Luasa Raelon - The Poison City

This comes as a surprise, as when it arrives through my mailbox, I find myself faced with a project I have not heard of. Even more a surprise when see it is on Italy's Eibon Records - a label going from strength to strength. Looking online, it seems that Luasa Raelon has recorded some 15 or 16 releases - a sign that either they're ultra limited, or quite frankly, - bollocks.

'The Poison City' at first glance has all of the right logistics and ideas- a package that leaks neon green, an empty factory devoid of all life, but glowing a radiative green from every crack and window. Chernobyl at night, bleeding its poison gas with intensity, and if you listen carefully, you can just hear the groans of its unfortunate inhabitants living after death?

What a fitting package for a dark ambient release. Does the music live up to these expectations?

Our journey begins with "The Terrible Place". Arriving at the disaster zone in full protective gear, we imagine ourselves walking through these walls, breathing air like ink, as we can only find our way around by feel. This is Death Industrial at its most melancholic; every sound and note weeps and sheds its contaminated skin. There is more than a drop of originality here, in fact, there is a sound recognisable as no other - an import of American Death Industrial music not seen since Steve Roach's mighty Vidna Obmana, and its bastard offspring, "Djen Akajan Shean".

Let us go to the heart of this operation, the "Toxin Industries". Like looters during an earthquake, these sounds manipulate and corrupt the tragedy in order to gratify and subdue their own malignant desires. These are the sounds of the lungs of the factory sucking in all the nuclear toxin they can manage, and shrivelling, before taking one final harrowing breath - a sound so despondent and desperate that every rivet and join creak in unison.

Lets take a look at the cause and effect of this, the "Hunted". Those responsible, be it directly, or indirectly, for the becoming of this ghost town. This is a much darker, much more intense sound, it is the ghosts of the factory grimacing, and seeking out revenge. Temporal loops and sorrowful melodies weave this track through, and there is more than just a hint of Horror movie sounds on offer here. "Hunted" would in fact fall into place nicely on most Psychological Horror movies you could hope to watch.

A Real mention has to go to "The Vortex" however. Ever imagined how it would feel to stand on the epicentre of nuclear tragedy? To stand on the exact point of explosion and just close your eyes? This is what it sounds like. Scarred and wounded air, an invisible hole separates it from itself, as toxins and chemicals seep into its wound. Beautifully tragic, despairingly sad sounds. Possibly some of the most unlawful fourteen minutes you can ever hear, but also some of the most important. This entire performance is a perfect reminder that nothing like this should EVER happen again. A Car bomb in the face of the Manhattan Project.

Finally, We hold up a million candles to "The Aftermath". A decade after the disease, the streets and factories slowly begin to bear life once again. With a little more Animation then previous tracks, this is a potent message that despite the magnitude of the tragedy, Mankind's will shall overcome. But will it learn from its mistakes?

As the track gets darker, how do we know we won't just repeat the past?

Man Kills Everything. Oct 25 2006