The Cloven Hand, a deviant electronic nightmare by Zebadiah Crowe, is only the first chapter in two EP releases. Drawing from their previous album, Host Rider (released in May 2020), the band subject three tracks to the less-than-tender ministrations of Seething Akira and Gods of Ruin and the result is, well… startling. Zebadiah Crowe’s embrace of industrial-isms into their blackened punk fury is no novelty: comparisons with the likes of Mysticum at one end of the sonic spectrum and Ministry at the other are accurate. This latest EP, however, delves deeper into the digital realm and the net result is open to debate. On the one hand, the greater presence of electronics and glitches appeals to my nostalgic side as it quite faithfully recalls the golden years of industrial music. Even the ent...
