Zwischenwelt - Paranormale Aktivitat

On our planet there are parts of the oceans which are termed "dead zones" due to the level of pollution abundant in them; saturnine and devoid of life, they stretch for miles. Barren wastelands of rock and silt underwater where the light may reach but nothing lives and no one would want to visit them save for environmentalists out to document what industry has wrought within the natural order. This debut from Zwischenwelt is the soundtrack to such a place. Darkly prophetic in it's tone and arrangement, it will leave the hairs on your skin standing on end... an absolutely visceral outing of sparsely arranged beats and somewhat dessicated vocals. The dread throughout this album is palpable, it leaves no area of brutality unexplored. Oh, the words by themselves don't impart these feelings I'm getting, it is the music itself that has driven me to compose this review having only gotten this record in the mail today.

Some substances we are innately wired for, like a form of pre-determination hewn into our very DNA. An album like this would be one of those substances for me. It bonded itself immediately to my nervous system and like any form of synthetic release, I find myself indulging in it over and over and over again. 'Paranormale Aktivitat' is just slightly over 40 minutes in length and is baleful scorned vitriol throughout it's all too short run. The variations and permutations which this record holds within the twelve tracks on it you will be overwhelmed by, go ahead and underestimate what you're reading. You listen to this work at your peril, lovers of experimental audio couture. The particulate matter will take some time to settle back into recognizable patterns and by matter I mean grey matter. Zwischenwelt are much the same as taking a child's snow globe and then violently shaking it until no sign of the original architecture remains, all that can be discerned is a vortex of chaotic maelstrom.

This is a vicious, insidious opus designed to do one thing: get inside your head and
attach itself like a neural parasite.

When I ordered this album, I had no idea what to expect and upon further reading about this project I discovered that they do have quite a background, in particular one of their members who was part of an electo outfit I continue to find indispensable even though they've been gone for years now. This is not what I would have expected him to be a part of nor is this darkly shining path into dehumanized synthesis one I'd have suspected him to be walking on. The sum of it's parts, Zwischenwelt are an act who will keep you on your toes. There's very little accessibility to be found in what they do, the voice they choose to speak through is far from harmonious nor is it a sugary auto-tuned automaton spitting out the hooks praying you'll overlook what's going on around it. Synth lines weave in and out with acidic malignancy, the rhythms are harshly contrasted against sparkling, almost melodic jabs of sound and all around you can make out the cries and lamentations of those who have been snuffed out with methodical grace.

The highly evolved end we're surely headed towards at the hands of a virulent pathogen all dressed up with one destination in mind and one singularly magnificent sequence of instruction embedded at it's core: the domination of whatever it comes across. 'Paranormale Aktivitat' is a glistening, murderously addictive musical entry from a bunch I really hope to hear more from as soon as possible. They have somehow managed to sear onto this disc a collection of wickedly twisted electronic prescience which almost becomes providence itself, rewarding and punishing at the same time from deep within a well of a billion torments. Dec 14 2011