CD, Intolerance Records, 2007
www.intolerancerecords.com/wcp/
A bit of background: Wasteful Consumption Patterns is one man, an individual going by the sociable moniker of ‘Korpserape’. “Solder,” his first album, was actually completed seven years ago, but a short stint in an asylum cut short any release plans. With this in mind, the unsettling, threatening atmosphere that pervades this recording comes as no surprise.
Viewed holistically, “Solder” is a particularly vivid portrayal of a deeply personal descent, an inability to cope with circumstances. The tone of the record accompanies this perfectly, ranging from vicious ranting to mumbled complaint right through to semi-comatose withdrawal from everything and everyone. Taken as separate entities, few songs stand out from the rest (this may be the biggest drawback the album faces) but the breakbeat-meets-digicore ferocity of “Every Single Time” and the ominous ambience of “Throbbing Drone” are definite highlights. “Temporary” is interesting, too, as it represents a microcosm of the remainder of the album via its bipolar changes in pace and mood.
Musically speaking, the most versatile instrument employed on this recording would have to be Korpserape’s voice: the sheer variety presented in the array of enhancements, treatments and textures is worthy of praise. Not since “The Downward Spiral”-era Nine Inch Nails have I experienced such meticulous attention to vocal filtering. From tinny vocoders and hypnotic delay effects right through to unintelligibly gruff distortion, a whole choir of multiple personalities manifest themselves and their antisocial opinions on “Solder.”
On the negative side, the percussion is mixed very heavily, drowning out some intriguing synthetic sounds to an extent. Although it feels like you’ve heard everything the album has to offer after only three songs, it is still a memorable selection of music that blurs the lines between breakbeat, digital hardcore, drum’n’bass and industrial. All that remains to be seen is this: will post-treatment Wasteful Consumption Patterns deliver music as thought-provoking and evocative as it did prior to institutionalisation?
[7/10]
— David vander Merwe