| Red Harvest - Cold, Dark, Matter Nocturnal Art, 2000 Lord Pale: I was interested in hearing this after hearing about it on Nocturnal Arts website and rav reviews in Terrorizer and boy was I disappointed. This is basic, simplistic, raw, dark industrial metal ie boring, uninspired, low production (though this is intended) crap that lacks to evoke any real feel of despair. The music focuses on heavy fuzzy guitars pulsing under droning keyboards and industrial beats. What really sucks about all this though is the tendency for the song to go absolutely nowhere. They begin then finish without actually seeming to have satisfied the listener. The vocal delivery is also disappointing, a sort of fuzzed over spoken style that is seemingly not deemed very important, sounding unenthusiastic and very lack lustre. But I guess this is all good to fans of Industrial, which I am most certainly not. Still in the right mood this album can occasionally entertain. Favourite Tracks - Omnipotents, Last Call, Death in Cybergera Rating - 5.5/10 Red Harvest ‘Internal Punishment Programs’ Nocturnal Art Productions, 2004 Gloon: Having only briefly heard their previous works ‘Internal Punishment Programs’ was the first real exposure I had to Red Harvest. The album opens up with a crunching industrial guitar driven monster in ‘Anatomy of the Unknown’ and from there on in the standard is set and to a little extent never exceeded. Utilising the repetitive trademark abrasive riffing of the genre and mixing in keyboards and electronica the band create a suffocatingly cold blanket of metalised soundscapes with eerie atmospheres and a touch of technological paranoia. Imagine if Fear Factory got serious about their industrial flirtations and invited Al Jourgensen along for the ride and you’re sort of heading in the right direction of a definition of the music on offer here. Unlike other industrial bands Red Harvest know how to do two things that put them above the pack, write good songs and write crunching riffs. From the simplistic but highly addictive ‘Abstract Morality Junction’ to the punk like flourishes of ‘Mekanizm’ the band equally compel the listener with both guitar and keyboard alike. From the DHG like ‘Synthesize My DNA’ to the Ministry-esque romp of ‘Wormz’ its quality all round. Overall a very dark, sombre slab of industrial metal with superior song writing and dynamics, well worth checking out. Favourite Tracks - Abstract Morality Junction, Anatomy of the Unknown, Teknocrate Rating – 7.5/10 Red Harvest ‘A Greater Darkness’ Seasons of Mist, 2007 Gloon: After the pleasant surprise that was ‘Internal Punishment Programs’ I was hoping for more of the same from Red Harvest mark 2007 and if the sick, creepy atmospherics of lead off ‘Antidote’ was any indication then this was to be a greater darkness indeed. ‘A Greater Darkness’ takes the most oppressive aspects of its predecessor and amplifies them further spiralling you down deeper into the pits of the despair created by the band. The guitars while not as huge as previously take a more central role in creating the atmosphere with scathing thrashing riffs akin to the blacker metal spectrums and the keyboards are less electronic blips and technological noise and more haunting horns and subtle touches to the madness. Unlike ‘Internal PP’ there are no breaks amongst the bleakness no pin pricks of groove or riffs rocking out its just one continual funeral pall of future destruction and despair which is both its strength and weakness. It also disappointingly drones out with the finally three tracks more slinking of in sadness and defeat rather than bludgeoning you with hopelessness till the end. Overall another solid and dark release from the band just maybe a little too devoid of spark for me. Favourite Tracks – Antidote, Mouth of Madness, Icons of Fear……..the curse of the universe Rating – 7/10 |
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