Tholen - Neuropol

A disease-ravaged, barren rock in the coming days. A cautionary conceptual work from Tholen, to say the least. In the low tech future of a new dark age, 'Neuropol' is king. Reading along with mr. Eisen's text burnt into the sleeve, it becomes more than apparent the parallels he's drawing between where we are as a species and just possibly what our tomorrow will look like. Comparisons to Kammarheit and Atrium Carceri would not be out of place here but unlike those two artists, Tholen are focused on oppression. The lack of any light, the end of all hope. Each of the eight pieces on here take their time developing, the payoff is by turns sublimely majestic and morbidly compelling. The sheen coming off 'Neuropol' is like oil lurking just underneath the ocean's surface.

I did not think it possible for this band to become any darker after the triumphal debut of 'Sterklang'. You can imagine how surprised I was when 'Neuropol' arrived and proceeded to filter out of my speakers like a living, breathing malevolent cancer. Such atmospheres cannot sustain life and perhaps this is what Tholen are trying to say most with their new album. There isn't any strident sloganeering, no vocals are present whatsoever. To include them would have been superfluous at best. As we drift through the depths of the dessicated world, we feel as though we are drowning in the dank, malicious undercurrent of those who could have prevented all of this. Had they chosen to. As the liner notes state: "we made a horrible mistake." I am reminded time and again how otherworldly this act's debut sounded, the follow up sounds as though humanity has been cast into the pit and the pendulum is coming ever nearer.

It will take more than just an open mind to enjoy such a work, you will be rewarded handsomely for your endurance as well. This is a bare bones tour de force into a nightmare world, I like to play it at any time of day but most will prefer it after dark. Tholen soothingly (yes, this is quite a meditative release) peel back the layers of consciousness they extract from their listeners to fuel the forges of 'Neuropol'. Fans of Gustav Hildebrand's solo albums will eat this thing up, or perhaps it will eat them. Either way, this is definitely a perilous state of affairs we find ourselves in descending through layer upon layer of baleful drones, mechanized discord and disembodied technology. Stay awake. Mar 09 2011