In an attempt to satisfy an intense industrial noise craving (it happens) I downloaded Burned Mind, Wolf Eyes' 2004 release off Sub Pop Records. I've known about Wolf Eyes for a while but always dismissed them as "too intense." In fact what I discovered is they're far more melodic than many industrial noise outfits. As opposed to straight distortion and squealing, the sound is pulsating, rhythmic-- almost reminiscent of dubstep in a nuclear hailstorm.
The surprising thing about Burned Mind is that it isn't what I would deem "abrasive." Instead of recoiling in horror, ears ringing, listeners are drawn in by the steady rhythms in each track. The sound conjures up images of a heavily galvanized world, of decay and the steady march of some horrible fate, "a second coming" of steel and barbed wire. The heartbeat grows fainter in some songs, receding into a wall of indiscernible fuzz, but it comes back, and unifies the album--growing faster, slower, louder, softer.
A few of my favorite tracks are "Ancient Delay" (the sound of a thousand massive lights short circuiting, plus some whales moaning in the background--I'm not kidding,) "Black Vomit," "Stabbed In The Face," and "Village Oblivia."
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