UTD

UTD is the latest release from the demented mind of Woe J. Reaper. This album is so unique and twisted and fresh sounding that I can't stop playing it. It's actually two albums released as one. The full title is UTD: Beneath the Odd-Edge Sounds of the Twilight Contract of the Black Fascist / The Wealth of the Penetration in the Abstract Paradigms of Satan. Fucking weird. The lyrical content and liner notes read like the diary of a madman, explaining his ideology, symbolism, thoughts on music and beyond. The artwork, the rants, the mystery, yes... but it's the music that really sets Furze apart from the rest.


These songs are completely manic and unsettling, with the esoteric mixing and production techniques of early Darkthrone (although the sound quality is definitely not low-fi on a whole) and just plain maniacal energy throughout, with meandering clean bass accompaniment, overly loud and reverberant toms, shredding fuzzed out guitar riffs, and vocal range that strays from a muffled cookie-monster whisper to the shriek of a burning witch to a throaty growl to a strangely eq'ed raspy melody, now in your face, now in the dungeon below, now in a schizophrenic conversation with himself panning ear to ear. The vocals are occasionally effected (we'll use the Reaper's own words) with a very odd-edge, including a voice pitch shifted..... up? Soooo weird sounding.


One of the cool things about this record though is that Furze is not beyond giving you a catchy head-nodding riff to keep you engaged, weird as the recording may be. These songs are decidedly catchy, with veritably infectious guitar riffs, but still possessing a spirit of geniune creative freedom. I think this is where the dichotomy of Furze comes to light. This album is absolutely mean sounding, but so much fun. As an added bonus, the legendary Frost (from Satyricon and 1349) is featured on drums on two songs.


And as if that wasn't enough to sell you, the vinyl edition comes with a large poster with a positively juvenile illustration depicting Jesus fucking Mohammed (who's face has been blacked out, hips impaled with two grappling hooks, and genitalia pierced) with an inhumanly long erection. The whole thing is just so fucked up and great and I can't really think of any way that I would change it. Go buy this record now.