Pillars Of Golden Misery – Riders Of Misfortune (Album – Culture Vomit)
Genre/Influences: Experimental, Dark-Ambient, Noise, Industrial.
Format: Digital, Cassette.
Background/Info: Behind this project is hiding Howard Gardner who you may know from his involvement with Non-Bio. He’s also active in Pillars Of Golden Misery and has released a very few works thus far. This album has been accomplished during the ongoing pandemic and its lockdowns.
Content: The work is a diversified composition, revisiting early Experimental- and Industrial works of the 80s and 90s. Some cuts have been progressively built up, sometimes simply empowered by crescendo resonating sequences. Ghost-like vocal effects accentuate the darkness supporting some passages while other parts sound like pure improvisation touching ground with Noise.
+ + + : Pillars Of Golden Misery creates a unique and diversified dark sound, which will mainly appeal for lovers of Experimental music. I like the retro-like influences, sometimes comparable to a sonic collage of Industrial sound treatments and pure Noise. My favorite tracks are the ones, which have been progressively built up.
– – – : I was less convinced by the final tracks of the album -featuring a live cut, which are more into improvisation and Noise.
Conclusion: This work brings a wide canvas of Experimental/Noise music mixed with more Ambient-driven parts.
Best songs: “Shuriken Worm Murderer”, “Disheartening 3D Zombies”.
Rate: 6.
Artist: www.facebook.com/PillarsOfGoldenMisery
Label: www.facebook.com/culturevomitproductions
About Pillars Of Golden Misery
Pillars Of Golden Misery is the London-based experimental and noise project of Howard Gardner, set up in 2018. Gardner also runs the industrial and powernoise project Non-Bio, whose catalogue dates back to “Pillar Of Salt” (2010). Side-Line reviewed the debut CDr EP Golden Hand Of The Leech in April 2019, and Pillars Of Golden Misery contributed to the Non-Bio remix collection Degraded – Remixes 2014-2019 the same year.
“Riders Of Misfortune” was released on 1 February 2021 by Culture Vomit on cassette and as a download. The nine tracks are “Riders Of Misfortune”, “Brain Enemy”, “Shadow Of The Snake Hell”, “Exquisite Crystal of the Dead”, “Shuriken Worm Murderer”, “Viscious Call Centre Universe”, “Disheartening 3D Zombies”, “Remorse Surfer” and “GoGo Battleship Gone Wild”. The album “Turbo Necropolis” followed on the same label on 13 February 2023.
Non-Bio’s later releases include Monkey Feather (2023), Vermin (2023) and Every Chalice Poisoned (2024), all reviewed on Side-Line. “Riders Of Misfortune” is the first Pillars Of Golden Misery full-length.
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