s not, in my honest opinion. This is just about the loudest noise you can imagine. The HNW sounds with which this track begins are only one layer. In this production, it’s pushed to the front, and therefore, it sounds like a full HNW all the time. However, play it on high volume, and you will open up the depths of hell itself, where people go who are cursed. Incredibly loud feedback patterns and angry voices are super loud, and yet still secondary when compared to that massive wall. AH! MA! ZING! And the track on the reverse side continues, and the result is just super hypnotic. But then, just over two-thirds of that second track, the composition shifts into a little less HNW and a bit more breathing space for the other layers and events in this track. It’s like a rollercoaster ride that takes you around for 90 minutes. And there simply is no way you want to get off that ride because it fills your body with adrenaline, endorphin and any other -in you can think of.
Michael himself says about this release: ‘Not only is it the longest album I’ve recorded, it’s also among my sickest works.’ I concur.
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