narcotic

How long does a meltdown take? How long before it's critical? Less time than I took to write those two small sentences, and what a sentence of death it became. For all of Europe, and that is made clear in the longer lasting Contamination. Reminiscent of Solar Enemy's 'Massive Radiation' (whatever happened to them?). It has the power and energy literally over a small space of time to say a lot and still the ground radiates the half-life of the isotopes, we probably haven't even got passed the first half yet even.

Appropriately, Lies lasts longer and they in fact did, as the poisoned air floated throughout the world's atmosphere and some countries have the audacity to do this on a regular basis, as a test for total annihilation. As if Japan's suffering wasn't enough, and they still do. Why? As one of my favourite punk bands, Discharge, said. Why? 'I look out my window to a blinding light, as Enola passes, passes by.'

Even disarming the Soviets as a threat has not effaced this vile evil (note the anagrammatics) from the world. The 'major power' lies to us, into our very faces with their propaganda against everyone but themselves, as to who (this time note the acronym) should own such wicked control over the world. Who has the right? Nobody is the answer and yet they persist with their 'no, you put your weapon down first' attitude. Why should a struggling nation disarm themselves or not feel the right to equality, when a gun is literally being waved in their faces? How does God's people get the right to repeatedly transgress the Geneva convention without redress? I digress...

This harsh industrialism continues, and even though Chlorhyde is a necessity in metabolism, you can have to much of a good thing. Similarly, nuclear fusion can be controlled to produced energy, admittedly at a high cost when even just considering dealing with the waste residue, but again the maxim still applies. As a point of impact it has devastating consequences, as it does with an accident, and we are too worried about some unknown celebrity and their life of riches, to know let alone care. Maybe the beginning of this album was the end of the good life, after all it spread far and wider than we can honestly attest to as a scientific community falls prey to the machinations of political sincerity. Two words that together seem to form a paradox.

Atomic Manoeuvre has already been covered, although the track curiously presents itself slightly differently in expression. How it can even be considered a validity beggars belief. Oh, it's all right, it was underground, or only a small, uninhabited island we tested it on. We've already seen, well at least some of us have, the reality of its use on human population, why don't we just have done with it and nuke the whole world and let the winner survive. If that leaves us with just a planet of rats and fleas, maybe that wouldn't be such a bad thing after all. It seems the planet is on an environmental downward spiral anyway, let's just pull the plug and to hell with it all. Nice track.

Narcotic explodes into view, devastation on the micro-level. Our ultimate distraction from reality, how perfectly sweet is that. How much coke can someone stuff up their nostrils before their face caves in? Ask the rich and famous, ask the people who run the countries of the world. Is this a wise mixture? Am I even being lined up as a target as a dissident, it's been done before, and I still stand ethically proud in what I believe in and have always done so, from my teenage years. How I've survived this long, with what goes on, God only knows. Oh, wait a minute, don't we live in a democracy which vouchsafes free speech, or is that just propaganda too, to keep us quiet and well-behaved.

Genocide (look it up). Once upon a time, there was a ruler, a despot who decided he did not like an indigenous population that fell within his realm. So, he was supplied with armaments and other militaristic equipment and training by another ruler, a very wealthy and powerful one as it happens. That aforementioned despot then committed genocide with the backing of that unmentionable superpower. Then that aforementioned superpower, perhaps coming to some ethical dilemma, decided after a meeting that revealed they were running out of a particular natural resource, to stop that backing and begin attacking. The first points of safeguarding being, coincidentally, the very resources they were lacking. However, that left them with the problem of that aforementioned despost and genocidal maniac, and the fact that they had backed him to the hilt. How do they keep him quiet? Hand him over to another friend and allow him to be done away with, complete with full internet coverage of the act of filthy betrayal. And, then they all lived happily ever after. Well, actually, they didn't, but let's not dwell on that fact. And that that's just one grim fairy tale, there are a host of others. The music suits the subject perfectly well, it inspires me, that's the magic of musical expression, to instil a fearful awe and innate beauty.

The rest of the album seems to reflect a surgical view of reparation, but we are dealing with some serious amount of karmic debt to an ailing Gaia. That things should be so easily cut and dried I think is even beyond contemplation and the music, retaining its very harsh character and texture seems to reflect a strong sense of negativity. I am sadly inclined to agree. I don't personally hold out much hope. Even on a cultural level we seem to be declining and progression is simply a tenuous grip on the flow of time and a series of distractions on a lower level, just to keep us busy. When a person loses their job and can no longer sufficiently provide for his/her family, there are more immediate problems to hand rather than worrying about world peace.

Adrenaline is in place, and my fingers cannot halt the flow of words as it pumps around my brain, inciting an internal riot of conscience. So, what am I doing about it? Surviving on a line of poverty that is better than most comparatively, but if you have read this far and I commend you on your fortitude if you have done so, maybe you have learnt something new today. I have. Even if it's just that after listening to this album, which will musically appeal to very few, I have found a flame rekindled in myself to at least want the world to be a better place, and maybe this is my place and opportunity to say so and do so. I write, sometimes a little, sometimes the music just seeps into my subconsciousness and my fingers whirr away, soon to be atrophied with RSI! We need solidarity and education, and the latter is within our reach, in fact to the point of overload, and there's the rub, in a real democracy we would be too busy sifting through the information to be effectively active within that said demos. It was easier for the Greeks in their original format, they lived in a smaller world. With regard to the former, there are groups around that are activists. Seek them out and join up. Unite and fight for the truth. Only that will save us and yet it is the one thing that, for a sense of uneasy comfort we find ourselves in denial. If we wait too long, it will be too late. If it isn't already...

Thanks for sharing LITH but now look what you made me do!-)