Arrowhead

AMG Review of Arrowhead

François Couture
All Music Guide

People will try to sell you Arrowhead as an extreme noise record -- and of course, they would be right. That is what Prurient has been doing for many long years now. And yet, Arrowhead is a somewhat lighter release for Prurient, the key word here being "somewhat." The opening piece "Sternum" consists of a sensitive lamentation of floor tom and mumbling vocals, over a high-pitched whine. That whine is punishing at high volume, but turn that knob down a few notches and the piece becomes almost ambient and entrancing. Since it fills almost half of the album's half-hour duration, it sets this opus on an unusual track. "Ribcage" comes closer to what you'd expect from Prurient: harsh noise split between occasional low rumbles and persistent high screeching, with distorted screams and shouts added. "Lungs" provides a short postlude (four minutes), with a pummeling overdriven beat track dissolving into harsh noise. Again, these tracks are not as in-your-face as usual, which may be due to Editions Mego's tendency to master the music in a way that allows the details to show. Without actually marking a new direction, Arrowhead does open up Prurient's music to a spatial dimension hitherto unsuspected. It should still satisfy noise fans, but amateurs of sound art will also find it welcoming.