Archaeological / Dio Drone
The latest collaboration from these two denizens of the underground is quite a change from their previous release due to its live format and it being the only current recording of them performing together. When the Archaeological folk requested their appearance at the eighth Dio Drone Festival, people were perhaps expecting them to tackle pieces from Darkening Ligne Claire, but instead a wildly unexpected and diverse pair of tracks were grated over the crowd.
The slow, opening drone is oddly hesitant, giving the rambling and faintly demonic voice of Maniac plenty of rein to crawl amongst the audience, wicked laughter erupting at points. You can almost see him stalking the stage, goading the audience, drawing them into his web of intrigue as Andrew Liles distorts aria snippets, and the tapes spool and crackle around Maniac like the flames of Hades.
When he yells, it is quite disconcerting, and at other times he comes over like a black-clad street preacher, provocative, insinuating. The conversational element draws it away from the previous album’s crazed repetition and the distorted horror guitar that accompanies certain moments is also quite a change of pace. The track eventually starts to fray and show its diabolical other face as Maniac asks “Why are you all here tonight?” as it explodes in a distorted tumult. There are drums on the second piece and that is pretty unexpected. The beat is slow and leaden, but the fills are surprisingly vibrant, keeping the listener on their toes. Sounds emanate from everywhere, and the voice is scattered and very hard to follow, as if the speaker were being dissected, while over the top Earth-like riffs resound, but with a little more metal content. The tone is pure but screechy, repetitive and simple. It is an unlikely mix of ingredients, each a harsh reaction to the other, and it lumbers and grumbles as the voice rambles just out of earshot, the message indistinct but the tone menacing.When the guitar eventually overwhelms the voice, you can imagine Maniac taking that opportunity to harangue the audience off-mike as the guitar histrionics clamour incessantly. It is full of sonic surprises and when the tempo starts to increase, the drumming becomes more ambitious, with Maniac triple-tracked, just in case you thought he had forgotten about you as he warns you to look under your bed.
Archaeological have managed to capture a unique moment here on a limited release of 66 copies as well as download, and it is at turns terrifying and enticing, whimsical and guttural, and yet another example of the power the duo possesses. I am already looking forward to the next chapter.-Mr Olivetti-
