Drawing Voices

Here’s another chance for the headbangers of the world to transform themselves into chin scratchers. Drawing Voices are in fact an interdisciplinary effort that closely examines the process sounds from illustration (i.e., brush or pen on paper). Craig Dogonski of Georgia State has been pursuing this idea since 1999 and is joined here by Isis guitarist Aaron Turner to further illuminate his findings. The results sound like they would be a better fit for labels like Erstwhile or Charhizma rather than HydraHead, an admittedly progressive "metal” further extending its Double H Noise Industries division with this release. In certain passing intervals, as on "The Shrine of Wreckless Illumination,” the actual sound of etching and guitar are clear and present but by and large, the process is itself processed into electron orbits of noise. It is compelling work, on par with the more passive-aggressive moments of Daniel Menche or John Hudak: detailed and rewarding to multiple listens, with a vague but discernable operating principle. Will it cause the scratching of chins? Perhaps, at the least the scratching of metal heads.