Primitive Knot: Exit Methods

(Deathbed Tapes / Pure Sciences)

Cassette/ DL

Launched sixth October 2023

BUY HERE

Manchester’s Primitive Knot push industrial steel to its limits and past with Exit Methods. Andy Brown shares his ideas for Louder Than Battle.

Primitive Knot is an unstoppable, industrial steel, one-man band hailing from Manchester. The work of 1 Chris Williams, the undertaking has already unleashed one in all my favorite albums of 2023 within the type of the exceptional Timeless Lands. That’s with out mentioning the music he’s launched beneath different guises this 12 months. Current extracurricular initiatives have included an album of atmospheric dungeon synth as Witch Root and a few esoteric industrial as Cromlech. Oh, and I actually ought to point out the goregrind album as Astral Church and the commercial electronica of Gestalt. His separate initiatives normally focus on a selected space but with Exit Methods Williams has made a concerted effort to cross the streams and introduce some rogue parts to the established Primitive Knot sound.

The refined introduction of digital beats – past the extra established industrial march of the drum machine – begins with the album’s title observe and preliminary providing, Exit Methods. It’s there lurking beneath the floor as reassuringly heavy guitars smack into my ears like a wrecking ball. “This isn’t an exit” Williams intones because the doorways are shortly locked and we’re trapped contained in the determined dystopia of the album. Within the phrases of a very sadistic Hollywood villain, sport over. Atrocity Tradition begins with blast beats and black steel earlier than a meaty, brutal riff kicks in. And once more, a extra digital, beats-driven affect begins to creep but additional into the sonic stew. There’s actually some widespread floor with artists like Kevin Martin and Justin Broadrick.

Issues actually kick off in the course of the glorious, Procession Of Simulacra. It’s thrilling to listen to the observe morph right into a visceral mixture of 2-step influenced rhythms and maximalist steel. Like a light-weight being switched on or a locked door being unceremoniously booted down: Now he doesn’t simply wish to crush our skulls, he needs to make us dance too. It’s a mix that works extraordinarily effectively and I got here dangerously near busting a transfer or two within the grocery store at the moment. The manufacturing is excellent, making certain each riff and beat hits as laborious because it ought to. Flip it up and bathe within the observe’s immersive dynamics and substantial sonic weight. Simply don’t go crashing into the tinned items aisle within the course of.

With a nod to everybody’s favorite renegade cop, John McClane – Die Hardest is a big, misanthropic wall of snarling, doom-laden riffs. You’d battle making an attempt to bop to this one. Williams growls just below the floor as he’s overwhelmed by an almighty wave of apocalyptic sound. If the needle was within the purple earlier than, it’s now snapped off and set hearth to your entire gauge. There Is A Hall, And The Hall Is Time gives a little bit respite with two minutes of sci-fi-inflected drone. I imply, it’s nonetheless noisy and would little doubt scare the bejesus out of your cat however by this album’s requirements, it’s comparatively chilled. Chilled is a time period I take advantage of extremely loosely right here, you perceive.

That is music for dangling on the precipice, for staring into the void with a mixture of anger, hate and hopelessness. A raised fist and a cathartic scream into the abyss. A black mirror for when a brand new Charlie Brooker providing simply isn’t sufficient. It most likely wouldn’t go down too effectively over the PA at your native leisure centre. Catastrophe Erotica begins with a wash of synths earlier than all of it comes crashing down round our ears. A totally nasty, undeniably badass guitar sound rubs shoulders with some more and more frantic polyrhythmic beats. It’s like Williams has strapped a load of WMDs to his already explosive sound. Municipal Demonology drags us right into a suitably hellish vortex of relentless riffs and beats. We then attain complete new ranges of sonic madness with the superb Broad Spectrum Quantum Entanglement. My god, there’s a lot happening right here and it’s all taking place at 100mph.

It’s been one hell of a visit however Primitive Knot might very effectively have saved one of the best for final. Gethsemane is an eight-minute epic regarding start, demise and rebirth. We’re carried alongside on the again of bone-rattling bass, punishing beats and thunderous guitar. The polyrhythmic rhythms and head-spinning electronica start to sneak in because the observe progresses and the outcomes are unequivocally spectacular. “Struggling has no that means in a godless world” growls Williams because the depth builds to near-unbearable ranges. The observe is immaculately layered and one of the highly effective issues I’ve heard from Mr. Knot.

One other day, one other glorious launch from Manchester’s heaviest son. Whereas some battle to seek out inspiration, Chris Williams clearly begins his day with a hearty breakfast of riffs. By the night he’s ready a luxuriant buffet of goregrind, electronica and industrial steel. All extremely nutritious elements, I’m positive you’ll agree. To Williams, music is important sustenance. It’s laborious to consider that Exit Methods is the second Primitive Knot album this 12 months and it’s one other absolute belter. The following stage within the undertaking’s ongoing evolutionary course of. For different artists, this might have taken years and be one thing of a magnum opus. But if there’s one factor you merely can’t cease Williams from doing, it’s making compelling heavy music. The album is getting a US launch through Deathbed Tapes and a UK launch through Pure Sciences.

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You will discover Primitive Knot on Fb, Instagram, Bandcamp and X.

The video is by Joan Pope who you will discover right here.

All phrases by Andy Brown. You possibly can go to his writer profile and browse extra of his critiques for Louder Than Battle right here.