‘Challenging’ in the most literal sense of the word, Melted Cassettes occupy a completely different sphere to the rest of us. A two piece act comprising Mike Warden (programming, synths, engineering and rituals) and David Turner (vocals, samples, synths, guitar and sacrifices), they do a fair impression of Aphex Twin playing Prodigy and NIN covers at a metal festival with Lucifer as the only audience member. The resulting sound is ugly, metallic, overloaded with bass and coursing with treble and, perhaps most surprisingly, actually rather listenable in a twisted and vaguely unsettling sort of way. With thirteen tracks clocking in at a mere 34 minutes, it is a short and creepy thrill ride that is well worth indulging in if you can track down a copy of the CD.
The first track, ‘live at the Acropolis’ is a distorted sound collage that lasts for all of twenty-eight seconds before we’re rushed into the jabbering intensity of ‘shining figures’, a track with a lengthy build up that starts off resembling a track torn from the bowels of the earth but which comes to resemble more conventional song structures as the track progresses. A massive bass sound underpins the whole but because of the slow BPM and overarching distortion it would be wrong to think of this as dance music although it shares some features in common – rather it is reminiscent of the twisted remixes Trent Reznor used to indulge in on his early records (‘further down the spiral’ for example), with the sluggish pace rendering the track hypnotic rather than invigorating and the commanding, indistinct voices screaming across the surface making the flesh creep and crawl. A skittering break beat announces the arrival of ‘pushing buttons’, a searing, over-the-top blast of energy that stands entirely in contrast to the last track that has hardly taken effect when it segues into the caustic sounds of ‘razed from the bottle’ which references Aphex Twin only in the fact that by no Melted Cassettes have demonstrated a knack for being wholly unpredictable and far from averse to a bit of sonic terrorism – needless to say it sounds immense and those who relish unpredictable and original music will undoubtedly love this record even as it strives to scare the living daylights out of you with its tormented screams and broken beats.
Without a pause we soon find ourselves in the world of ‘retro puppet master’ which is enough to instil insomnia in the hardiest of listeners with only the rather more mellow groove of ‘plastic bubble byter’ offering momentary relief from the aural assault. ‘Lor’ stays within the realms of the sane even as the distorted voices bubble and echo up from some untapped well of human misery and the music rapidly comes to resemble the sound of industrial drills; all of which is still far more comfortable than the 8 bit revolution of ‘Altered Beatststs’ which sounds like a Commodore 64 having a nightmare. Speaking of nightmares – ‘a year on the toilet’ is a down ‘n’ dirty mess of screams and squelching beats destined to make anyone feel uncomfortable before ‘hrt attack’ a mercifully brief scream of discomfort and fear comes on constricting the chest and causing breathlessness and panic attacks. One of the highlights of the album is the mind-melting ‘sounds from hell vol.2’ which has a massive beat at its centre and the screams of torment scattered across it as if you’d just accidentally walked into the nightclub massacre of Hellraiser III (a not uncommon feeling throughout the album, in all honesty) with the music was still playing as the patrons die in unimaginable ways. Closing the album ‘Chrome violence’ could be Tricky filtered through a heavy duty distortion pedal with its somnambulant beat, and then the throbbing ‘xzrzrz’ slowly drains the blood from the still twitching corpse and envelopes the listener in silence as the disc ceases its spin.
Melted cassettes are genuine originals. For sure elements here and there recall other, similar minded artists, but ultimately this painful amalgam of horror, industrial, warped electronic and drone is the result of two uniquely twisted talents and the record is the perfect summation of their skills. The sort of act who would go down a treat at eclectic festivals such as Supersonic, there is depth here enough to satisfy fans of all genres of music and the intensity of the performance is undeniable. Certainly music such as this will alienate more people than it attracts, but then perhaps that is the point – this is certainly not for mass consumption – and those that do love this record will no doubt love it unconditionally. A dark, disturbing trip into neuroses, ‘the real sounds from hell’ is a worthy and fascinating addition to any music collection.
To find out more head over to the band’s website: www.meltedcassettes.com
