Search - :wumpscut: :: Wreath of Barbs

The latest entry in an unfolding sonic legacy

ixion75 | 01/07/2002

(5 out of 5 stars)

"The 5th :wumpscut: album is one of a fierce melancholy, an elegiac stillness, a clear sanctuary, a pristine dirge. _Wreath of Barbs_ is another solid entry in Rudy's pantheon of musical assaults. The tell-tale signs of a :wumpscut: work are still there: the heavy handed beats, the layering of elements, the storm and stress of reason. Yet there are progressions to talk about as well, as always. The production and sound boasts a new and lively polish as has not yet been heard, while yet staying true to the customary damage a :w: song must do to speakers. The effect, as in a track like "Troops Under Fire" is a marvelous concoction of the noisy and the resonant. Perhaps the most notable addition on the disc is the use in places of a vocoder, heralding additional permutations to the :wumpscut: vocal line. _Wreath of Barbs_ sees :wumpscut: a more streamlined and deadly animal grasping for its prey with concise, powerful songs highlighting the ever-renewing :wumpscut: Weltanschauung while at the same time buttressed with the ever-unfolding, ever-progressing Ratzinger sense of melody. Indeed, pieces like "Christ..." and the title track itself are some of the strongest examples yet of the range of :wumpscut:'s harmonic canon.If _Music For A Slaughtering Tribe_ is a picture of the landscape as chaotic; if _Bunker Gate 7_ is a snapshot of the world as sinister; if _Embryodead_ is an outline of the universe as amoral; if _Evil Young Flesh_ is a portrait of life as savage; then _Wreath of Barbs_ maybe a framing of mankind as irrational. It shows a driving out, a falling away, a going astray from the roots of rationality; or perhaps simply man following out his nature. Nay, his destiny. In a world where global death is still possible, where flames can rip apart our lives, where truth and untruth are increasingly relative, we begin to wonder if there is indeed any underlying meaning, any compliant code for us to understand life and its manifold events in a simple, straightforward way. "I need treatment," as the refrain in "Dr. Thodt" goes. Yet our existence is a continuing series of fill-in-the-blanks, the search for definitive answers a hollow dream.We've gone down this path before. :wumpscut:'s art itself, and the summation of negative aesthetics, represent one of many possible responses to madness and ruin. While it allows for the dissection of human frailties, it also allows for regenerating conceptions of the Beautiful. Alas, this is always the thing that makes us, for whatever fearsomeness housed in the kernels of our miscellaneous desires, utterly human. Completely pointless yet somehow strangely perfect.The album follows the traditional :w: scheme of a roiling, uptempo first half, and a dark, reflective second half. "Opening the Gates of Hell" does just that, getting the proceedings underway excellently, really picking up where the last original :w: track "Hang Him Higher" left off in its theme of a clique being stalked unto oblivion. "Deliverance" might musically be Rudy's answer to Future Pop, with its wonderfully harmonic notes dancing atop an industrial stomp rhythmic enough for the four horsemen of the apocalypse. Lyrically the song echoes parts of "Capital Punishment" and perhaps even the _Gomorra_ EP with its description of a combination of misplaced religious fervor and (with the "final solution" reference) harmful political zeal. It dovetails nicely into the title track, one of the high marks of the album. Over a sample of the famous John Bonham drum beat from Led Zep's "When the Levee Breaks" are laid in descending pitch some of the most beautiful passages Rudy has composed to date. The whole affair is one of stark, almost wrenching emotion. One need only watch the news to acknowledge the utter relevance of a song like "Hate Is Mine," which weeps as well as wonders about mankind's more monstrous elements. A sample from Vast's "Lady of Dreams" nestled in the midsection sets it off perfectly. Aleta Welling's spoken vocals peppered throughout gives the disc a "throwback" feel, as Welling has not appeared on a :w: release since the 1993 debut. Her performance in "Line of Corpses" manages a spooky effectiveness. (Fans hungering for more might be interested in the "Deliverance" single, where Aleta introduces the title of each track.) Rudy's remix of Kirlian Camera's "Eclipse" is included as a bonus.The Wreath of Barbs itself provides a new symbolism to envision. If a cryptic suggestion of the Crown of Thorns, it not only would look backwards to a prehistory of technology but also imply the permanence of punishment. And almost, as if an afterthought, the naturalness of this proposition. Deliverance from the "bright, bloody sea" is only possible at a painful cost. Perhaps our "greener day" shall upon a time begin with a different wreath-one of laurel. Until then, we have a new collection of stories from the apocalyptic fairyland...
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You Will Die in A Line Of Corpses

TastyBabySyndrome | "Daddy Dagon's Daycare" - Proud Sponsor of the Lit | 06/28/2002

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Wreath of Barbs is, for Wumpscut at least, an odd directional turn that flicked the "off" switch in many people's shallow EBM minds. Compared to their prior releases, this album's darkly moody ambiance wore a slower skin than people were accustomed to, opening it to a flurry of reviews in the "underground" touting the word "mainstream." Still, what is forgotten is that this album doesn't follow the atypical "beaten path," giving the Wumpscut fan the experimental flavor they should have grown used to by now.
There are actually quite a few quality tracks on this album, with moods ranging from the thoughtfully brooding, almost surreally vocalized "Wreath of Barbs" to the more moody, eerily pitched "Line of Corpses." There are other jumps here, too, with the catchy beat of "Opening the Gates of Hell" meshing with the somewhat cheesy, yet strangely disturbed "Dr. Thodt."
All in all, the album is a worthwhile addition to anyone's collection, but it has to be noted that anyone easily offended, especially those religiously inclined, need not apply."

Re-inventing the wheel?

skulliest | Edmonton, Alberta Canada | 10/11/2001

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Rudy Ratzinger continues on his course with his latest release, Wreath Of Barbs. It seems that Rudy takes a slightly different approach on this album. This is no more obvious than on the title track for this cd. 'Wreath Of Barbs' is a very minimalistic song, featuring some ultra distorted vocals (done in a very strange fashion) and some acoustic guitar! This song is surgically precise in delivering a despondent mood throughout. Another stellar track is 'Deliverance' which is more like the typical :wumpscut: sound. This song is very dancable and, by no surprise, is the cd's first single (I think). 'Opening The Gates Of Hell' as well as 'Bleed In Silence' are both excellent tracks. After several listens to my promo copy, I've concluded that this outing is overall less suited to the dance floor than previous CD's. However, on that note, :wumpscut:'s sound is changing and evolving into a more focused machine. This is still a dark CD, no doubt. The only downside to this CD was 'Dr. Thodt'. I love the music, but found the female spoken vocals to be annoying.If you are reading this, then there is a great probability you are already a wumpchild and probably have your money set aside to buy this disc. If you are not a wumpchild, then what are you waiting for?"