THEOLOGIAN Pain Of The Saints [2xCD]

Since Navicon Torture Technologies' 2009 masterpiece finale, The Gospels Of The Gash, and the creation of THEOLOGIAN, Lee Bartow has set out to record something specifically for release on Malignant Records; during that span, primary releases on Crucial Blast and Handmade Birds have established and solidified THEOLOGIAN, as a consistent and fruitful source for epically scaled and sprawling industrial soundscapes, and the 2xCD set Pain Of The Saints continues that trend, laying forth a dizzying thow-and-a-half hours of music. Once again, Bartow has sculpted an impeccable and highly detailed excursion into tortured yet brilliant realms, where contrails of burning frequencies and blackened atmospheres intersect with densely concentrated rhythmic pulsations, ethereal, blissed-out shimmer, and the majestic monoliths of smoldering, post-apocalyptic desolation. There's a lot to absorb here, but the focus is precise even as the palate of sounds is broad and varied, a true testament to the deft skills of someone who's spent the last fifteen-plus years creating some of the most inventive and revolutionary sounds in modern industrial music. Largely produced in collaboration with Fade Kainer (Statiqbloom, Batillus), and featuring the core trio of Lee M. Bartow, Matt Slagle, and Kainer, Pain Of The Saints also includes contributions from David Castillo (Primitive Weapons, White Widows Pact), Joan Hacker (Factoria, Heroine), Christiana Key (Delphic Oracle), Matthew Melnick (Darkside NYC, ex-Disassociate), Eric Morgan (A Pale Horse Named Death), Jessica Way (Worm Ouroboros, Barren Harvest), and more. The 2xCD opus comes packed in luxurious 8-panel DVD Digipak with stunning artwork, the album mastered by John Stillings. [Malignant Records]