Intravenal Sound Operations US Schallplatten & CDs

Review: The 1986 sonic pentad by Diamanda Galas, Saint Of The Pit, is the second of two records forming the devised, pestilent occult rite - in her terms, the "plague mass" - known as the Masque Of The Red Death. In clairvoyant dialogue with the first part (The Divine Punishment), both records, in symbiosis, are said to possess an innate correctitude, with saintly playback "possible at maximum volume only." When we oblige by Galas' command, we find ourselves thickly immersed in the kind of sonic esoterics that only the most adept of oneiromancers might be able to swallow and integrate into their mantic: waspish whispers, dulotic dirges, heathen hums. Galas' episcope is a dissenting, idolatrous projection in sound and vision, with 'Artemis' and 'Deliver Me' spanning red-robed, sectarian vocal operatics, not to mention their backing, low-noted, open piano chord strikes. The *eschaton* of the record is, of course, is its quintessential fifth star-point: 'Cris D'aveugle (Blind Man's Cry)', on which Galas, the occult visionary, profanes the lyrical votive candle wax with blasphemous talk of nailed eyes and desecrated caskets.

Review: Diamanda Galas's The Divine Punishment was the first album in her Masque of the Red Death trilogy and is a stark, confrontational record that was produced in response to the AIDs epidemic. On the same day it was first released back in 1986, the Supreme Court criminalized consensual sex between men at a time when then epidemic was truly taking hold. Galas uses her voice both to deliver oration taken from the Old Testament as well represent AIDS and its ill effects. Dark analogue synth drones by Dave Hunt and haunting atmospheres complete this most brilliantly bleak put poignant work.

Review: Greek-American legend Diamanda Galas conjours up an ode to a Medieval plague sanctuary in Hanover on her latest brilliantly bizarre new album Broken Gargoyles. The sounds are as unsettling as the cover and were made during the pandemic - hence the references to the quarantine for plague victims. It's a nightmarish mix of synths and spoken words, screeching vocals and distant vowels that very much puts you in the middle a room full of the mentally and physically ill, desperately looking for a way out that isn't there.