{"id":675,"date":"2014-07-23T13:30:11","date_gmt":"2014-07-23T18:30:11","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.toiletovhell.com\/?p=675"},"modified":"2017-05-10T22:46:55","modified_gmt":"2017-05-11T03:46:55","slug":"gazing-too-long-into-the-abyss-a-soundtrack-to-nightmares","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/toiletovhell.com\/gazing-too-long-into-the-abyss-a-soundtrack-to-nightmares\/","title":{"rendered":"Gazing Too Long Into The Abyss: A Soundtrack to Nightmares"},"content":{"rendered":"
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“What the hell are you listening to?!” is the most common reaction. “That’s creepy, man” is another. I’ve also heard “Sounds like a horror movie where someone is about to get killed.” Understandable. What is it about specific\u00a0soundscapes that evoke such a visceral reaction? Unfamiliarity? Years of pop culture conditioning about serial killers and post-apocalyptic wastelands? Or, a general curiosity about hearing something that seems like it wasn’t meant to be heard? Why not all of ’em?<\/p>\n

Heavy metal and disturbing sounds are inherently linked. The thunderstorm at the beginning of Black Sabbath<\/em>. The icy, echoed churning that introduces In The Nightside Eclipse<\/em>. The reverberating\u00a0scrapes, whispers\u00a0and far-away rumbles that occupy the backgrounds of countless song breaks and bridges, preparing the listener for a searing guitar solo or the final closing crescendo. With that in mind, here are three artists who embody and fully exploit the haunting side of sound.<\/p>\n

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Many of you may already be familiar with the murky sound experimentation and sinister atmospheres Lustmord<\/strong> (aka Brian Williams) has been crafting since the early 80s, or more recently you may have seen his name attached to Guillermo del Toro’s series The Strain<\/em>. Employing deep infrasound frequencies and utilizing field recordings from crypts, sewers, morgues and other naturally unpleasant places, Lustmord’s offerings feel less like they were created by a man with an ear for audible shadow and more like he simply happened to be in the right awful place at the right terrifying time, witnessing a gathering of indescribable forces, coaxing layer upon layer of cold, colorless sound to bleed straight from the rock walls of a forgotten subterranean god’s tomb. Thorough\u00a0listening is\u00a0rewarded as Lustmord tracks can shift in tone and intensity from beginning to end,\u00a0occasionally\u00a0featuring a few brief moments of somber\u00a0melody, which\u00a0doesn’t\u00a0last long before you’re once again faced with the unending black void indifferent to your mortal plight.<\/p>\n