Mvtant - Electronic Body Horror

One of the biggest surprises for me in 2019 what MVTANT’s Gore / Mirrorshade double EP that released via Somatic records. It was one of those moments where a mutual suggested I check out the record with no real inclination as to what a mesmerizing album I was thrusting myself into. All expectations were blown out of water; it was as if I hit an industrial sea mine and it devastated me, my ship, and everything else in a twenty-mile radius. It was no wonder the album wound up on my end of the year list. But that was five years ago, and this is now.

Since then MVTANT has been rather quiet aside from a remix and cover album that released in 2023 “Low Culture Metal Bodies”. This ten track album was filled to the brim with talent, with established acts such as Physical Wash, Multiple Man, and Kontravoid making appearances as new faces and talent such as Dread Risks poked their head out from their grimy holes. As per the norm, this was extremely well received. 

A little more than a half-year later, MVTANT returns with their brand-new album “Electronic Body Horror”. To my dismay, this slipped right under my radar. And if it wasn’t for the word of mouth coming from the fella behind Choke Chain, I likely would have continued on in my daily routine without even realizing this came out. Nonetheless, it’s here and I’m ready for it. 

I think there might be some disparity between fans of MVTANT’s original release and this one. Gore / Mirrorshade was intentionally raw and, from what I heard, some of it was recorded live with a bit of improv. So, if Gore / Mirrorshade was an experimental album gone right in all the right ways, then Electronic Body Horror is that album’s cleaner and posher sister. What I mean by that is that the production has been tuned up quite nicely, the mix is more consistent, and the sound isn’t as aggressive as prior. I do not count myself amongst those who might think this album is any lesser than Joseph Anger’s previous. 

‘Disintegration’ introduces us to the new era of MVTANT. There’s a signature that comes along with MVTANT that’s hard to deny; you know when you’re listening to one of his songs. Perhaps it’s the old school mentality with metallic percussion and ethereal synths; perhaps its his signature whispered vocals which contain a bit of an edge. MVTANT also keeps the song fresh, whether it’s adding in additional, brighter synths around the two-and-a-half-minute mark or inserting glitchy and cut-up samples just after that. This is industrial at its finest. 

Just after comes ‘Pretty Flesh’, a six-minute EBM influenced track. I normally find songs with extended lengths such as this to be a failing point for most artists. However, MVTANT knows how to keep the song moving. We start with a dance like vibe for the first minute with extremely punchy beats until it calms down and moves into a funkier groove around the minute-and-a-half mark. We break out of that into a raw beat until around the three-minute mark when MVTANT gives us a gorgeous and intense breakdown. Percussion takes over and each drumbeat echoes with a scream in the distance. A synth solo occurs shortly after that, as if a robot from a 60s sci-fi film is attempting to create a beat, before it collides with other noises into a wall of perpetual experimentation. The final section of the song somewhat combines everything we heard so far into one final EBM lead out. 

‘Voraphobes’ is a nice small bite of twisted machinery from MVTANT coming in at two-minutes and forty-seconds. Punchier EBM vibes; I especially enjoyed moments in the song when his vocals were backed by synths that echoed his sentiments. ‘Kanashibari’ is perhaps one of the more tame songs on the album, becoming what you’d expect from MVTANT at this point. ‘Ultra Gash Inferno’ is definitely one of the more experimental tracks on the album and will appeal to fans of Gore / Mirrorshade. The first forty-seconds or so of the song is a build-up into chaos, raw and unpredictable. And when the floodgates do open are we hits with oppressive beats and synths, severely bringing the title of the album to life. This is Electronic Body Horror. 

The opening of ‘In Dreams’ reminds me of so many oddball horror films that came out in the 80s that had such a wondrous synth track to it. Something a bit dark but mysterious; someone with a gun in an alley in a big city on a hunt for someone, or something, much more dangerous than they could have ever imagined. This theme leads on throughout the track; MVTANT comes in with a slower, heavier, and pulsating beat. 

Further oppressive synths and metallic clangs, like a hammer coming down on an anvil, are prevalent on ‘Burst Boy’. ‘Trauma Bond’ is an oddly gorgeous set piece that takes away all percussive elements out of the MVTANT formula. What we get is a moody, cinematic piece of music. The underlying structure is a loop of noise whilst retro-sounding synths play atop. The looping noise does get tiresome throughout the two-minute and forty-seven second duration, and I was surprised to see MVTANT go with one sound for that long, but it was nonetheless and interesting piece. 

‘Mechaphilia’ comes in next with some crushing beats; I wasn’t too huge a fan of the vocal presentation on this one. I’m used to MVTANT’s style, but I feel as if his vox were way too buried in the mix. It’s less an instrument here and more of an annoying bug flying about in  an otherwise stellar instrumental. The final song on the album, ‘As My Body Is Decomposing’, is more of an outro and retrospective on the entirety of “Electronic Body Horror”. It’s lighter, not as harsh or brass, but calm to a point. Relaxing synths with a relaxing atmosphere, as if you’re sitting on a balcony overlooking a shuttle launch into space, or watching a cruiser fire a laser into an opposing ship as they realize all hope it lost.  

MVTANT simply does it again. His focus on classic industrial, lo-fi beats, and glitchy and cut-up samples is on-point and stellar. Sure, minor complaints are to be had here and there, but they do not outweight the massive amount of compliments I can give this album. Each song a story, something that I can imagine events occurring to, whether centered in the present or future. And anything that can get my mind racing is a win for me.