VATICAN SHADOW Schallplatten & CDs

Review: First released as a very limited 2 x 10-inch vinyl package in 2017, Luxor Necropolitics is widely considered to be one of Domimic Fernow's most accessible albums as Vatican Shadow. It was produced in collaboration with Teflon Tel Aviv member Joshua Eustis and, as this first ever CD edition proves, boasts more relatively straightforward moments than we're used to from the American experimentalist. Of course, his usual influences and sonic traits are still present - an obsession with geopolitics and the Middle East in particular, shards of melancholic melody, dark and dystopian techno grooves - but this time packaged into accessible, often rhythm-driven chunks rather than abstract ambient excursions and sample-heavy sound collages.

Review: A new Vatican Shadow release is always greeted with near adoration here at Juno Towers. Dominick Fernow's shadiest guise is still his best work, and this is especially true when his has 2 slabs of vinyl with which to express his ideas. As you can imagine, Luxor Necropolitics is a lingering, tenebrous cloud of industrial electronics and contained power noise. The moments that do transform into techno are still made up of the same rough materials that characterise all Vatican Shadow track, and that is a pale, unforgiving glow of sounds that never seem to get repetitive. Class.

Review: Dominick Fernow presents another dark and confronting opus entitled Media In The Service Of Terror. Read between the lines of the titles then listen and learn via these harsh textural abrasions on offer. The sombre and brutalist opener "Ziad Jarrah Studied Mathematics" sets the scene well, the tunnelling slo-mo techno of "Take Vows" is great and follows the same path as Vactrol Park or L'estasi Dell'oro have in recent times. "Interrogation Mosaic" shows Fernow still has the knack for some chilling imaginary soundtracks while "More Of The Same (Tunisia)" has the classic outsider techno sound that Fernow has honed on previous efforts like Remember Your Black Day or Ghosts Of Chechnya.

Review: Although Dominick Fernow has already released a vast amount of material under the Vatican Shadow moniker, and some of which - including It Stands To Conceal and Ormamented Walls - have appeared in LP format, Remember Your Black Day is supposedly the project's debut proper, with the other LPs being made up of cassette releases and other material. Described by the label as "the most direct and propulsive Vatican Shadow material yet," and was produced with the assistance of Silent Servant producer Juan Mendez. Although much of the Vatican Shadow material to date has been frenetic and noisy, there's a sense of calm present in this LP which marks it out, with the slow moving "Enter Paradise" and reflective '80s synth textures of "Tonight Saddam Walks Amidst Ruins" offering some refective sombre moments. Despite that there are still some driving tracks as well, with "Not The Son Of Desert Storm, But The Child Of Chechnya" offering a particularly ferocious moment of clattering industrial textures. Highly recommended.

Review: Thus far, Vatican Shadow (AKA techno misfit Dominick Fenrow) has built a reputation as a politically charged maverick, delivering a slew of limited edition 12" singles and cassettes that flit between collage-based oddities, clandestine compositions and intense techno workouts. Remember Your Black Day is being billed as "his first proper album", and sees him shift focus towards a more listener-friendly sound. Of course, he's lost none of his anger and rage - check the breathless intensity of the title track, for starters - but there are more world-weary melodies and subtle musical touches amongst the bleak atmospherics (see standout "Tonight Saddam Walks Amidst Ruins"). Hardcore fans may see it as a compromise, but that would be harsh; in truth, it's arguably his best work to date.

Review: Hot on the heels of "Church Of All Hallows Eve", Dominick Fernow returns to his Vatican Shadow alias for another stern rumination on geo-politics and Western interference to a soundtrack of dark ambient and industrial intensity. Fans of the project will find much to latch onto on "Kneel Before Religious Icons", as the continuous wrestle between harmonious melodies and noise takes place over hissing percussion concerned with texture and tension far more than dancefloor impact. This is message-heavy music that bows to no one, just how we like Fernow's flagship project.