By the Throat

This time the approach -- which is clear by the title and the pack of wolves in a snowstorm on the cover -- is in reverse. On By the Throat he uses far more organic textures as a base, whether they be from animal or human worlds, layering electronics and other effects atop them. There are real melodies at work in most of these pieces, and because there are, when harsh industrial noise, metallic guitars, and the sounds of wolves themselves are placed atop gentle ambient drones, strings, piano, dulcimers, and other acoustic instruments, the effect is simply nail-bitingly harrowing. Take the opening track, "Killshot." Minimal synth textures establish a skeletal melodic pattern for 30 seconds before a wave of gated -- and harsh -- sonic waves overshadow them completely for a few moments, and then they poke through over and again. It's like a Philip Glass-styled melodic fragment that refuses to die no matter what is placed on top of it. Dulcimer touches and a piano slip in and out melismatically, but amid the gargantuan swells of noise, it becomes creepy; disturbing but beautiful.