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chain d.l.k.
With a band name of Famine and a title like “Every Mirror Turns Black,” I expected some dark ambient, but Famine throws down glitchy breakcore that is an interesting mix of Autechre and Venetian Snares. But it goes far beyond this. For example, “Blood Sacrifice” sounds like a melodic doom metal band collaborating with Blearg or any other glitchy band, complete with guitar solo! It gives the feeling of listening to a scratchy CD that is skipping constantly. This was absolutely fantastic. The label explains that “'every mirror turns black' is a concept album of sorts, where famine, with precise precision unleashes the brutality and demons within him, smashing together black metal with breakcore cuts, psychedelia with an obstinate rejection of religion.” Overall, Famine is a much more varied artist from most of the breakcore stuff I have heard. It is not all in your face drill and bass. Tracks like “Optical Stimuli” and “We Fuck Together” have a stripped down atmospheric feel that proved depth to the album and helps Famine stand out from other artists working in a similar vein. Another standout tracks include “Seven,” with the looped female vocals “there are seven ways to die.” Overall, an interesting release. This disc weighs in at 51 minutes.
4/5
- eskaton
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heathen harvest e-zine
Famine is from Canada and stands as a rather unusual breakcore/IDM act, for it tends to hybridize other styles, further, deeper than just as in terms of shy addition of samples.
The cover is also rather unusual from such a musical direction, for the content is darker than the cover lets us imagine... Actually, Famine seems to get inspired not only by breakcore, death metal, but also by queensryche, judas priest or mozart. Maybe such influences are may be perceived, for sure, your dear servitor hasn't been able to locate 'em. There however are many other things to say about this surprising release...
"cortruisse" begins with some kind of ambient part, made of spoken sample followed by some kind of structured eclectic electronic music,more precisely breakcore à la Venetian Snares, but with an easier rhythm. The whole is not that aggressive. Depth is given by some clear synth tun, and also some smooth. The other rhythmic patterns consist of slightly distorted beats, highly varied, with much attack. "seven" features other kind of samples, and introduce another kind of atmosphere: darker, futuristic.
Hatched samples of female voices accompany a debauch of electronic noises, in a very structured fashion. The ensemble present many kinds of sounds and doesn't repeat itself much. The breakcore is not just a touch.
The fourth track pushes forward such modifications, with distortion of pitched, stereo perturbations. The immense variety of sounds gets almost hypnotic. We aren't far from Venetian Snares, because of the breakcore almost slightly jungle (?) way of mixing sounds a lot of sounds. Some sounds may remind Pneumatic Detach, although the core of the music doesn't consist of an heavy industrial music. "we fuck together" is another Venetian-Snares-like hybrid in a more dissonant and weird fashion... "lesion powder sickness" follows the same path in a more abstract way. Like the "we fuck together", it's less interesting, after all the emotions caused by previous tracks.
With the "blood sacrifice" we face a true integration of metal and breakcore. More precisely it seems melodic death metal has been integrated and mixed with a breakcore rhythmics, replacing the drums. This adds brutality to the music, yet without masking it. Difficult to know what belongs to the original track and what is new: the whole builds a new coherent ensemble with its own identity.
There are melancholic almost gothic synths or they have been preserved, and the whole melody of the track is conserved, quite catchy, by the way. Finally, this is a true remix, with both breakcore, electronic accents and a melodic death black metal side. The main modifications to such tracks are the addition of breakcore rhythmics and a tendency to hatch / break up the melody and modify it with many effects. "i don't believer" starts with a sample, but after that we've the good surprise to find back this incredible mix between metal and breakcore. Again rather death metal or maybe some thrasher and older version is mixed with breakcore. It's far less melodic here. Even an hardcore part get invited to the party... Progressively, many sounds are added.
This is a special experience to listen to it...
"renounce christ" follows the same experimentation as both "blood sacrifice" and "i don't believer". Again death/thrash metal is merged together with breakcore. Such tracks starkly contrasts with the other more ambient, purely electronic and Venetian-Snares-like ones. These are funnier: substitution of blast beats with other kind of beats or exaggeration of their sounds, together with hatched riffs
Interesting yet short...
"optical stimuli" follows the same path as the other with a more defined ambient direction. Although the tracks always combine both ambient and rhythmic sides, this track is more relaxed, more ambient, with a melancholic gothic touch. "hands" presents this other facet of Famine, the one only consisting of breakcore electro. Here are present beautiful synths, building an emotional and melancholic background starkly contrasting with a futuristic and hatched, aggressive rhythmic.
The contrast is also interesting in terms of tempos, speed: while the rhythm is incredibly fast, the synths evolves slowly. Presence of lower beats makes it closer from electro industrial. This track is also a really successful experimentation. "konstantine raudive" exploits again dark synths, exactly like "hands". A sibylline atmosphere is created that would be dign of some Velvet Acid Christ. This track is very suitable to close this album.
For the most tracks, we may say that, Famine is close to Venetian Snares, yet not just a copy. It features many different sounds, many different kind of effects, the sound is tortured in an original and no that repetitive way. But, especially fascinating and innovative are other metal-hybridized tracks and the synths/'gothic' hybrid such as "hands". The fantasy of mixing together metal music and electronic music is largely spread. Yet, successful synthesises are hardly achieved. But, Famine is a good counter-example, for it isn't far to create a new subgenre...
If we could imagine the future of death black metal in a true electronic symbiosis, we'd quote as an example the third track. Violence melody are perfectly integrated together with electronic and technoïd rhythmic, so that neither can we speak of an electronized death metal, nor of electronic music with death metal samples. Rhythmically, it's really elaborated. Suitable for breakcore fans and Venetian-Snares-like addicts, although opened to death metal and more “gothic”/ambient synths, Famine leaves opened many expectations, especially in the further development of metal-electronic/breakcore hybridization.
-- Perceptron
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regen e-zine
Marrying IDM whimsy to hellacious guitars and growls, Famine is out to prove that breakcore can be black metal brutal.
Every Mirror Turns Black is the long-awaited debut by this Canadian artist, who was last spotted as a contributor on Fractured's 2005 album, Only Human Remains. The majority of this album can be characterized as haunting and eccentric, a mix of breakbeats and nightmarish electronics. However, Famine will be predominantly remembered for integrating black metal into the mix, creating a sound that is equal parts Squarepusher and Emperor.
Though this specific amalgamation occurs only thrice, pieces like the utterly confrontational "Renounce Christ" are hard to forget. Though rife with unintelligible growls and note-shredding guitars, Famine quickly decimates any straightforward notions; double bass-pedal lightning transforms into a frenzied cluster of off topsy-turvy bass rattles and quirky hi-hat flutters, while jagged rail-gun riffs are sliced into stuttering slices of hostility. Equally hellacious on its surface is "Blood Sacrifice." Alongside demonic snarls and disc-skipping bouts of six-string fury, there's also a serene synth melody; curtailing into a piano conclusion, it lends the whole tangle of unpredictable beats and riffs a calming classical undercurrent.
If Famine's liberal use of black metal elements doesn't strike one's fancy, Every Mirror Turns Black isn't a work purely of shattered lightning riffs. In the grimly nocturnal "Konstantine Raudive," digital currents sigh and undulate like wisps of fog, while pondering bass thrums and intermittent drums click and whirr, lurking in its shadows. However, with "Optical Stimuli" all menace is left at the door; replaced with warm pensive hums, shimmering android whispers, and thrumming bass hiccups, it is cryogenically peaceful and proof that Famine's range can reach beyond the diabolical.
While these portions are interesting, it is still blindingly clear that Famine's metal-infused compositions are what make this a memorable release. While others have dabbled near this fusion before (Hecate and MZ.412, just to name two), Famine's breakcore influences should pique the interest of anyone who likes both their metal and their electronics extreme.
-- Vlad McNeally
3.5/5
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dark twin cities e-zine
It would betray the hand dealt to me to just come right out and say that Famine's Every Mirror Turns Black is one of the most amazing albums I've yet had the privilege to review but honestly it's an incredible set of tracks and I highly recommend it to anyone whose love of music extends beyond genre affiliation. If your tastes tend to embrace the experimental and, in particular, the aggressive you'll be able to experience the level of enjoyment I encountered upon listening to this impossibly good album.
I can't tell you who Famine is. It's apparently a secret. This seems to be a regular occurrence when it comes to artists on the Bugs Crawling Out Of People label. But this shadowy figure has apparently been a Producer for almost a decade and a half working in a variety of musical styles during that time period. Hailing from Winnipeg this unknown creative force now bases itself out of Toronto and Mirror represents the first proper release under this moniker. Let's hope many more are to come because the unlimited potential of this particular individual is evident right out of the hellish gate.
While songs like the opener, "Cortruisse," along with the follow-up "Seven" might call to mind the likes of Autechre and Aphex Twin the sound and production are much more crisp and involving, grabbing you by the throat and insisting you come along for the ride. But it's the third track that provides the greatest surprise. "Blood Sacrifice" incorporates Breakcore, Drum N' Bass, Glitch and Blackened Death Metal in a seamless display of pure aggression. It works precisely because it doesn't come across as a Metal artist experimenting with electronics but an electronic artist incorporating his understanding and appreciation for what makes Metal great into his music and that is all too rare. It's the sort of song that induces wide eyes and causes the hair on the back of your neck to stand on end. As good as all the other songs are you will be compelled to hit repeat and listen to this selection again once it's done.
As the album caterwauls onward the glitchy atmospherics of "Idle Flattery" collide with the ambient decay of "Optical Stimuli," a driving and astoundingly emotive piece of work that serves as another high point in this collection. Assailing your senses once again, "I Don't Believe" brings back the Metal aesthetic but in a more Digital Hardcore vein that is complimented nicely by "Renounce Christ," a sample-rific foray that seems to reference a number of classic luminaries within the Metal genre while maintaining a stark electronic feel. The last third of the album is dominated by the melding of various synthetic styles and culminates with "Konstantine Raudive," a driving piece that grabs a hold of your consciousness and pulls you through a wildly varied soundscape that isn't always as smooth but is ever engaging and endlessly interesting, tethered by a striking bass line and an inviting mood.
I really can't say enough good things about this collection. If you're scared away by guitars than this may not appeal to you but the explorations into the power of Metal encompass only three of the tracks and the rest are just as worthy of your attention. Every Mirror Turns Black is one of the best albums you're not listening to right now. You should make a conscious effort to change that as soon as possible.
reviewer: - Christopher Roddy Dec 2008 [3.5/5]
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chain d.l.k.
What has started several years before with the promising Dark Electro act CRYOGENE offering a sound somewhere between X MARKS THE PEDWALK and DECODED FEEDBACK, went unfortunately completely down under before a first debut album for this act could see the light of the day. After some short musically interruptions with FRACTURED, the solo project FAMINE was born, but far away from the usual Electro/EBM formula. FAMINE creates a nervous sound outfit, which mixes Trip-Hop, Breakbeat, Clicks ‘n’ Dub, Noise or even some wild pounding Black/Death Metal styles to a special and unforeseeable cocktail. Especially those drastically and speedy Metal tunes with deep growling vocals are storming violent the scenario and quite unexpected (“Blood Sacrifice”). But also attacking IDM/D’n’B-inspired teutonic pieces like “Hands” don’t take any prisoners. “Every Mirror Turns Black” fulfills the demand of an diverse and Experimental-oriented album, also and because it doesn’t forget to offer enough Dark Ambient in between the adrenaline-pumping smashers. Not an album in the expected line, rather more a new experience. Now it comes to grow and develop a more matured sound – the talent is immense, as this album proves it well.
reviewer: - Marc Tater oct 2008 [3.5/5]
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connexion bizarre e-zine e-zine
An odd little selection, this, as it veers wildly from relative peace and quiet (as evidenced by tracks like "Optical Stimuli") to unbridled demonic possession (typified in this case by "Renounce Christ") with hardly a pause in between. There are traces of jungle, hints of industrial and spatters of black metal littering what is otherwise an accomplished piece of IDM in the vein of Download, particularly their seminal release, "The Eyes of Stanley Pain" (1996).
The real gem on this album, however, does not fall into this category: "Blood Sacrifice" is an absolute masterpiece, blending harsh, thrash metal guitars and double-bass pedal drums with degraded signal mixing, circuit-bent glitches and vocals dredged from the pits of hell, all overlaid on a fast, eccentric breakcore drum line. While other tracks on the album (like "I Don't Believer") attempt similar stylistic crossovers, the result is less impressive. Even though this introduction of guitars into an otherwise predominantly electronic recording is nothing new (industrial-rock legends Ministry spent most of the 1990s producing six-string savagery, while contemporary terror EBM merchants Psyclon Nine recently invented their own brand of "black electro" on their "INRI" album in 2005), Famine still manages to create something that is guaranteed to make even the most jaded listener sit up and take notice. Please keep in mind that "Every Mirror Turns Black" is not a black metal album by any means; rather, it is a celebration of all things irreligious and angry that happens to make use of certain typical stylistic devices as a means to an end.
In general, this is a particularly painful album to categorize, as it represents somewhere in the vicinity of fourteen years of music production experience coming to a head - a very likely reason for the disparate influences discernible on the album. But that doesn't mean it's a bad album - on the contrary, Famine deliver something that's difficult to get into, but even harder to stop listening to.
-- -- David vander Merwe [7.5/10]
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reflections of darkness e-zine
Like many others as well, the name Famine appeared on my radar through the FRACTURED album ‘Only Human Remains’ in 2005. What I couldn’t know at that time was that this guy actually has a history as a producer for more than a decade then with involvements in various projects in different genres. Nevertheless ‘Every Mirror turns Black’ is his first official release to date and what a release it is…
The opener ‘Cortruisse’ starts harmless, so harmless in fact that it’s already suspicious and indeed after the stuttering beats and the samples led us on a wrong path for a while, the track suddenly explode with a fireworks of glitching rhythms, it’s hard o follow it in the first place. ‘Seven’ follows the line of glitch, but in this case, the glitches which have been precisely placed over fundament of broken eats, seem to create their own rhythm inside the composition. All this is nothing compared to what is to follow with ‘Blood Sacrifice’ and initially, the thought to be in the wrong film ripened in my head. Harsh guitar riffs and fast drum parts flooded the room, followed by high-octane break beats and FAMINE’s parade discipline the glitching. Don’t get me wrong, as strange as that might sound, this combination of Black Metal and electronics is brilliant and I wondered why no one came up with that idea before. ‘Idle Flattery’ develops a life of its own with some kind of mutational algorithm under the surface, which is always sidestepping, just when you’re thinking you’ve figured this song out. ‘Optical Stimuli’ spreads a rather solemn mood with spherical bells, even vocal fragments in different shapes and manipulated states can be heard. Again the rhythms are far from being ordinary and are intriguing and captivating at the same time.
‘I Don’t Believe’ and ‘Renounce Christ’ bridge to the Black Metal again by infusing the raw power f the fast guitar riffs into a costume of unrelenting and fierce rhythmical brutality that fathoms the deepest regions of musical violence; Especially ‘I Don’t Believe’ surprises with a bass that is able to burst your window panes. My initial problem with ‘hands’ was to find the structure or more precisely the order inside the chaos of fidgety rhythms and samples yet when the melodic layer comes in, a slight shade of structure evolves, getting clearer, the more the song progresses. The specialty of ‘We Fuck Together’ (Yeah nice title, I know) is that it doesn’t solely depend on electronically generated drum sounds to build up a rhythm, but uses a myriad of sampled sounds to construct an ultra complex network of beats and it’s hard to believe that one human being conceived this. ’Lesion Powder Sickness’ gets along almost without any melody and places a 100% emphasis on the creation of rhythms. The finishing track ‘Konstantine Raudive’ is presumably named after the scientist, who was investigating the Electronic Voice Phenomena, “sections of static noise on the radio or electronic recording media that are interpreted by paranormal investigators as voices speaking words usually attributed to ghosts or spirits”. That would explain the other-worldliness of this track, which seems to float in other dimensions, in the great beyond, where pale shades pass you by and concentrated clouds of ambience line your way. The beats however, remain down to earth, even if not ordinary and for the last time display a stunning complexity.
You can hear all the hard work Famine’s put into the creation of ‘Every Mirror turns Black’ and all people, who like sonic experiments as every single track on the album is one, will thank him in buying this awesome record and maybe even a bigger audience will discover Famine for themselves now. A highlight for me is without any doubt the fusion of Black metal and his skills on the synths. That has to be played live in my opinion Another one that really cast a spell on me is the wonderfully atmospheric ‘Konstantine Raudive’ that is so different from the other tracks on the album At the end there’s only one thing left to say: BUY this record it’s worth every cent.
-- Sebastian Huhn [9/10]
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