“Monolithic Undertow: In Search of Sonic Oblivion” by Harry Sword [Book Review]

Everyone, at some point, enjoys the sound of silence. It’s why people escape to weekend cottages and load up the car for camping trips. It’s why people move out to the country. It’s why we lock ourselves in the bathroom to escape the din of shitty relatives at family gatherings. It’s why earplugs and noise-cancelling headphones exist. But the idea of complete silence is a misnomer, more so when you speak to it in the context of music; there are always layers of something humming in the background. Back in the day, when I was searching for more of the most extreme sounds the world of extreme music had to offer, I inadvertently discovered subverting bands and outsider artists like Earth, Lull, Scorn, Coil, Robert Rich, Steve Reich, James Plotkin and Mick Harris’ Collapse album and so on and ...

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