raison d'être – Within The Depths Of Silence And Phormations

Best raison d'etre album by far and definitely best in Cold Meat Industry catalogue.

In Absence Of Subsequent Ambivalence is one of my favourite raison d'etre pieces. The 'Redux' edition completely butchers it. If you're reading this, stick with the original. The re-recordings are a hollow mess of something that is still so special and brilliant, nearly 30 years on.

Much prefer the original to the redux, the lo-fi murkiness adds an extra layer of melancholy

This is by far the best raison d'etre album in my opinion, although the rest of his work from the era ("Enthralled', "In Sadness", and "Empty Hollow") comes close. As far as I'm concerned, it is the very essence of Cold Meat Industry.

The third song on this record, 'In Abscence Of Subsequent Ambivalance', is a masterpiece: a gripping piece of watery ambience that builds, hauntingly and slowly, into a series of distant vocal samples that underscore the perception that something has been lost, but which remain vague enough to spark a flight of thoughts and associations on the part of the listener. Later in the recording, 'Inner Depths of Sadness' compliments and mirrors the earlier song in an equally tragic way. Trauma and loss pervade the smokey atmosphere that covers this release, but it remains enticing and even romantic nonetheless.

For whatever it's worth, I prefer the original over the redux of this piece: murky suits the album well. My further thoughts on this can be found in a response above.

Six stars out of five; a must-listen.

"the place where we're going to... there's the pain."