A monolithic slab of freezing and synthetic vibes, pitch black soundscapes and industrial rhythms, done well for a change. Colder and slower than the mechanized glaciers offered by the likes of Zaraza, bleaker than most doom metal outfits, and more hate-filled than most black metal clowns out there, P.H.O.B.O.S.'s take on industrial musical menace may not be original in itself, but definitely phenomenal and singular in comparison to the usual aural gibberish.

P.H.O.B.O.S.'s vocal duties are sharp, semi-high-pitched yet sordid rasps and black metal distinctive; they are in accord with the sloth-like pace in which this industry of death is progressing towards an unknown conclusion, an endless enigma. _Anoedipal_ is dissonant and cold, and it deserves attention and patience alike, for its horrors to unfold. It rewards with a promise of hopelessness and blackened future, from here to eternity.

This unique recording comes in a luxurious A5 digi-book format, and is aesthetically superb, the lyrics intelligent, the booklet's artwork dark and provoking. Anyone into razor-sharp and mechanically cold production, monotony and dissonance, but also into substance and thick atmosphere seldom found in today's albums, should check this elite recording out.

 

- Chaim Drishner / jan 2009 (8/10)

http://www.chroniclesofchaos.com/reviews/albums/2-5569_phobos_anoedipal.aspx

 

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