ALBUM REVIEW: The Black Iron Prison – Massimo Pupillo

Within avant-garde circles, Massimo Pupillo is a familiar name. The Italian-born bassist/synthesist is best known for his work with ZU: a primal jazz-rock outfit, incorporating elements of metal, progressive and ambient music, among many others. ZU have released records on the prestigious Atavistic, Ipecac and House Of Mythology labels, and collaborated with members of FUGAZI, THE MELVINS, EINSTURZENDE NEUBAUTEN and SONIC YOUTH. Ostensibly a musicians’ band, their credibility is hard to understate. Outside of ZU, Pupillo has collaborated extensively with avant-garde royalty, including Oren Ambarchi and Caspar Brötzmann. Now an Amazonian émigré, the revered musician has completed his debut solo album The Black Iron Prison; inspired by his interest in Gnosticism, science-fiction and alchemy.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, The Black Iron Prison bears most similarity to ZU’s latest output. This is a far cry from the frenetic, heavy poly-rhythms of Carboniferous, and adjacent to the exploratory ambient approach taken on Terminalia Amazonia, but considerably darker and more introspective. The album was recorded ‘in solitude’ at Aerial Studios, home of modular synthesis wizard Thighpaulsandra, and is dominated by synthetic-analogue sounds as a result. This is a determinedly sparse and atmospheric work, which unfolds at a meditative pace. The emphasis falls squarely on the texture of the sound, rather than on the musical ideas expressed through them, and listening to The Black Iron Prison feels like following Massimo Pupillo through a series of half-conscious thoughts and reflections.

My Inaugural Address At The Great White Throne Judgment Of The Dead (an outside contender for song title of the year) draws on vocal samples and reverse-effects to create a truly surreal experience, while subtle modulations of a tape-echo unit create a pleasant mnemonic effect on Pistis Sophia. The album’s second half then draws the curtains, and turns inwards. The Great Tribulation starts strong, but soon lapses into a near-empty ambience to pave the way for the title-track, whose pulsating liquid textures build and blend into a soft-glitch conclusion. To accuse The Black Iron Prison of not having a thrilling climax misses the point, but there are too few sonic landmarks in its forty-minute duration to call it memorable.

The Black Iron Prison is a self-portrait painted by a landscape artist. This album documents an experienced musician, left to his own devices, creating allegoric soundscapes from a host of synthetic instruments. Clearly a deeply personal work, inspired by Massimo Pupillo’s esoteric interests and reflections, the album has not been conceived or prepared for public consumption. The Black Iron Prison is easy to listen to, but difficult to enjoy.

Rating: 4/10

The Black Iron Prison is out now via Subsound Records.

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