Steve Von Till - Alone in a World of Wounds
The man who made his career with visionary noise metal in Neurosis, Steve Von Till’s solo work takes the existential enormity and elemental primitivism of that band but strips away the planet-swallowing volume and pounding dissonance down to a peculiar distillation of sparse, hushed wilderness-saturated gothic Americana.
At the core of Neurosis’ aesthetic is a sense of colossal, unfathomable perspective and the vivid violence of nature’s forces. Von Till retains this fascination of hostile panoramas of the natural world into his lonely, distinctly American West milieu.
Like his other work, Alone in a World of Wounds is a whispered, skeletal meander into a deep psychological and physical wilderness and fatalistic reflection. Subdued and sparse, the record plods a solitary trek into a desolate, unforgiving, unexplored terra incognito. Von Till’s half spoken, wood-smoked croak delivers an intense stream of consciousness with references to the harshness of seasons and the flimsiness of mortality. It’s like a solitary one-man expedition to meet his fate in the wilds.
This record is, however, richer in sound and depth than his previous six albums and it is, without overstatement, more cinematic. There are new, albeit unintrusive, additions of strings, French horn, cello, steel pedal and subtle electronica. These are deceptively light embellishments but frame his grieving laments with a lusher impact. The opener The Corpse Road is perhaps one his most arresting songs, a softly grandiose prairie-at-sunset lament, juxtaposing reflection and peace. The backdrop of distant but menacing pulses of electronic drone on Distance and the grim soliloquy of Old Bent Pine create effects of rising, vicious winds and are redolent of a growing brutal storm across the plains. Von Till has a knack of creating a palpable sense of overwhelming tension and foreboding just like Neurosis did, except he uses a simple palette sparingly. His sunset, ambient minimalism creates quivering expanses and the insistent heartbeat-like piano keys of Watch Them Fall and the mournful strings that nudge along Horizons Undone create a muted, saturnine drama. The album closer, River of No Return, is perhaps a marginally warmer track, vaguely brighter, pastoral reflection that denotes a rough journey’s end.
Von Till furrows a solitary meditative path into existential wildlands. This album is a richer, more beguilingly layered sound than his previous brittle minimalist records and he has arguably created a more unique journey here and its every bit as impactful as the blazing, volcanic rage where he started his career.
https://stevevontill.bandcamp.com/album/alone-in-a-world-of-wounds
Released via Neurot Recordings