DEATH SQUAD - LIVE AT LEEDS 4.15.00 CD A truly intense performance, An audience member is actually brought to tears, by Michael nine's Presence. Also features the video doc. "Fratricide". Death Squad is one of the most active, and important projects in the Power Electronics genera, this cd is a must for all fans of "Extreme" Electronic music/noise/power electronics, ec. Packaged in all Black Jewel case, with silk screened art work.             

Out of Print

REVIEW:

False Prophet Campaign http://www.fpcmagazine.com/

Death Squad, for those not in the know, is Michael Contreras' own descent into psychological hell and drug addiction, set to screeching noise/power electronics. Each release is seemingly even darker and harsher, drifting closer and closer into insanity.

As the title suggests, this disc is the document of Death Squad's performance at Leeds, alongside such acts as Genocide Organ and Quell. It consists of one single track, nearly 23 minutes in length. The set opens with a rather minimalist setup, analog synth squeal, white noise triggers, and machinery drones. Later, police radio chatter and the sounds get louder. Then what sounds like Contreras berating members of the audience…very violently and intensely, female audience members begin crying. I am assuming this is from the Hostage performance in San Francisco, 1999, but I could be mistaken. Either way it sounds like a prepared tape. Then the sounds get louder, and louder, building to a climax of Whitehouse intensity, Michael's processed vocals screaming "Christ is dead/God is dead/You are dead!" Then, an all too sudden finale

(note: the Hostage performance was a conceptual Death Squad show performed July 24, 1999 at the 7hz club in San Francisco. The performance utilized willing participants as hostages, who were taken into a videoed "interrogation" room where they were berated by Contreras and colleagues. It was the follow-up to the Intent performance from earlier that year, in which Michael held a loaded gun to audience members' heads and performed vocals over a backing tape).

As an added bonus, a music video of sorts, "Fratricide", is included as a Quicktime movie. "Fratricide" is footage of military helicopter operations going wrong, where the Apache fires upon—and destroys—friendly vehicles. The musical contribution is a screeching synth line in the background that further enhances the effect. The shift from the dehumanization of killing compartmentalized "enemy" to the remorse of murder is vividly portrayed. Plus, the disc comes packaged in an attractive glossy opaque black case with silk-screened art from the "Fratricide" video on the front and back.

Death Squad gets a lot of criticism in the noise world, and I am assuming only because many tracks include vocals (a big no-no in the "noise" scene), and the vocals and presentation is very art based (a no-no in the "power electronics" world). But personally, I'd rather spend my money on this instead of someone running a radio through distortion, or some guy yelling about rape/murder/molestation/ad infinitum.

My only complaint with this disc is its length; the audio portion being only around 23 minutes and the video a bit over four leaves it a bit on the short side. But it is still a fascinating piece, and worth the money. After the disc ended I still had an expression of "wow" on my face. Quality over quantity!