REVIEW: Infibulation + The Munchausen Engineering Ensemble - "Amber Alert"

"Amber Alert" (Abhorrent A.D. 2024, AAD-CDR-53)

If you are familiar at all with the work of ZF (Zach Fogle, Dr. Fogle, Gastric Mucosa, Aquatic Death Investigations, Mental Abortion, Morgue Tar, Maggot Vomit Afterbirth, etc.) and Roland Parra (Sir-Strips-A-Lot, Dr. Parra, Hemorrhagic Pyrexia Virus, Pseudomonas Aeruginosa, Menstrual Vomit, Etc.) then you can rest assured that this is a CDr that shows both artists displaying their incredible prowess in tandem. Recorded in May of 2024 at "The Fuck Dungeon" these two gore-obsessed doctors set to work to completely eviscerate any chance of the listener having a good time. 

There is no introduction to this set of recordings; the listener is rapidly thrown into the post-mortem world of missing children and sonic abuse. There are also no moments of relief for the listener (should there ever be?) even during the moments when the noise fades out and the sound bites begin, as they are just as unsettling. Men talking about their missing children, other men talking about eating 3-4 year old children, a detective discussing what details they have of an ongoing criminal investigation. The theme is made abundantly clear all throughout the 22 minutes of runtime, and in the artwork too. Crude images of missing persons', mutilated corpses, body parts wrapped in garbage bags and sealed with duct tape, a dead woman laying amidst a pile of trash, adorn the jewel case of this CDr all to further drive home the point: cruel things happen to everyone, even children. Every aspect of this release is a study in where we as people can push the boundaries of extreme brutality. There is an obsessive fascination with death, crime and perversion. Stuff like this is the reason why it is called "outsider art." Everyday society shuns horrors such as these, while also jamming it down your throat on the 7pm news, though with less finesse.

The noise: synths, feedback, sound samples, pretty much what you'd expect from this release or any other post-mortem/PE release, however those basic elements aren't what make this CDr stand out. The gem of the noise comes from the expertise these two back-alley doctors use to create the vile setting of this would-be snuff film soundtrack. It isn't the obvious barrage of sound that is so ubiquitous in harsh noise, and it isn't the straight-up Whitehouse PE ripoff you'd expect either when I mention synths and feedback. This is a uniquely refreshing approach to noise that makes you mad when the last track finishes, because you can't get enough of this incredible duo. I hate to make comparisons, but Fogle and Parra here are like the Incapacitants of disgusting post-mortem. They know exactly when to take the piercing high-end feedback out of the mix, or when to perfectly throw in a raunchy sound bite only to then bring the filthy synth back in. A class act in an under-appreciated section of the noise world. Again: filthy, vile, cruel, unsettling, nauseating synths, brain-scrambling feedback, heavily distorted noise. The "good stuff" as they say.

The art: as stated above these fellas aren't shy of displaying the cruelty of humankind. The artwork is well assembled, black and white photography collage that doesn't make you want groan and eye roll. The use of space between images, and the positioning of the images portrays a slap-dashed attempt at art, yet there is a feeling of intentionality to it as well, like a fiendish pervert collecting and displaying images of their victims on their basement shrine to their atrocities. Corpses, women and children brutalized can be such an annoying trope in noise (so is god awful black and white collage), however this isn't gimmicky or stupid. It isn't tasteful, but hell, it is well done, like the children being cannibalized.

The label: AAD is a label that primarily focuses on releasing harsh noise, with only a handful of PE/post-mortem releases finding their way into the catalogue. As much as I enjoy many of the strictly harsh noise releases that have come from the label I equally want to see more CDs and tapes such as this coming from Branden as well. It is refreshing when a strict noise labels puts out something like this. Let's branch out people. Branden did an excellent job with this CD; taking care to preserve the obviously thought out vision for this release. Big thanks to AAD for this CDr.

The overall assessment: A+, 9.5/10, gold star, s tier, whatever ranking system you want to use, this release belongs at the top. To me it is damn near perfect. I only wish it was longer, because of how good it is. At the time of writing this there are only 7 copies of this CDr available from Mr. Diven at AAD, so act fast to get one before you are the fool on discogs buying one for double or triple the original cost.