Founded in 2016 by Josh Lamison, Retaliate of Anger is again in the news with his second album entitled Relic. Released on July 31, 2020, on Machine Man Records, Relic is available in digital format. Let’s discover together a tortured album that will surely delight EBM, industrial music and Glitch sound lovers.
The name of the project and the almost monochrome palette of the album cover, an aggressive scarlet, leave no doubt. The listener will be immersed in a chilling musical universe, steeped in anger and concupiscence. Gritty, abrasive and out of phase sounds, powerful rhythms, synthesizers, gut-wrenching bass and saturated voices are all part of this electronic music cocktail. A cocktail that draws its substance from literary works, such as those of Stephen King or H.P Lovecraft, but also from Salem, monsters, the MMORPG Funcom Secret World and the intimate struggles of the composer.
The tunes work very much on the principle of ostinato, a rhythmic or melodic loop, sometimes both, that is repeated relentlessly. However, and despite a very grainy and aggressive sound palette, Josh Lamison manages to offer diversity. In “Ghosts in my kitchen,” sounds come and go, appear and disappear like the ghosts mentioned in the title. “Darkchris64 (a diss track)” surprises with gun sounds that punctuate the structure of the track. With “Destroyer, Shelter,” a bass literally on steroids takes the listener away. “Get Good Slippy” builds around a bouncy melodic ostinato, a real contrast to the sounds already heard. “Get WWet” opens its curtains on a world of lust and concupiscence, punctuated by the moans of a woman. Finally, “Tuesday Rite” proposes an almost childish atmosphere with its more joyful harmonic color.
Between flayed voices, swarming and shattering rhythms, Relic offers a dive in a deliciously alienated and flayed sound universe. A quality album which is perhaps not to be put in all the hands (and ears), but that we recommend strongly recommend to listen to.
