More Actuary, more creeping industrial menace, more psychic abrasion. On Chosen Curse, the SoCal void-pilots hitch a ride with Winters In Osaka for a quick jaunt straight down the yawning throat of Hell. The guys in Actuary have so far been pretty good at selecting bands on their splits that actually compliment their sound, rather than just taking up space on the other side of the record.

Actuary's "False Relics" journey's further into the realms of cybernetic industrial horror that this band has been progressively exploring with each new release. It's a hailstorm of broken glass and menacing distorted synths that sweep in and lead right into the track's chaotic noisescape, quickly rising in intensity and volume from that glitch-ridden mass of swirling electronic noise and processed bells into a destructive tidal wave of harsh blast, sampled screams and ultra-distorted heaviness that consumes and pulverizes everything in it's path. Definitely hits the spot.

Depending on the record, I've heard Winters In Osaka unleash everything from Godfleshian industrial crush to total abstract noise, so I wasn't sure what to expect this time around. Their track "Floors" begins with soft cinematic ambience at first, delicate electronic notes sparkling against a pitch-black void, but as a steady rising swell of rumbling bass comes rushing in, it quickly becomes much more threatening and transforms into the sort of ghastly infernal ambience that these guys excel at. Those high, shimmering tones maintain a constant presence throughout the track, even as a huge wall of distortion nearly consumes the entire sound field, becoming an almost wall-like block of black static through which faint traces of melody can be heard. Bursts of abrasive rhythmic noise and vast trumpeting bass tones take flight at the very end, when everything suddenly crashes to a stop.

On colored vinyl, and presented in a gorgeous looking record that features brightly colored, occult-themed sleeve art that was created by Mories (Gnaw Their Tongues / Aderlating) and Kevin Fetus (Lack Of Interest / Fetus Eaters / Bacteria Cult).