PHAL:ANGST: Metal Injection Premieres Jarboe Remix From Vienna-Based Industrial/Post-Rock Outfit; Whiteout To See Release Next Month
Long-running Vienna–based industrial/post-rock collective PHAL:ANGST has teamed up with the legendary Jarboe(Swans) for a remix of their song “Severance.” Entitled “A Tale Of Severance” and now playing exclusively at Metal Injection, the track appears on the band’s impending fifth full-length, Whiteout, set for release on January 13th via Noise Appeal Records Noise Appeal Records/Rough Trade.
PHAL:ANGST‘s vision is to have their songs remixed by legendary artists who have inspired them. Remixes have been made by Justin K. Broadrick (Godflesh, Jesu) and Dälek for the band’s previous album (Phase IV). This time, the band’s dream was made real by Jarboe.
As a member of genre-defining Swans, she and Michael Gira explored experimental and innovative post-rock and hard, analog industrial as well as hypnotic, repetitive percussion in rock music since 1985. In 2003, her collaboration with post-rock/metal legends Neurosis resulted, for PHAL:ANGST, in one of the albums of the century. Her own solo work may be a bit underestimated by some, but since the ‘90s she has had an astonishing output of albums, EPs, collaborations, soundtracks, and remixes. Her style is incredibly accomplished and versatile, but always resounding with that very special ghostly Jarboe vibe, which she has also imprinted on “A Tale Of Severance” in a masterly fashion.
Comments the band, “US American legend Jarboe has contributed a remix for the upcoming PHAL:ANGST album, turning ‘Severance’ into ‘A Tale Of Severance.’ Although this remix is remarkably close to the original, it also exhibits remarkably idiosyncratic elements, i.e., the sound of a wryly grinding gothic organ played by Jarboe herself. The sound mix has been remade completely, ditching the original electronic vibe in favor of a more death country-esque atmosphere featuring guitar and said organ.”
Adds Metal Injection, “If you’ve ever wondered what a light and airy version of Sunn O)))‘s Black One might sound like, without losing any of its terrifying qualities, you’ll love this.”
Stream “A Tale Of Severance,” only at Metal Injection, at THIS LOCATION.
Whiteout was assembled over the course of five months. The band and a dream team consisting of Alexandr Vatagin (engineer for Kronos Quartett, Pauls Jets, Dives, Electric Indigo), Gerhard Potuznik (GD Luxxe, Mäuse, co-owner of Angelika Köhlermann, producer of Chicks On Speed), Alexander Lausch (engineer for Die Buben Im Pelz, Paul Plut, Mynth, The New Mourning), and Tobias Wöhrer (Leyya), were involved in producing, consulting, recording, mixing, and mastering the record. Remixes were made by industrial/dark ambient icons Brian Williams AKA Lustmord (Current 93, Nurse With Wound, SPK, Terror Against Terror) and Jarboe (Swans), two musicians who have had a fundamental impact on the work of PHAL:ANGST.
The music contained within Whiteout bears the hallmarks of an exceptionally individualistic, if not idiosyncratic, band. There are no “songs” in the traditional sense of the word; instead, there are sticky, cinematographic sound epics which meander through numerous atmospheres and temperaments. These are frequently dystopic, melancholic, but also hyper harmonic with a distinct penchant for romanticism. This time, distorted eruptions of rage have been reduced in favor of more reverbed Southern Gothic, dulcet metallophone, subtle dub breaks, and rhythmic vocal samples with stomping beats in slow motion. It’s a work that demands patience, quietude, and attention from its listeners… And possibly mental resilience. When the repetitive line, “So also ist das Sterben” (So this is what it’s like to die), from the album’s closing carries the listener beyond the realm of the living on a crescendo of noise and harmony, one can appreciate the cerebral magic of PHAL:ANGST’s sonic sphere. The artwork was designed using photos by Kurt Prinz, pictures that were partly featured in the book Sezierte Architektur (“dissected architecture”), only adding to the record’s disquieting vibe.
Watch PHAL:ANGST’s previously released video for the record’s title track at THIS LOCATION.
Whiteout will be released on CD, cassette, and digitally. Find EU preorders at THIS LOCATION. (US preorders will be available at a later date).
