Published by Davide Pappalardo on November 3, 2018
When in 2007 Michael Wollenhaupt and Conrad Protzmann released First Method, their first EP as Ancient Methods, little did they know about what would soon happen in the world of techno music, and how pivotal this name would become. At the time techno-industrial music already existed in various forms, ranging from the 90’s electro-industrial tinged sound of Wax Trax! to the English school of British Murder Boys, and deeper in the past, we find important names like The Final Cut, a project in which Jeff Mills had a brief career. But it was more of an underground interest, while other genres like acid techno, tech house, and minimal techno have been having a mass appeal for years.
Starting from the mid-aughts something changed, thanks to names like Adam X and his label Sonic Groove, Perc and his imprint Perc Trax, “rhythmic noise crossover” act Orphx, and Ancient Methods itself, among others. The industrial tinged sound gained more and more recognition, finding a public made of vicious ravers tired of commercial techno and disaffected rivetheads needing something different from formulaic electro-industrial. After some time Ancient Methods became a solo project lead by Wollenhaupt alone, who built a solid reputation made of a series of biblical-themed EP’s and other works and projects, and by collaborating with names like Orphx ( as Eschaton), Adam X, Regis (as Ugandan Methods), giving new life to classic tracks like Wolfsheim‘s The Sparrows And The Nightingales and Kirlian Camera‘s News in the meanwhile.
His blending of proper techno with “funk” and hypnotizing elements, EBM, industrial, ambient, rhythmic noise, darkwave, and much more, is something unique and personal, enriched by masterful skills, both in songwriting and production, shown in his releases, as well as during his DJ sets. Now a long due first full length has come: The Jericho Records is the culmination of Ancient Methods’series of EPs, published for his own label until 2013, both in sound and image. This is not a causal collection of tracks, there is a story and a building with three different chapters scattered through 3 vinyls; The Battle Of Jericho, a biblical theme coming from the Old Testament, is the thematic background upon which we find different moments and a plethora of guests coming from past collaborations, names like Regis, Orphx, Prurient (Dominik Fernow), King Dude and Cindytalk.
Walls starts the work with its evocative synth lines upon which robotic lyrics inspired by Kafka are layered, showing an experimental taste with industrial leanings and atmospheric undertones; it works as an intro for Twelve stones to divide jordan’s sand, a rhythmic affair with abrasive distortions and droning movements, characterized by stomping drum sounds and sharp grooves. During the second half of the track we find typical Ancient Methods’ arpeggiators and bass-lines, giving to the episode a stronger dancefloor-oriented feeling. The city awakes is a way more atmospheric moment, an ambient piece with tribal rhythms and suave strings and arpeggios. Here the artist goes well beyond club music, employing a rich narrative and middle-eastern melodies.
Array the troops features Regis, a pulsating techno-industrial march with steel-like drums and solemn dark vibes. Once again the project past is recalled by the means of riffing rhythms and dungeon-like soundscapes, showcasing hard but engaging mantra. The following collaboration with Orphx, The seven shofars, starts with orchestral motifs, then it ventures into gnawing rhythmic noise territories with obsessive and monolithic loops. All of the sudden sampled sounds and dark ambient elements guide us among emotional lines and melancholic synths, achieving a majestic orchestration. Swordplay lives up to its name, sampling swiping blades in an ingenious game which follows the narrative of the album, giving form to the battle and transforming it into a pulsating techno number with crisp distortions and stomping bass sounds. The track evolves into more syncopated rhythmic patterns, delivering an enthralling piece.
The final chapter offers moments like I am your new king, a grooving affair with robotic lines and a conquering bass, enriched by King Dude’s vocals and proper techno mantras with subtle snare drums, and Moonset, a very short pastiche with dramatic atmospheres and Cindytalk’s beautiful vocals. We are ready for one of the main tracks, the long Walking on cursed soil, featuring Prurient on vocals. He whispers his tale upon a rhythmic path made of crawling sounds, while evocative lines create a skilfully crafted soundscape. The track grows into a more electronic affair, displaying pulsating synth-lines and hypnotizing beats, without exploding and restraining instead its malicious energy. After a while, ghostly moments and sudden spiraling effects have their say, and during the second half of the episode we find bombastic distortions and the characteristic shouted vocals from Fernow, finally delivering the until now repressed rage.
The Jericho Records is an experience, a defining moment in Ancient Methods’ career, and an important album for modern techno-industrial. It shows the many possibilities of the genre and some more, going well beyond definitions and the boundaries between club sounds and experimental songwriting. Nothing is placed by chance here, there is a progressive narrative which engulfs the work and makes it evolve track by track; during its duration, we find both past’s elements from all over his long series of outputs, both more recent approaches gravitating toward harsher elements and rhythmic noise inspired mantras. The end of 2018 is delivering some of the best works of the years, and this is no exception.
Label: Ancient Methods
Rating: 9