Vatican Shadow - September Cell

Just when I was losing the will to live three Vatican Shadow vinyl’s drop and save me from the vultures. Following a slew of Cassettes and eventually wax via Type and Blackest Ever black, this latest final offering from Dominick Fernow (Prurient) arrives on his new label Bed Of Nails. A four track EP no less. This really is kinda the sum of all of his musical tastes and creations welding steel techno with power electronics, industrial, almost black metal atmospheres, dark ambient, EBM, IDM, Noise with a heavily political aesthetic that runs through track titles and artwork. It’s a focussed project and in many ways feels more refined from his early work, That’s not to say that it isn’t raw and uncompromising. I’ve always found Domick’s work relies on a multitude of complex layers which are often smudged and blurred by distortion and effects where in this case he takes a more stripped back techno approach. A cleaner sound with just the right amount of murk. Some cracking beats and melodies in these tracks. You could slip these tunes in between AFX, Surgeon and Autechre records quite happily to a dark late night dancefloor. Apparently he’s in LA at the moment, give it six months and he’ll be in Berlin with the rest of them, playing at Berghain and getting pissed on:p This is one of my favourite records I’ve heard in a while. Can’t wait to check what else the label has to offer.