Formerly a trio, Rhode Island’s experimental-industrial-electronic-metallic noise-niks Sightless Pit have scaled it down to the twosome of Lee Buford (The Body) and Dylan Walker (Full of Hell). But if reduced in membership, the duo’s approach has considerably expanded through the inclusion of numerous guests on their new full length Lockstep Bloodwar, which is out on limited edition clear with white and blue swirl vinyl, compact disc, and digital January 27 through Thrill Jockey. The collaborators include claire rousay, YoshimiO of Boredoms, Gangsta Boo (RIP) of Three 6 Mafia, Midwife, Lane Shi Otayonii of Elizabeth Colour Wheel, and Frukwan of Gravediggaz/Stetsasonic.
Sightless Pit’s Grave of a Dog came out in February of 2020, the handiwork of Lee Buford and Dylan Walker in consort with Kristin Hayter (Lingua Ignota). Frequently pummeling and abrasive, at other times textural, and with clearly defined passages of beauty in the equation, the record established Sightless Pit as far more than just unrelentingly harsh and thematically bleak.
The beauty moves on their debut were most often tied to the voice of Hayter, and her exit might lead those familiar with Grave of a Dog to assume there’d be a heightening of the uncompromising nature of Sightless Pit’s sound. Like, for one example, the vocalizations, which are reminiscent of an incensed pack of demons freshly unleashed from the deepest crannies of hell.
There’s still plenty of that on Lockstep Bloodwar, indeed right away in opening track “Resin on a Knife,” but the interaction with the impressive cadre of guest contributors takes the record into some fruitfully unexpected regions. “Resin on a Knife” integrates the vocals of Midwife (aka Madeline Johnston) to a surprisingly pop-tinged result that productively contrasts with the cut’s streams of static, rhythmic thud and reverberating electro-bass.
“Calcified Glass,” which features both YoshimiO and Gangsta Boo, begins like cruising music from a far off dystopian future, and as it unwinds, the impact of hip-hop really shines through, and that’s even before Gangsta Boo enters late (as the rhythms throughout are borrowed from trap). To the credit of everyone involved, these hip-hop elements are deftly integrated, avoiding the boneheaded gestures of prior rap-metal hybrids (and Sightless Pit’s metal side runs deeper than just demonic vocals). What Sightless Pit are up to at times on Lockstep Bloodwar is probably best described as industrial hip-hop.
But “Flower to Tomb” starts out with a straight-up industrial barrage as guest Lane Shi Otayonii shrieks at the start and then belts a few passionate lines (her vocals slyly multi-tracked), the procession settling down a bit, at least momentarily. This leads into the title cut, one of two pieces on the album with no credited guests, though as it’s broadly constructed and thematically focused, the lack isn’t really felt.
“Low Orbit,” which welcomes Industrial Hazard (aka Spencer Hazard of Full of Hell), is dense and acidic, only to shift gears into the slamming beats and growling raps of Frukwan. claire rousay arrives for “False Epiphany,” a track restrained enough that whispers are briefly audible, and also atmospheric even as the intensity rises. “Shiv” follows, swinging to the noisier end of Sightless Pit’s spectrum and featuring a rap from Crownovhornz.
“Morning of a Thousand Lights” is the other Lockstep Bloodwar track without a credited guest, delivering more pounding industrial repetition as the guttural vocal haze gets appealingly diced up a bit in the waning moments. For closer “Futilities,” goth darkwaver Foie Gras joins in with a stressed-out chant that effectively complements the ominous pulse.
In short, Sightless Pit’s artist intention is to provide a visceral expression against the dark ugliness of modern times. But as on their prior album, Lockstep Bloodwar is no bum trip (at least for those with a predilection for noise). Instead it inspires through subversive musicality.
GRADED ON A CURVE:
A-
