P.H.O.B.O.S.

If there were ever music "To Disrupt The Cycle Of The Fæces" (the subtitle of Anœdipal's opener "Unzen"), then it is P.H.O.B.O.S. Helmed by cave dweller Frédéric Sacri, the once multi-member group have been reduced to a one-man band. Anœdipal is his sophomore full-length and its packaging chillingly complements the music within — the long digi-pak format and 12-page colour booklet underscore the inhumanly grim artwork of graphic genius Stefan Thanneur. Sacri's layering of industrial noise is exemplary, invoking long-dead chthonic demons, ancient undersea monsters and woebegone denizens of a dark and foreboding parallel universe. The early Godflesh doom of "Hans & Horses/To Unbind Father and Son" splinters into otherworldly tangents, while "Post Theophanies/To Unbind the Son and the Holy Ghost" shuffles with a Candiru-like gait and Sacri's black metal gargle. "Destrud Mortid/To Comply with the Cruel Contract" has a more defined backdrop of noise, which adds a sinister air to the fearsome lyrics. "Elitotems/Odimus Profanum Vulgus" exudes a glutinous heat like napalm, with Ministry-esque backbeats that slice'n'dice with rusted razor wire. Anœdipal is music with medicinal applications; it encourages complete bowel evacuation while providing jaundiced hope for the dejected.