ALBUM REVIEW: Hallucination Scene – Black Magnet

Hallucinations are often thought to be experiences or sensations that appear to be real but are created within the mind. They are often thought to warp the senses to create sights, sounds and smells that aren’t truly there. They are often associated with psychotic disorders such as schizophrenia or the result of drug-induced states. Hallucinations can be abrasive, disorienting and uncomfortable. On their debut manifesto Hallucination Scene, post-punk industrialists BLACK MAGNET synthesise these harrowing experiences into 26 minutes of aural punishment that obliterate the senses. 

Masterminded entirely by frontman James Hammontree, BLACK MAGNET are born from the blisters of the mid-nineties industrial metal scene. Encompassing elements of second-wave pioneers GODFLESH, NINE INCH NAILS and FRONT LINE ASSEMBLY, they twist their terrors with the impassioned aggressiveness of hardcore and the politically uncomforting sensibility of post-punk. As akin to the hallucinations they represent, all vocals, instruments and samples are written and performed by Hammontree, creating a layer of introspection that mirrors some of TOOL’s stygian moments. 

Embracing abrasiveness as if it’s the keys to the industrial kingdom, BLACK MAGNET blur the lines between the hallucinatory and the real by cutting and pasting genres and playing meticulously with the pacing. Anubis is as NINE INCH NAILS as you can get without Trent Reznor behind the wheel, shapeshifting it’s stronghold through a mesh of techno-induced electro-punk whilst Punishment Map is as if LOATHE locked themselves in the studio with GODLFESH, emanating the power of a programmed army of percussion-shaped machine guns. Hallucination Scene is an obliteration of the senses at every turn, and is all the better for it. This isn’t intended for easy listening, this is music made for inducing hallucinations.

Traditionally, you might hone in on the pacing of an album like Hallucination Scene, criticising its lack of stability as an achilles heel. In this case though, the fragility of BLACK MAGNET’s derelict dystopia works ever more in its favour. There are few albums that fire you at breakneck speed before bringing you crashing back into the wall with waves of oscillating noise to this effect, and yet here it is. Crush Me is the sound of Trent Reznor fronting the Golden Age of Grotesque-era MARILYN MANSON, before bleeding into the demoniac darkwave of Hegemon and slipping soberly into a world where SOFT CELL and MARILYN MANSON make lo-fi synth-pop. This level of pacing upheaval is somewhat jarring and discomforting, yet leaves you longing for more, longing for the aural explosions awaiting you. 

One area of the industrial conglomerate BLACK MAGNET drops the proverbial ball on is the lyrical front. Whilst the vocal delivery is every bit as distorted and as warped as it should be, the content itself falls short of the mark. Where you expect to find substance in the shape of social commentary or the introspective interrogation of the darker sides of relationships, you instead find throwaway trademarks. Punishment Map is undoubtedly one of Hallucination Scene’s standout scenes, and yet it’s let down by lines as cliche to the genre as “I’m losing myself in how much / I’ve grown to hate you”. Imagine the impact a song as mentally penetrating audibly as this could have if it’s lyrical output matched its sonic attack. 

If James Hammontree was setting his sights on BLACK MAGNET delivering an album-long sermon on the induction of hallucinations, then he has truly achieved this, and then some. Hallucination Scene is an abrasive, disorienting and uncomfortable amalgamation of industrial metal, hardcore and post-punk that is viscerally exciting and unlike anything else exploding in earth’s eardrums right now.

Rating: 8/10

Hallucination Scene is out now via 20 Buck Spin. 

For more information on BLACK MAGNET like their official page on Facebook.