a dead spot of light, juli 2010:
silence under scaffold - "cemetary gates"
Yes, I admit it, I have a certain somehow pathological fixation on cover artworks. They are to me some sort of a fixation point and
when I spot something that well crafted or designed, then the chances are pretty high that the music will be something I will take a
spin of; even if the genre might be a little bit outside of what I normally listen to. Silence Under Scaffold's Cemetary Gates is such
an example. This tree on the cover and the dark as well as gloomy style in which it is presented aroused my curiosity. Moreover, a
short glance on the tags sparked further interest in it: dark ambient; industrial; funeral; monotonic. Well, if you have some sense of
the darker arts, then you will most certainly get an idea of what might await you on this release. But is the band able to stand up to
this and deliver what the brain might anticipate already?
First of all, the music is quite intense; not over the whole length, but at certain moments. The first two aspects - see the tags above
- describe the music quite appropriate. You have a dense noise-like layer in the background, while on top of it industrial sounds
were added in order to create a more intense atmosphere as well as to distract from the monotonous facets. Apocalyptic , this
would be a phrase that comes to the mind while listening to the music. This density in the arrangements at times, the throbbing or
oscillating of the drone motive, this haunting minimalism ... it really grabs you if you have a certain fancy for this type of music.
Aside from this the following aspect should be discussed a bit: in terms of intensity and depth the tracks switch in the level of
execution. While the first part of the album - tracks 1 -3 - are quite powerful in their execution, the succeeding ones are a bit calmer
and less offensive. Moreover, when you listen to the music via headphones, then you will recognize a slight imbalance on the
speakers; the right one has more power than the left.
I would see this release as a counter-point to the minimalism of bands like Cities Last Broadcast or a lot of stuff released under the
drone as well as the dark ambient banner at the Internet Archive. SUS play music in a style some might perceive as a hit in the
face. Nevertheless a bit more of transparency would be much appreciated, but I am able to enjoy this piece of music despite this flaw. I like the noisiness, especially of the first three tracks and in particular of the second one. If you like intense dark ambient with
a good amount of industrial elements in it, then this might be something you will thoroughly enjoy.
How to listen to this release:
Not via headphones! I cannot emphasise this too much ... listen on your normal stereo system and make sure to have a good
amount of bass on. Let the earth tremble, let the buildings crumble, let them all fall to the ground ...
Note:
I want to the thank the person behind his band for making the music available on such a short notice on a higher quality than I
would have been able to obtain via any download I found. Very much appreciated!
soundbase-online.com, sep 05:
silence under scaffold - "promo 2005"
Silence Under Scaffold. Die Stille unter dem Schafott? Oder was ist mit dem Bandnamen gemeint? Ein wenig Schafott ist ja schon in der ‚Musik’ drin, denn die dargebotenen Klänge lassen schon gerne einmal die Nackenhärchen aufrichten und die Augen schmerzhaft zur Seite drehen. Die musikalische Ausrichtung von Silence Under Scaffold ist klinischer, kühler ‚Dark Industrial Ambient’, in dessen Soundcollagen sich nicht wirklich Platz für Farben findet lässt. Erinnert mich ein wenig an Lustmord oder die Belgier VidnaObmana. Meistens befinden sich die Klangteppiche in der Schwebe, schwer zu fassen, sphärisch, geisterhaft, unidentifizierbar. Die Songtitel bieten auch nicht mehr als einen dünnen Assoziationsimpuls. Die Interpretation darf jeder in mühsamer Eigenarbeit vollziehen. Was die Sache aber interessant macht. Vor allem, wenn man eine schmerzhaft-stille Hintergrunduntermalung für das eigene Hörspiel oder Rollenspiel braucht. Für Kindergeburtstage somit aber vollkommen ungeeignet. ;-) Mehr kann man dazu auch gar nicht schreiben... (DJ)
sonic seducer, dec 04/jan 05
"battle of the bands 2004":
silence under scaffold - "nebelschwaden"
keine frage, einer der ungewöhnlichsten tracks des BOTB diesen jahres! denn s.u.s. machen weder rock noch electro, sondern verhallten dark-ambient - drone records, lustmord, inade & co. lassen grüssen. sicherlich lässt sich mit dieser kompromisslosen, experimentellen "musik" nie der grosse kommerzielle durchbruch erreichen. aber ebenso sicher wird man von der band in den nächsten jahren auf einem der einschlägigen labels für dunklen industrial hören. die nicht gerade zahlreichen kenner des genres werden also beim song mit dem bezeichnenden namen "nebelschwaden" aufhorchen: ein grandioser wall of sound! (Uwe Marx)
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