Human Larvae - Behind Blinding Light

I believe that there are several solid albums released from time to time that should be specially tagged as “handle with care” or “‘warning, sharp corners”, and Behind Blinding Light can be definitely counted as one of them. The new release from Berlin based resident Human Larvae was published by the famous Malignant Records under a significant catalog number TUMOR100 for a valid reason. It was chosen to mark an important milestone in the history of the label that had reached a critical juncture of one hundred releases! Isn’t it amazing that there is somebody on the scene that continues to believe in a physical format and the music itself, keeps running around, taking care, preparing, pressing, promoting, doing all the hardest and dirtiest jobs to bring us fresh records from the best artists since 1994. I think that it is a really impressive milestone which deserves to be celebrated properly, and I am sure that Jason Mantis (the proud owner) had some beers on this matter. Meantime, we will join the celebration to the eerie sound of the third album of Human Larvae that confirms all the time and efforts were not spent in vain.

Firstly, Human Larvae is a one man project led by Daniel Burfoot who hails from Berlin, the capital of the European industrial scene. It is only the third full length record from this German resident since his first appearance in 2008, but it seems that Daniel sticks to the famous proverb “less is more”. His previous release Womb Worship had received really positive feedback from the Brutal Resonance team setting the bar high for future development. That's why the news and teasers about the forthcoming record during early 2016  heated up an already boiling interest even more. The album saw the light of day on Freak Animal Records in the form of a limited edition LP of 200 copies only, but honestly, it is a shame to release such a massive album in such a limited quantity, or maybe this is still a reflection of our market and the reality that experimental music faces close to the end of the Decade in 2016. Fortunately, Malignant Records recognized the potential of Behind Blinding Light to re-release it on CD by the end of 2016 and managed to present it to the wider audience. 

And today, thanks to Jason Mantis, I can enjoy the experience from this record and appreciate a really strong material which can be described as classic power electronics with a light touch of old school industrial. Without any compromise and excuse, the album hits hard with the first track 'Paradigm Shift' where Daniel manipulates various metal parts to create natural sound forms on top of a creepy background melody. A seamless transition between 'Paradigm Shift' and 'Severing Sirens' leaves no room for any hesitation and weakness instigating a dense climate of fear. The aesthetic language of the artist captures every corner of my soul, the abstract vocabulary draws on a vast breadth ideas, and movements which consist of uncovered violence and terror. Heavy analogue electronics strike the broadcast while Daniel takes a passage across the vastness of a pulsating landscape of a human mind filled with anger and hostility. 'Isolation of the Stain' amplifies the feeling of the space collapsed to the size of a single human being when a comprehensive study is impossible by default, when the only possible cognition is in this single personality. The sound becomes completely weaponized in 'Psychosis' to acknowledge that there is a complete difference between the outside world perspective and inside institution of the haunted and sick mind that has no comfort. The same enchanting power of sickness is transmitted out of 'Epiphany' as a mocking act that comes to exasperate and provoke the concept of divinity as an ultimate healing force. A cacophony of metal parts interweaves with an agony of overloaded speakers to denounce the divine lie and expose it in a monochrome vision of a healthy skepticism. 

In an era characterized by its identification with materiality, one tends to dissociate the material from its larger cultural nexus and instead focuses on it as commodity. That's why the importance of the artists like Human Larvae is felt more than ever before, the artists which are able to question the authorities and well-established nonsenses that rule the modern society. Behind Blinding Light is a true piece of art that is described by the code name power electronics and the only thing that is left to complain is a relatively short length of this record. Grab your copy either on vinyl through Freak Animal or on CD through Malignant Records.  Sep 02 2017