Prison Hell – “Sex Penitentiary” – [War Vellum]
whngr 4/25/2024 A Library, Cassette
HAMMER MURK SICKLE
Low fidelity death with black leanings and bestial expulsions, an emphasis on repetition and hooks that pummel your sentience into the fog of intentionally poor production that reinforces the project’s dismissal of glossy commercial aspirations and underlines an ethos focused on power above packaging. Visceral trashcan blasts, death bellows and sepulchral breath. Sparing guitar solos that are less technical than the song arrangements and recall the early age of devil worship thrashing that sometimes eschew technique in favor of impact; not wanking, shanking… more switchblade than scalpel. Though the majority of the cassette is hoof through the roof levels of velocity and violence, one might be able to find some respite, albeit brief, from the relentless attack on “Geotia Overcomming” (B1/track5) which seems to align with the sole member’s propensity for exploring genre-bent passages that appear in much of their work including efforts outside of Prison Hell. I am choosing to forgo discussion on thematic content to both allow the listener to come to their own conclusions as well as transparency in our personal lack of insight. We will say it does make us mildly uncomfortable and as we have precious little experience with sexual gratification during incarceration we will mention that the titles seem to be more aligned with arcane magick than with libidinous internment.
Prison Hell is one feverishly active, T. Mc Clelland (credited as M. on this release) of Edmonton, Alberta. Member of Noxious Nex, Black Abyss, Tsalal, Bullet In Clenched Teeth and five other solo projects including Brulvahnatu.
War Vellum – 2023