MDS51 – Sickness and Ruins [Strange Therapy]

German industrial radicals MDS51 grace us with a new release for Strange Therapy. The 10-track cassette Sickness and Ruins consists 3 new cuts, 3 tracks previously released only on CD, and some live-tracks recorded on Wroclaw Industrial Festival in November 2018.

DNA is a death-factory made music, an industrial inferno with distorted rhythms and sharp lines, conjuring a thundering crescendo of obsessive nature. The majestic atmosphere is enriched by well-placed samples and screams, recalling a tension akin to a real horrific experience. Tunnel is a static attack with subtle distorted motifs with a hidden melody, endorsed by a mechanical rhythm upon which female shouted vocals are layered. The track grows into a hypnotizing movement with seductive passages, while keeping its menacing soul. Torn showcases grinding lines and orchestral dark ambiances, reaching a film-score structured with sudden stark percussions and mesmerizing motifs. A dystopian sci-fi atmosphere dominates the number, while sparse vocal samples enrich the track with an almost narrative quality. Death-industrial moments surprise us with distorted vocals and steady paths. LCF is a noisescape made of hellish distortions and a stomping drum, interrupted by alarming screams. An old-school industrial atmosphere permeates the episode, conjuring a new steel-like obsession, and during the second half hateful vocals complete the climax. Fear Reactor is a destructive affair made of abrasive distortions and the usual well-placed samples, soon reached by strong rhythmic patterns and declaiming shouted vocal deliveries. Grinding moments with a crawling movement characterized by a broken structure. Pendu employs minimal elements and suspended atmospheres upon which a crooning voice layers its dark secrets. A sharp affair with an eerie sense of danger, a well-crafted industrial-pastiche ends the A side.

Propagation is the first of the 4 live tracks and welcomes us to the B-side. This track is a raw rendition with an almost punk feeling, a compulsive motion with steady cymbals and imperative vocal samples. The industrial march knows no pause, delivering some furious crescendos. Monochrom showcases minimal droning structures and rhythmic mantras with a serpentine nature. Then, shouted vocals enrich the track with a soulful performance. WHM is a percussive affair with sudden burst of noise and stomping beats, a menacing soundscape which grows with the continuous adding of elements. During the second half it sees riffing sounds and a starker drumming. Enfer ends the cassette with cinematic undertones with ritualistic rhythms and seductive female vocals in French. A dark crescendo shows itself among the crawling movement, keeping a restrained tension never really climaxing.

Release date: May 28th, 2019.