Deleted Scenes from the Transition Hospital

This right here, this album is the most fucked up, creepiest, terrifying album ever. A simple review could never describe just how chillingly fucked up this album is. I acquired the album from the guitarist and founder of the group after a few exchanges of PMs. When I first heard about this band, and one of their biggest influences I was ill pressed to receive a CD of theirs. See I am a huge fan, possibly even obsessed with the video game series Silent Hill. From this point on the review will be split into two parts. The first part will be a simple as can be run down of the music contained on this album without spilling any of the Silent Hill influences. The second part will be an analysis of the music and it's influence. (that part will be posted later as I do more research.)

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The best way to describe the music contained on this album is to not stress over it that much. I've heard this band being described as industrial black metal to Dark Ambient to noise. The best way I can describe this album is that it's half industrial dark ambient and half industrial black metal. All eight of the tracks have a sick unique blend of horrific noises and effects, but then just as you get used to the sickening filth of noise suddenly TAOP hit you with a wall of actual song structure. It really is enough to make you say, "What the fuck is going on here?"

The best example of this is the song "Pendulum Prey: The Second Incarceration." The tracks starts off as all the songs do with a cluster fuck of terrifying sounds and samples, and industrial noises before suddenly hitting you with some song melodies. It goes back to the atmosphere effects as before and soon you hear screaming, screaming coming from a man who's being tortured. When you think it couldn't get any worse suddenly...

...it changes to a Jazz piece! I know, what the fuck? That's what happens though. 2 minutes of screaming and industrial noise and the next thing you know you're in a jazz lounge. The noises are still there but they've been toned down quite a bit to boost up the jazzy part. The guy’s vocals have also become more toned down and melodic, almost like a demented lounge singer.

The other highlight song is "Deleted Scenes II: In the Gauze: Womb of the God Becoming." As is expected it starts off with a wall noise that makes you feel like you're in a certain place. Something is different about this piece though, soon you hear what sounds like a woman screaming in pain, and crying out in agony. The song melodies hit while the screaming and noise is going on. The screams stop for some moments only to start up again this time accompanied by ritualistic chanting.

Instrumentation wise when you can actually hear the musical parts it's damn good. I do admit that I downloaded a song off of another album and was a bit disappointed with that song I downloaded. I was expecting this album to be along the lines of blackened noise core. I'm happy that I was wrong though. The album consists of both noises and music. The noises are in the vain of the music and atmosphere in the Silent Hill games. (If you can play the game with the sound coming through a pair of headphones and you’ll know exactly what I’m saying.) TAOP would also like to take you to another place too though with these effects. The music can be described as a blend of dark ambient and black metal. Michael never gets too fast or crazy with the guitars and the drums actually hold real melodies and harmonies instead of going into the non-stop blasting field. The vocals are pretty low for black metal as they are not high shrieked. I do wish that the band would publish some of the lyrics since the only words I can understand are…

“I am so sorry, can you ever forgive me?”

"Walk the hallway"
"Salvation"
"As are bodies mesh into one."
"I want to get out of here."
oh and "AAAAARGHHH!!!!"

I’m tempted to slow down the tempo of these songs in order to catch the lyrics, for my own personal benefit of course.

What brings this album down are the shorter songs which are somewhat dull pieces of industrial music/noise. For a story type of standpoint these parts are needed for the completeness of the album. You simply cannot go from a song about a guy being tortured and then sent into a Jazz lounge or possible a strip club to a song that sounds like a young woman screaming in pain while ritualistic chanting goes on in the background. Doesn’t work that way, sorry, and because of that aspect that is why the shorter interludes are needed. They take you from one longer song to another.

To end this part of the review I will end by writing that I love this album. I love the sickening filthiness of the songs, and the erratic bits of calm and peace that are spread throughout key parts of the album.

If you like albums that make you scratch your head and go “What the fuck is this? I like it!” Then I advice you get your hands on this album as soon as possible.

Score 95/100