After two to four years of operating under different names (or semi-disappearing but continually experimenting with various forms of sound behind the scenes), Philly-based noise/industrial duo Teeth Engraved With the Names of the Dead has made a surprise return with a new six-song, 32-minute album, It Will Be Dark Soon. I've only been able to play the tracks through two or three times so far, but "Hunted" is an early favorite—and a strong overall representation of the aesthetic and diversity of the release in its entirety. Bleak cascades of oceanic black ambience lead into lurching distortion corroding scrap metal turned tribal percussion, as subtle chilling melodies give way to bristling undercurrents of disinterred torment. The composition achieves a certain cinematic grandiosity without losing its unpolished hostility, and boasts some semblance of structure without lacking abstraction and fluidity.
"Raw Meat" and "Flatline" are other initial standouts, but it's all top-shelf material.
I don't find myself listening to "noise" so often these days, and in part I think that's because so little of it is this good, so I'm excited to hear whatever comes next...
