COTM 021 Closet Witch – "Chiaroscuro" LP

£13.12

COTM 021 Closet Witch – "Chiaroscuro" LP

£13.12

Last few copies of this absolute classic. See other pictures for examples of variant colours.

Everything is Noise said:
A runaway train recklessly catapulting off the rails at top speed towards certain doom. After a brief tension building introduction this is what Closet Witch deliver on their second album Chiaroscuro. Save for an interlude at the midpoint, which comes as a welcome gasp of breath amidst a somehow pleasant drowning, this album is punishing and relentless. The second impression Chiaroscuro calls forth after a terrifying train deepens the pervasive watery imagery: a woman, possibly the titular Closet Witch herself, screaming in anguish as ocean waves crash against the rocks all around her.

Grindcore is a genre of extremes. Extreme sonically. Extreme lyrically with extreme themes. Extremely short song lengths. (Famously some AxCx songs occasionally stretch past the 30 second mark while Napalm Death hold the world record for shortest recorded song.) Overlooking a genre prone to gimmicks and inherently challenging is understandable, but there is a depth of quality expression waiting for those willing to endure the extreme. The abrasion of a chainsaw has a way of cutting right to the point. The fat of meandering lengthy explorations is trimmed and the meat leftover is richer for that absence.