(04.25.05) Inspired by a collection of short stories of the same name by J.
Barbey d’Aurevilly, des Esseintes’ Les Diaboliques is a
sepucheral soundtrack to demonic machinations and the persistent creep
of nameless dread. Crafted by Magnus Sundström, long time
raconteur of the Cold Meat Industry scene, Les Diaboliques is a
sonic descent into the sexual maelstrom of Sade-ian deviance and
repressed passion. This is the sex games of Die Form turned inside
out by the application of heavy machinery and power electronics.
Female voices intone sinister monologues over dark ambient washes of
sound and orchestral flourishes of heavy static. In “Due,” savage
string quartets embark upon melancholic etudes against blistering
beats, and “Proclamation” is filled with oppressive swells of
slumbering melody that pour over the listener like waves battering a
fragile embankment.
This is orchestral noise, rich with gothic overtones and flush with
the hedonism of midnight. Sundström conducts this dark symphony
of diabolic machinery like a clockwork mechanic — his timing is
precise and he knows how to hammer music out the metal
instrumentation. “Les Diaboliques” snarls and swells with a
burgeoning hurricane of sound like a hive of steel bees growing more
and more aggressive with each hammer blow on their metal housing.
This is visceral, tribal stuff filled with the rhythmic pulsations of
heavy valves and the coruscating noise of live wires. A naked heart
beats through the end of “Requiem for my Green Fairy,” a triplet pulse
that anchors a funereal flute melody and a skittering accent of
knives. Oh, I like this a lot, and I wish there were twice as much
here as there is. Sundström builds a spooky, noisy nightmare
with Les Diaboliques, and I’m only too happy to tripping into
the darkness with him. Highly recommended.
Les Diaboliques is out now on Malignant Records.
