Divelto V/A CD by Collective Zine

The postcard which came with this CD, (note, a postcard, not a press release, featuring a mouse sat on a pissed off looking cats head, so we’re off to a good start) describes it as “Really really User-hostile stuff” and “Anti-Listener”. Having sat through all 74 minutes and 59 seconds of this evil bastard, I can confirm this is an accurate description.

I don’t even really know where to start with this review. For starters, it took me sometime to figure out who the hell was even on this. In the end I managed to figure out it seems to be a comp of some sort. Differentiating the different bands/artists/charlatans is almost pointless. Everything on this CD is totally fucked. Openers Jesus of Nazareth, use some frankly worrying samples with dread inspiring noise that makes me think of David Lynch pushed over the edge of sanity. Illusion of Safety is a bit less dense, a glitchy mess of reverby, (I hesitate to call these beats) taps and electronic pulses. Astronoise could be the black box of some star ship crashing into a black hole for all I know. Blodspurt might be the sound of a grind band getting bum raped to death by a cyborg in an airlock.

Divelto themselves is something akin to a seriously angry drum machine eating your face off with big rusty metal drum stick teeth. Wage-Slave Exchange is the closest things come to an actual band as far as I can work out. Some sort of grind band sicking itself back up through a broken computer. There are actually recognisable human noises on their tracks. Mourmansk 150 is like a microphone wrapped in cellophane, then thrown into a hurricane strength sandstorm, capable of stripping flesh from bones. Final exit trick you with a small snatch of an ambient section, before battering you with yet more seriously unpleasant distortion. Inhalent have a low rumbling background noise in hell thing going.

Did I enjoy any of it? Fuck No. Its fucking horrendous. Do I admire their commitment to taking things to the maximum level of ridiculousness? Fuck yes. This bunch are cleary not interested in doing anything by half. The fold out insert that comes with this bears the legend “SUFFERING! THE MOST PROFITABLE ENTERPRISE IN HUMAN HISTORY”. I guess if you want to soundtrack that statement, this is a fairly good attempt.

(final note, although this is a comp, there are more tracks by some than others, the release has Divelto’s name on the front so I’ve filed it under their name. Even the website for this lot is destroyed. I quote; “Discordance Axis? Fuk No! Try th woman’s hygiene section of th super-market & buy yourself a bottle of bleach 2 drink while yur at it you worthles fukn turd!!!” genius).