Heathen Harvest
Herz Jühning "Miasma"
The world is a beautiful thing. It is us who make everything horrible and everyone miserable, but before we came, and after we go (and, call me a delusional optimist, but maybe even sometime when we are still around here on earth,) the world is still a wonderful, wondrous place. However, strange and even hostile conditions can develop some interesting results sometimes. The various forms of oppressions that we suffer from on a daily basis are the core for different behavior and cultural patterns, and speaking about music, some great musical acts grew from the need to revolt, and some great acts grew from hate as well. It's a social reaction to an anti social and sometime anti humane wa of live that we are being led through, and among the many groups that can fit into this reaction wave is Germany's Herz Juhning.
With blunt and straightforward song titles such as "The Rape", "Abortion", and – "No Happy future", Herz Juhning's Kay Juhning, who is the sole responsible to all composed material, performing and producing, is expressing his views about the general western degeneration of values. At times, te music turns into an in-your-face wall of distortion, expressing discontent through the painful channels we are used to by now, thanks to names such as NON and WhiteHouse, while at times it seems like the music sounds more haunting and ghostly, more suitable (and sometimes even illustrative!) to the real nice smoke photos that are on the album's sleeve. Inside this sleeve you will find three artificially symmetrical smoke figures, three judges to list the blames on mankind. How does it sound? Think of the more distant parts of Atrax morgue and you will get the idea.
"Miasma" has a destructive impact on the ears, with walls of distortion and a real angry voice. Later on we can see Herz Juhning juggles between different styles, going from black ambient moments into distorted, yet rhythmic tracks. Through obvious and even expected, "The Rape" has samples of a screaming woman that can chill your blood. Yes. Rape is bad and there is no mistaking once you hear these screams (unless you're a sick person who needs help). And so even so this element is almost on the verge of being kitsch, it is working and it moves the track one level higher. Whatever the particular style is, certain statics and buzzes make the entire environment of the album seem hostile and furious, and furthermore Some of the lyrics are well written and add another dimension to this work. Other highlights include "Abortion", "Reopened eyes" (which reminds a little of Gary Numan !) and "Infibulation" which is more horrific than "The Rape".
Miasma is a solid, diverse and disturbing album, made of the finest elements in order to make you uncomfortable with everything around you. A high dose of pain served ice cold. Highly recommended!
Oren ben Yosef
[Heathen Harvest : December 2009]
www.heathenharvest.com
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