LDWG has been operating in the shadows of the industrial techno underground for the better part of a decade, releasing music on Veyl Records (whose catalogue draws heavily on the spirit of Hospital Productions and L.I.E.S.) alongside a string of releases that have consistently wrong-footed expectations.
Violent Structures arrives on Clan Destine Records; the Glasgow-based imprint that has spent years championing everything from dark ambient and EBM through to industrial techno and hard wave, with releases from Gigi Galli, DJ Ghettoscraper, and Nordstaat among others.
Anyway, true to form, if you are expecting anything less than having your brain sonically pulverised for an hour you’d be expecting wrong, and should realign your expectations accordingly.
The opening track starts with an acerbic synth threatening to corrode the mix with distortion, before insistent techno percs grab hold to shock start your entire nervous system. This is fucking exciting and make no mistake.
The tribalistic EBM sensibilities of Parallax take hold next, drubbing you around the head with all the force of a malfunctioning cyborg cage fighter jacked up on techno-juice. Its low slung kick delivers continued gut punches amidst the baying acid synth.
Taking a distinctly hardcore approach next, the body hammer kick drums of Hostile Rhythm set as threatening a tone as one might expect, before our lifeless meat sacks are tossed into the bone-grinding distortion of Rituals of Motion for pulp-ification.
The oppressive saw wave synth in Constant Pressure certainly contributes to the obvious intention of the track, before synths and percussion tussle violently in the mid and upper registers for added tension.
Primitive Drive bludgeons us into submission within four bars, and doesn’t stop with the onslaught for a full four minutes 20 seconds. Hard, heavy, and industrial, the track commands attention simply through sheer ferocity.
The chaotic acid synth stabs of Target Acquisition are up next, scanning the landscape erratically for their quarry. Hardshift then takes the reins, pulling us at high velocity into a thrilling techno ride of looping, frenzied percussion and minimal 303 stabs.
Crossphase brings the tempo down to a low-stepping proto-techno swagger while the top end is ruled by a testy siren sound. We can’t sit around for too long though because the 4/4 is back in full force with the tumultuous Steel Pulse.
We close out on the mutated electro of Overstrike. The war rages on above ground, amidst the violent structures of the album’s title, while we can only listen helplessly from the digital catacombs we’ve taken shelter in.
A truly immersive long player. Grab it on Bandcamp.
