One of the more prolific disciples of harsh noise,
Dominick Fernow's work as
Prurient was also some of the more harrowing, demonic, and ugly sound in a scene that thrived on darkness. Along with running top-tier noise label Hospital Productions,
Fernow produced tape after tape of
Prurient sounds, all weaving compositional webs of pained distortion, garbled electronics, feedback, and other forms of shrillness. Released in 2008,
Cocaine Death collected tracks from three of these extremely limited cassette releases, funneling the concise pieces into one of
Fernow's most brutal offerings. The tracks consist of swells of recognizable synth tones, vocals, and guitar sounds blanketed in so many layers of panic attack-inducing processing and noise that they blur into a shiny, hateful din. As much indebted to industrial music and
Throbbing Gristle as it is the icy synthesizers and cassette hiss of underground minimal wave German synth punk of the mid-'80s, the true appeal of
Cocaine Death is its deft ability to connect with all of its difficult emotional themes. Dark, abrasive, horrifying, and even somewhat nauseating at times, the sounds here channel all the self-hatred, narcissism, and delusion of substance abuse, toxic relationships, and ceaseless confusion, breathing expression and honesty into their bleak shells rather than just showcasing malfunctioning gear and shrill electronics.