Album Details

• Artist: Lustmord
• Album: Other
• Label: Hydra Head
• Year of Release: 2008
• ME Rating:
• Reviewed by: patchen on 2008-12-18

Naturally cinematic, (he has also scored films, notably "The Crow") "Other" featues more extended, Badalamenti-like industrial drone, that will strike you either as menacing or tedious. Lustmord has always made music that works better with visuals, in positive and negative ways. Fans hear dense, dark poetry; others hear background music for b-movies. Yet for over thirty years, the mysterious Brian Williams has plied his laconic electronic moodscapes in ways that have influenced countless bands, from the obvious to the not so obvious, like Melvins, from whom Buzz Osbourne stops by to deliver some tasty riffs on "Godeater" and "Dark Awakening."

What Lustmord does do well is manage to use sparse atmospherics to create seemingly endless space. His songs echo into eternity, and the effect is chilling, especially here on "Ash" and "Testament." You can hear similar sounds from dozens of lesser ambient, goth and electronica bands; Lustmord's soundscapes have a purpose, and yes, a poetry that sets him above many pretenders.

The question, though, is just how much such music can expand. Dark, brooding synth-driven melancholy only has a few avenues into which to skulk, all of them cul-de-sacs. Lustmord may be the king of very limited realm, but "Other" shows him to be continuing his exploration with conviction.

User Reviews and Comments

on 2010-07-03 jurist Said:

Oh, my love!
Not Rated