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Brigther Death Now: Obsessis Nicolas
Tracklisting (CD): 1. Intercourse (now is the time), 2. Hipp hipp hurray (I will kill you today), 3. A b c d (learn a lesson), 4. Obsessis (for me), 5. I can't get no sadistfaction (oh, how I try), 6. You got sperm on your jacket (I know 'cause it's mine), 7. In circles (psycho circles), 8. Mothers and daughters (you need it) Tracklisting (LP): 1. Exercise (now is the time for intercourse), 2. Hipp hipp hurray (I will kill you today), 3. A b c d (todays homework), 4. Obsessis (for me), 5. I can't get no sadistfaction (oh, how I try), 6. You got sperm on your jacket (I know 'cause it's mine), 7. In circles (psycho circles), 8. Mothers and daughters (you need it) Got Milk? A new Brighter Death Now album can be nothing but a major phenomenon in the dark industrial / noise scene. Roger Karmanik, the man behind Brighter Death Now and Cold Meat Industry, has become a prominent figure of this small world with a long series of excellent albums on his label. Therefore, Brighter Death Now is now one of the band whose new albums can't be missed. This one, "Obsessis" (released both on CD and LP with a small difference on the tracklist) is no exception. First thing, the cover of the CD is both hilarious and excellent. Amidst so many violent / bloody looking noise or industrial CDs, Roger Karmanik has chosen to direct the shock value in another direction, with a all white cover, a titre written in pink and, most of all, the cute face of a blonde model with sperm on her lips as only illustration. One appreciates or not, but this is really different from the rest of the covers of this style of music. Check also the track titles... Then, the music. If Brighter Death Now is known for album dark beyong all imagination ("The Slaughterhouse", the "Great Death" series, "Necrose evangelicum") and for an ear blasting aggressive aural attack ("Innerwar"), "Obsessis" shows the interest of Roger in a new direction, mainly Power Electronics. This is very clear with several tracks, including the first one, "Intercourse (now is the time)" or "I can't get no sadistfaction (Oh, how I try)", on which Roger's voice bursts over wall of extremely grinding noise in very violent tracks. On others, like "A b c d (learn a lesson)" (MP3 excerpt) or "In circles (psycho circles)" (which was written with Deutsch Nepal), Roger Karmanik choose to write less aggressive but more heavy track, with a lot of very low basses. In a way, this could be a mixture of the deep end of "May all be dead" with the anger of "Innerwar" (the feedback is back on "Obsessis (for me)". The sound is bubbling, scraping, grinding, with a very good production (which is really a progress since the times of the "Great Death" box). It's not as incredibly heavy as "Necrose Evangelicum" was, but I believe that Roger's intent was not to write such a dark CD, and rather a noisier, more aggressive combination of his very typical sound with Power Electronics (once again, only on some tracks). It would be possible to compare Brighter Death Now on "Obsessis" with some other bands, but the attempt would be futile as Brighter Death Now is for sure one of the very milestone of the genre. When you listen to this album for the first time, you'll be struck by the thickness, the density of the noise and the bass, as well as by the aggressivity of some tracks. Then, once you'll get a bit more used to it, you will appreciate the mid-paced, very organic trakcs of the middle of the CD, that contains a lot of these ultra treated voices Roger has used on this new album. At this point, the monster Brighter Death Now manages something I would never had expected from such an act: becoming hypnotic (on "You got sperm on your jacket (I know 'cause it's mine) and "In Circles (psycho circle)" and its clear Deutsch Nepal influence. The heavy dark and beastlike machinery of noises, screams and very wide frequencies is put into loops that really grow on you like no other noise artist. And, finally, "Mothers and daughters (you need it)" closes the cycles with a come-back to aggression, screams, and madness. With "Obsessis", Brighter Death Now confirms the new, noisier and "punk-er" attitude this project has taken since "Innerwar", but also shows a real evolution in his music, The aggression of "Innerwar" is here, as are the low frequencies of "May all be dead", and to this are added some power electronics vocals that directly put Brighter Death Now as one of the main band of the genre. Of course, Brighter Death Now is not for anybody. You have to have seriously degenerated ears to listen to this. Yes, this is a cult band, but it doesn't mean it's not raw and mad anymore. You're warned. But "Obsessis" is good, very good and Roger is the man. A note about the LP version: the cover is different from the CD, but is still sexy and wicked (and has the mention "Hot & steaming super power hits". It has another first track, which is also very aggressive and raw ("Exercise" instead of "Intercourse"), but, globally, is just the same album. It's limited to 500 copies (go fast if you want to grab a copy) and is more directed to vinyl freaks or fans of Brighter Death Now.
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