Search - Venetian Snares :: Meathole

Better skip this one if you're claustrophobic

Dan B | Vancouver | 12/21/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Let me start off by saying I'm a new fan of venetian snares-- I was recommended "Rossz" by a friend. I immediately went on a Venetian Snares binge, buying everything I could get my hands on. This is the third album of his I've heard.



Meathole is dark. Incredibly dark. The mood is set for the entire album, right from the beginning with "Aanguish", with precise, complex beats, and haunting samples ("my eyes are black and white, my eyes are black and whiii...." yikes.).



"Choprite" picks up the pace a little bit with pounding bass and once again haunting samples "The criminal mind..." "an emotional void.." Yeah, you get the idea. Once again, fast, complex drums drive the track forward.



"Contain" comes in slowly with a gentle rolling synth, and a woman's scream following the same pattern-- giving us a small break for the pounding drums. Just when you get comfortable, Snares jolts us back to the album with very fast drums. About halfway through the track the drums stop, and a slick dub-ish style beat kicks in, with some once again creepy samples. One of my favorite tracks.



The middle of the album is always haunting, but much less so than the beginning of the album. Snares holds off on the samples a good deal, and we're treated to a few amazing drum-filled tracks, each complex and unique in their own right.



"Szycag" is the most intense, dark tracks I've ever heard. You really have to hear it for yourself to appreciate the things someone can do with a drum machine and samples. It kicks off with a sample of someone vomiting, followed by a voice, "You love it, huh?". Fast, precise drums kick in, playing nicely (I use that term loosely) off a bass-heavy background. Snares gives a preview of how the album ends, with one sample fluttering in the background-- I can't describe the sample, but by the end of the album it has gone from simply making an appearance to completely highjacking the entire track, pounding your ears into mush, resulting in the only logical conclusion for an album like meathole."

Aanguish

The Pitiful Anonymous | the Acres of Skin | 04/26/2008

(5 out of 5 stars)

""Meathole" belongs to a rare category of Snares releases: an album that is some of his hardest and most violent work, and yet also among his most focused, layered, and atmospheric. The only other album to fit this description would be the near-masterpiece "Doll Doll Doll".



The mangled breaks and basslines on "Meathole" possess an insistency, groove and production polish missing from albums like "Higgins Ultra Low Track Glue Funk Hits 1972-2006" and "Winnipeg is a Frozen S***hole". The beats are much more frequently panned, and the mixing of the album is much more three dimensional. Some of the sounds on here are actually comparable to Lustmord. For once, I would place his production abilities at the level of Aphex Twin and the like, while still being far below such masters as Autechre and Cevin Key. "Meathole" is also one the darkest Snares albums, second only to the murderous pedophilia of "Doll Doll Doll" and the haunted strangeness of "Winter in the Belly of a Snake".



The first two tracks are pure, violent drill & bass with heavy sampling and ambience, but, as the other reviewer mentioned, faster than usual, and a lot more claustrophobic. Funk continues his experimentation with manipulating samples to the point where they actually contribute melodic content to the songs.



The album really gets interesting with the standout third track, "Contain". It features an odd, warbling voice intoning "You can live in my coffee cup... I'll feed you flies if you do", as well as a screaming vocalist whose heavily processed voice adds a lot to the song. It also introduces Aaron Funk's eerie, horror-soundtrack-inspired melodic sense to the album in the form of a few string melodies.



"Aamelotasis" uses a sampled live drum set to create complex jazz patterns. Certain beats are punctuation by bubbling, partially distorted melodic stabs. The sense of dread and urgency continues. "Des Plaines" takes the feel of the previous song and makes it a lot more spacious and threatening, resulting in a track that is largely ambient. The middle section features an amazing violin line. "Sinthasomphone" is likely the fastest track yet. Alien drones rise in volume as it progresses, eventually providing a mysterious and yet hopeless conclusion. "Aaperture" is a strange break from the intensity, composed of flamenco guitars and whistling synths, creating a melancholy, nostalgic feel, before progressing back into more drill & bass.



The sense of dread that pervades the album not only returns but most definitely reaches a peak in the more-hardcore-than-thou finale, "Szycag". Over the course of 9 minutes, this song builds into a wall of pure distortion. Words can't really describe it, it must be heard to be believed.



For those looking to try out Venetian Snares, "Meathole" is a great place to start, as it contains both his hardcore side as well as his impressive melodic sensibilities. It feels as if it was a true labor of love, like only a few other albums in Aaron Funk's huge discography (15+ albums). It could even be called his best, although "Huge Chrome Cylinder Box Unfolding", "Doll Doll Doll", "Winter in the Belly of a Snake" and "My Downfall (Original Soundtrack)" give it serious competition. Highly recommended."