Beta-lactam Ring
While O'Rourke presented an LP very much in a Nurse With Wound style,Cyclobe have obliterated most traces of Stapleton and Potter's rawmaterial and instead produced a freak out of frayed electronics thatsounds much closer to the work of their former colleagues in Coil.Although their "Part One" begins with sparse drones and eerie ambience,the stereo field soon becomes a battleground on which sharp bursts fromanalog synths whirr back and forth.Passages of extreme noise are balanced by menacing quiet sectionssuch as the last several minutes of "Part One." Some of the soundsappearing early on are so jagged and startling that these calmersections produce the same effect as the scenes in horror films in whichan intruder is waiting quietly behind a corner. It is no coincidencethat Cyclobe's Stephen Thrower was an integral member of Coil duringthe time they produced music for Hellraiser (referred to insome places as "too scary to be used in the film"). This album isinteresting for the insight it may provide into the working methods ofThrower and Ossian Brown as Cyclobe. By not directly referencing thesource material they may give us clues as to how they construct theirown music. Perhaps they always tend towards manipulating sourcematerial beyond recognition. The creaking ratchet sound that seems tobe the project's signature motif is audible here, as are the flute andsaxophone played by Xhol. However, they are merely hinted at underneathdense layers of sonic debris, and are only heard briefly. Cyclobe havetreated the source material as a starting point for producing acompelling new work that pays tribute to Nurse With Wound as much as itcements their reputation as being superb producers in their own right,regardless of their Coil associations. 

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