Last Dominion Lost ‎– Abomination Of Desolation

Label: The Epicurean ‎– cure.15, La Esencia ‎– LER017/2017
Format: CD, Album, Limited Edition
Country: Europe
Released: 23 Oct 2017
Style: Industrial, Experimental

Last Dominion Lost has existed since 1992, formed out of the ashes of Merge (a project created by Dominik Guerin, founding member of SPK, and Jon Evans). With the inclusion of John Murphy (ex-SPK, Whitehouse, Current 93, Death in June), the transition was complete. In April of 1992 the recording sessions for what was to become „The Tyranny of Distance“ began (released on Germany’s Tesco Records). 16 years later, the opportunity arose to reform the slumbering project. With the welcome addition of Ash Wednesday (Crashlands, Einstürzende Neubauten) and Julian Percy (Ratbag) initial recordings and rehearsals began in May of 2008. In November of 2015 Till Brüggemann (Gerechtigkeits Liga, Krank) joined LDL.

Desolation: total, utter, without remit. Departure, loss, absence, yawning valleys of noise. The overture moans from the terminal ward. The humiliation of the cadaver, the scouring of abandoned houses and rubbish heaps, a planet blasted by the fruits of hubris. The last sigh of bathos: “It is finished“.

Such is the subject matter and sentiment of this follow-up to the much acclaimed albums “Snowdrops From A Curate’s Garden“ and „Towers of Silence“ which put Last Dominion Lost firmly on the throne of post-industrial music. “Abomination of Desolation” is consistent with their development into a dark and profound direction, and yet saturated with the noise and feedback that taps deep into the genre’s conscience: Metallic percussion and the screams of terror, ritual chants and anxious atmospheres, all used and abused in order to create the most accurate soundtrack of desolation.

By the fans, “Abomination of Desolation” will be met with mixed feelings – as recordings began with John Murphy in 2015 and through his untimely death that year had to be finished without him, the acknowledged grandsigneur of post-industrial music. The album’s theme and musical approach were originally intended by John for a KRANK release: An electronic album, reflecting on John’s experiences when he was first hospitalized, comatose, and hooked to a breathing machine which was constantly creating bizarre sounds.

The result stands as a brief and concise display of the group’s ability to create an unmistakable old school sound with contemporary production value. The album runs for ten tracks clocking in less than 40 minutes total and features new member Till Brüggemann (Gerechtigkeits Liga), as well as guests Nikolas Schreck, Lori Goldston and John Murphy’s beloved wife Annie Stubbs among others. With a firm electronic/analogue backbone, a delicate contrast of percussions of various origins and uncanny vocals, this is a truly dark affair, and while towards the end of the journey some more aggravating feedback loops crawl in, it never gets upfront aggressive.

With the crisp mastering job of Hunter Barr it is safe to say that “Abomination of Desolation” will not lag behind its predecessors at all, but forge their deserved status as genre icons.