Despite the 4 hour length and how this album sounds as a whole, I feel that this could potentially serve as a gateway for the more abrasive, more experimental end of the electronic music spectrum. The first time I came across this as a kid, this was by far the harshest and strangest piece of music I've heard at that time. And yet it also felt accessible in a way I can't put my finger on? It made me become fascinated from the very start, gave me this sense of morbid curiosity and this drive to ... read more

In 2019, my first time listening to this album was accompanied by the passing of a family dog, which now haunts what is already imbued with such an unexplainable vibe. My listen was interrupted by my dad telling me that Lily stopped breathing, and to help with burying her. I had to spend so much time having to look at her body. The deepest melancholy I hadn't known.

The final few seconds of the wind and the clacking of the antlers bookmarked a moment in my time that I chose not to think about ... read more

This album is frankly unlistenable, inaccessible even by Autechre's standards. I'm not talking about the music itself, I'm talking about how Andrew McKenzie, who is The Hafler Trio here, simply refuses to let anybody upload a minute of his music online. Tough luck getting a chance to hear this unless you wanna take it to the seven seas. It's not like he could stop being some kind of hard-ass and just let this stuff go on streaming platforms.

It's just some dark ambient and drone that I can't ... read more

This album makes me want to boot up Unreal Tournament 99.
But seriously: this is way better than I thought it would be. Deathgrind + speedcore = fucking sick. Who knew...

My number one favorite album can cycle between a couple contenders, but this has always been one of them. This pushes EVERY SINGLE RIGHT BUTTON for me and I would be remiss to not call this a perfect album, I cannot spin it any other way. This is going to get a full review whenever I get around to it, I have loads and loads to gush over with The Downward Spiral.

not even a joke: the cover art's surprisingly accurate. i can't imagine there being another grindcore album that takes you to that empty-feeling headspace by the time it's over. i feel like letting the waves take me after having my shit rocked like this.