Vatican Shadow - Persian Pillars of the Gasoline Era Review

 

Dominic Fernow, like many noise musicians, is an absolute machine when it comes to output. His most famous work, under the Prurient moniker, falls into the harsh noise and power electronics genres, where crushing synthesizers and brutal noise machines blast the listener into a horrific and grotesque display of raw emotion unlike anything else. While occasionally branching off into the black metal and dark ambient rabbit holes, Fernow tends to rely on heavy distortion and incomprehensible vocals for his music. But, Vatican Shadow, his ambient and industrial techno side project, had completely flown under my radar up until this point, and it is easy to understand why. Both ambient and techno are genres I hold very little knowledge about. I listen to 2814, Burial, Brian Eno, Stars of the Lid, and Tim Hecker, but even these artists are pretty huge amongst the ambient community, therefore jumping into something like this was a daunting task (and the fact that I am not usually found browsing ambient forums).

Releasing on 20 Buck Spin, Persian Pillars of the Gasoline Era is, like the rest of Fernow's work under Vatican Shadow, a commentary on the war on terror in the Middle East (at least thematically). While I cannot vouch for the use of the Iron Cross within the stylization, the photographed image on the cover is a destitute burning landscape, which serves not only as an enticing visual but a concerning contextual clue into Fernow's vision. Fortunately, the music helps us set the scene for these events, with each track consisting of a rhythmic desert soundscape, eager to be explored.

To begin, the majority of these six tracks could be thought of as very samey, but that doesn't stop each from being memorable. My favorites start with "Rehearsing for the Attack," as its vibe is undeniably similar to Prurient's Frozen Niagra Falls (or one of my favorite noise releases ever), as its disjointed beat grounds the eerie waves that ride on top of it in the mix. Throughout this nearly six-minute song, I can hear a Burial influence specifically on the "drums," which bounce, bulge and rattle underneath the melodic top-layer. The thumping final cut, "Ayatollah Ferocity (The Refinery At Abadan)," is similarly driven by its heavy synth beat, while swirling breaths of wind burst forth into the already somewhat chaotic and hypnotic scene. It's visceral, brutal, and engaging enough to make me press play again on this album.

While tracks like "Rehearsing For The Attack" and the closer might serve as the most interesting for me on the record, this doesn't discount songs like "Taxi Journey Through The Teeming Slums of Tehran" or "Uncontrollable Oasis (Real Life Spy Mystery Ends With Scientist Hanged In Iran)." The first feels like I actually am riding in a cab through Iran's capital city, with a harsh noise filter on it, of course. The primal (again, Burial-esque) drum loop is topped again by sounds of bells, other cars passing, curious passersby, and so much more. The second feels like a true ambient track. There is a loop, yes, but it does not take precedents within the mix and hangs back to let the sonically massive bass and equally intrusive synth lines sway back and forth. 

"Moving Secret Money" and "Predawn Coup D'etat (Schwarzkopf Duffle Bags Of Rials)" don't excite me as much, as their traditional techno feel is a little garish for my taste, but overall, this project is super interesting. Fernow's foyer into frigid atmospheres here is par for the course for his plethora of projects, but Vatican Shadow seems to be a very intriguing side of his sound. I need to delve further into the stories conveyed by this political entity, but from what I can tell, Persian Pillars of the Gasoline Era is a great stepping stone into a genre that I know nothing about.

Final Rating: For the love of God, just vote Trump out, people.

Favorite Tracks: "Rehearsing For The Attack," "Ayatollah Ferocity (The Refinery At Abadan)," "Uncontrollable Oasis (Real Life Spy Mystery Ends With Scientist Hanged In Iran)"
FFO: Literally any Dominick Fernow project, Surgeon, Regis