Industrial music was a movement started in the late 70's as a way to cope with living in an industrial society. Factories were booming, shipyards and train stations were constantly moving, the air was polluted, and you were considered lucky to get a job in manufacturing. Fast-forward 25-or-so years, and things aren't quite the same, especially here in the midwest/Great Lakes region of the country. While America struggles to embrace a service-based economy, there is absolutely no question that industry is dead. Once great cities like Cleveland, Chicago, Milwaukee, and Buffalo are now cesspools of rust, unemployment, and some of the greatest industrial music to come out of America ever. Growing up near Cleveland and now living in Eerie PA, Nyodene D has seen it all. The depression, the hate, the fear, the scum. He has seen it all and been moved by it.
So what does this leave for industrial music? Surely 'industrial music for industrial people' can't exist in an environment so ripe with decay, can it? Is this unique subgenre of outsider music finally approaching 'post-industrialism'? Judging by the sheer scope of Nyodene D's most recent album, Edenfall, I'd say so.
You might remember the name Nyodene D from a cassette I reviewed a few years back on this blog, God and Country. God and Country really set a new bar for Nyodene D, and not just 'photos of faces of statues as album art' (which I really do love), but musically as a whole. Lyrically, Edenfall really lightens up on the political and religious themes, yet not sacrificing any of the edge. The themes of resentment towards humanity and society are there, but masked beneath facades of deeper poetry and anthropological motifs. The lyrics are subtler, more relaxed, and seem to work better that way. The best part is they sound really intelligent without sounding pretentious, a rare trait in modern music. Nyodene D's lyrics are as complex, listenable, and well polished as the production and overall atmosphere of this album. While dark synthesizers crush in and out, mutilated samples play. If that sounds like it would make you sick, especially since there is an overall rhythm to the dissonance, don't fear. For every dark and abrasive sound I hear on Edenfall, I also hear reverb and more serious, less distorted synths droning away in the background. This adds a sense of place to the music and doesn't make you feel so stuck in harsh noise land. When the last track had played and all was said and done, I really enjoyed Edenfall, probably more than anything I have heard Nyodene D do before, and I can't wait to see more from this project.
The album itself comes in a really nice digipack, with lyrics and artwork, on pro-pressed CDs, for only $11. There is also a deluxe edition that comes with the record, a special Nyodene D + Sektor 304 collaborative CD, a few stickers, and a beautiful box for only $24. This would make a great christmas gift for anyone you know who has a taste for the macabre.
[Nyodene D Bandcamp]
[Buy Edenfall from Malignant Records]
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