The essence of it. clawing at the core & tearing the foundations agape, here is an absolutely devastating EP from Ukraine’s Xah, the first since their formidable yet fleeting feature on the seminal God’s Chosen Rapist compilation cassette (Basayev Inductions 04).

As the new ubiquity & commodification of noise dulls the sabre & deadens the spring, its nice to have such a “authentic” drubbing & avulsion of the senses in all its puritan & primitive perfection.

This is stripped-back, single-channel, exceptionally harsh “amplified scrap metal improvisation” – scathing, rending, nerve-shredding, cortex-stripping stridor maim …. bliss.

It also boasts an almost ideal equipoise between lo-fi subsistence wreck & maximal power – mauling from the advantage of both balances, & scoffing both cakes to a delicious completion.

For such an extreme statement & totalitarian mannerism, its also surprisingly versatile, without ever manifesting a shred of relenting in the convulsive bray.

The quality, plenary & velocity of the harshness is epic & quintessential.

The dude behind this wonder – multi-exiled Ukranian fugitive Ilja Bilga – is a fascinating character himself, with a lot of specialist activity, label work & project coordination, including a major role in the late Flensecore phenomenon NABEG.

Some of the best noise I have heard in years.

https://peripheralstench.bandcamp.com/album/lost-and-found-2