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act 194 · black lung · the coming dark age · cd

tracklist:
the coming dark age, the sins of megalopolis, karmageddon, the great automobile hunt, the doomed fortress, concrete octopus, armies of oil, the view from hubbert's peak, battle for the grim plateau, leibowitz's canticle, toward the petro-apocalypse, megalopolis dies, the new dark age.

'at present, nearly 40% of all land-based photosynthetic capability has been appropriated by human beings. in the united states we divert more than half of the energy captured by photosynthesis. we have taken over all the prime real estate on this planet. the rest of nature is forced to make due with what is left. plainly, this is one of the major factors in species extinctions and in ecosystem stress.'

'total fossil fuel use in the united states has increased 20-fold in the last 4 decades. in the u.s., we consume 20 to 30 times more fossil fuel energy per capita than people in developing nations. agriculture directly accounts for 17% of all the energy used in this country.12 as of 1990, we were using approximately 1,000 liters (6.41 barrels) of oil to produce food of one hectare of land.'

'americans are grand consumers of water. as of one decade ago, americans were consuming 1,450 gallons/day/capita (g/d/c), with the largest amount expended on agriculture. allowing for projected population increase, consumption by 2050 is projected at 700 g/d/c, which hydrologists consider to be minimal for human needs. this is without taking into consideration declining fossil fuel production.'

'presently, only two nations on the planet are major exporters of grain: the united states and canada. 41 by 2025, it is expected that the u.s. will cease to be a food exporter due to domestic demand. the impact on the u.s. economy could be devastating, as food exports earn $40 billion for the u.s. annually. more importantly, millions of people around the world could starve to death without u.s. food exports.'

'domestically, 34.6 million people are living in poverty as of 2002 census data. and this number is continuing to grow at an alarming rate. too many of these people do not have a sufficient diet. as the situation worsens, this number will increase and the united states will witness growing numbers of starvation fatalities.'

'the authors of all of these studies believe that the mentioned agricultural crisis will only begin to impact us after 2020, and will not become critical until 2050. the current peaking of global oil production (and subsequent decline of production), along with the peak of north american natural gas production will very likely precipitate this agricultural crisis much sooner than expected. quite possibly, a u.s. population reduction of one-third will not be effective for sustainability; the necessary reduction might be in excess of one-half. and, for sustainability, global population will have to be reduced from the current 6.32 billion people to 2 billion - a reduction of 68% or over two-thirds. the end of this decade could see spiraling food prices without relief. and the coming decade could see massive starvation on a global level such as never experienced before by the human race.'

citations taken from 'eating fossil fuels' by dale allen pfeiffer, october 3, 2003

'the coming dark age' features a electrotechno and sociopolitical theme through avant-garde instrumental work, possessed by wildly experimental elements which is often juxtaposed by variations of deep electro, techno, crunchy breaks, neo space rock and startling abrupt rhythmic changes through to industrial-ambience.

this album can be seen as a conceptual / musical continuation and expansion to the 'karmageddon' 12" which was released on ant-zen earlier this year.

packaging: 4-page digipak cd packaging + 12p booklet

david thrussell is perhaps best known as australian electronic music's quietest over-achiever. as snog, or in other guises as soma (with pieter bourke of dead can dance) or black lung, he has gained an international cult reputation for innovation in electronic/cinematic/sound-scapes and numerous releases have invaded electronic/alternative charts in the germany, france and the u.s.a. an intensive touring schedule has included in recent times headline dates in new york, san francisco and rome, and the premier spot on "le musique des ultimates" a three day festival of electronic and experimental music in france. during the past decade thrussell has also carved himself an enviable niche as a dj. rising first to turntable prominence at the infamous hellfire club in melbourne and sydney, and then to regular engagements at the rex and le gibus (paris), farenheit (nyc), and forte prenestino (rome) amongst many others. thrussell djed at the fuck parade berlin july 2001. somehow in between over 400(!) dj and live performances thrussell has held down his startling and innovative radio program rude mechanical on melbourne's pbsfm for over ten years. after having numerous film placements both in australia and internationally, thrussell completed his first major motion picture score "angst", released by united international pictures in august 2000 (winning best film score at if awards and nominated for australian guild of screen composers best feature score). further projects included a remix of u.k. techno legend aphex twin, an album of spoken word/soundscape material and further feature film scores including "the hard word" (starring guy pearce and rachel griffiths) with numerous other film scores in the pipeline. above and beyond all that though, david thrussell is just a swell chap.

1991 thrussell quits art school in sheer frustration.

1992 first snog album "lies inc" released in germany, u.s.a, japan and australia. extensive mtv europe airplay, technżclub success #1, germany, #3 u.s.a etc.

1993 snog tours internationally and nationally to large crowds and rapturous reviews.

1994 second snog album "dear valued customer" released in germany, u.s.a, japan and australia.

1995 first thrussell "solo" album (as black lung) released in germany, u.s.a and australia. 26 european "live" dates (festivals and clubs) follow and thrussell swears he'll never do it again. first soma (thrussell with pieter bourke) album "hollow earth" released in europe and u.s.a. "hollow earth" is named "the wire" album of the year.

1996 second soma album "the inner cinema" released in europe, u.s.a and australia. rave reviews have critics scratching for new superlatives to describe unique and beautiful amalgm of cinematic/electronic/dub/soundscapes.

1997 new black lung albums released in europe. thrussell is tempted out of gig retirement by opportunities to headline at ampitheatre/military base in rome, riverside castle in east berlin and large cruise ship in rostock. still mutters quietly to himself.

1998 third snog album "buy me...i'll change your life" released in europe, u.s.a and australia. praised as landmark electronic recording. others scratch heads and wonder if he's cracked.

1999 fourth snog album "third mall from the sun" rushed out to avoid imminent end of world. most successful snog album internationally. banned in australia due to "controversial" artwork.

2000 thrussell completes first feature film score for "angst". wins independant film-maker award for best score, nominated for australia guild of screen composers best score.

2001 new snog album "relax into the abyss" released internationally. banned in australia due to "controversial" artwork (again...sigh). "the voices of reason" a david thrussell spoken word/soundscape album released on the ant-zen label. thrussell almost falls over when told the album is being used to teach english in moscow schools! (we wouldn't dare make that one up) snog's "third mall from the sun" released as 2cd in japan. thrussell and digital art genius richard grant complete shortfilm "the plastic wars part 1" which opens the melbourne underground film festival in july 2001. viewers are treated for shock after film's sensational revelations. snog tours japan and u.s.a to rapturous response. black lung plays maschinenfest festival in germany and further dates in east germany, london, rome and elsewhere.

2002 thrussell completes second feature film score for "the hard word" starring guy pearce and rachel griffiths. the film opens at #3 in the australian box office and the much acclaimed score album is released by universal music. the score receives nominations from aria, apra-agsc and the fcca. another score for "the andronechron incident" an independent italian sci-fi film of the same name is released on the ant-zen label in europe. a new black lung 12" is released in the u.k by atomic reactor a new label started by juno reactor. u.s tour dates are planned for november/december.

2003 thrussell commences work on two further major feature film scores "thunderstruck" and "under the radar" for release early 2004. the new snog album "beyond the valley of the proles" is released late february in the u.s.a, germany, the u.k, japan and australia. snog tour the u.s in july to large houses and a warm response. "the hard word" is released in the u.s june 2003. thrussell supports kraftwerk on their australian tour in april and djs at the premiere of the restored director's cut of the good, the bad and the ugly in melbourne. thrussell also sits on the jury of the 2003 melbourne underground film festival and the 2003 apra-agsc screen music awards.

2004 thrussell releases new black lung album "the grand chessboard" on ant-zen label in europe. co-writes his first film script "fitzroy cannibal cookbook" which is optioned to producer al clark (chopper, 1984, presilla queen of the desert, the hard word) to commence production in 2005. tours europe and the u.s.a as black lung. thrussell composes the theme for the movie show on sbs and begins work on his first short film as writer/director entitled "ringtone".

2005 thrussell will most likely score two new major motion pictures in 2005 as well as a number of other projects including a spoken word album and release his new black lung album "the coming dark age" on psy-harmonics.

black lung discography on ant-zen 05.2005:
2005. cd. the coming dark age. ant-zen act194
2005. 12 inch. karmageddon. ant-zen act184
2004. cd / 12 inch. the grand chessboard. ant-zen act164 / act164.4
2004. cd-ep. the sound of meat. ant-zen act164.1
2003. 10 inch. the sound of meat. ant-zen act147
2002. cd. the andronechron incident (w/ xingu hill). ant-zen act132
2001. cd-ep / 12 inch. profound and sentimental journey. ant-zen act119 / act119.1
2000. 12 inch. rhic-edom. ant-zen act97
1999. 10 inch. the andronechron incident (w/ xingu hill). ant-zen act92
1998. 12 inch. silent weapons for quiet wars. ant-zen act84

black lung information: www.worldwentdown.com/imcc

reviews:

octopus
david thrussell poursuit l'aventure militante de son projet fétiche, le grand black lung, dont le retour suscité par the grand chessboard se confirme avec the coming dark age. la parano•a de black lung dans le discours laisse peu à peu la place à plus de réalisme, et cet album porte le signe de l'engagement écologiste de l'australien. difficile pourtant, avec cette électro très urbaine, de distinguer musicalement une velléité naturaliste. on se cantonnera donc à la musique... celle de black lung a longtemps été sombre, puisant dans les influences industrielles de ce projet unipersonnel lancé il y a dix ans. c'est toujours en partie le cas, mais plus régulièrement black lung lorgne vers les dancefloors et s'ouvre à la lumière avec des beats techno poussant à l'ondulation. thrussell ne se départit cependant jamais des rythmiques vissées, qu'il accompagne constamment de détails cinématographiques. les manipulations des titres ambient, par leur caractère ludique, confirment cette faible lueur qui habite black lung, comme une touche d'espoir dans l'autodestruction humaine déplorée par l'artiste. on notera enfin que l'identité même de black lung est confirmée dans l'un des titres les plus représentatifs et percutants intitulé... "concrete octopus". pour l'australien, le nouvel ‰ge sombre est à venir avec l'asphyxie de la planète. le poumon respire encore, mais pour combien de temps ? (jér™me langlais)

de subjectivisten caleidoscoop
david thrussell heeft onder zijn eigen naam wel eens wat uitgebracht, de soundtrack the hard word bijvoorbeeld, maar hij is bekender van zijn projecten snog, soma (met pieter bourke van dead can dance) en black lung. met black lung is hij het meest productief. hij cre‘ert hiermee veelal conceptalbums, wat muzikaal gezien niet een groot verschil oplevert. alleen zijn debuut silent weapons for silent wars, over onder meer de gevolgen van het roken, verschilt nogal. daarna maakt hij meestal brute techno, waarin industri‘le beats de dienst uitmaken. ook zijn 13de cd the coming dark age staat vol met brutale industrialbeats. de hele cd staat vol met teksten over het grootverbruik van natuurlijke energiebronnen en andere milieuzaken die niet goed gaan in de vs. misschien dat de muziek daarom extra gedreven en furieus klinkt. hij wisselt zijn pakkende beats af, of combineert ze, met duistere ambient. een enkele keer ontaarden de beats in een totale chaos, wat zo nu en dan met hoog volume lekker en vooral indrukwekkend is. hij heeft ook wel eens hele cd's vol ontspoorde beats gemaakt en dan word je lichtelijk gek. thrussell weet als geen ander hoe je beats moet laten dreunen tot je luidsprekers scheel zien. tegen het einde van de cd wordt het zowaar rustig en filmisch. een album met een enorme impact. (jan willem broek)

black issue 40
synthese ist alles. bei black lung setzt nun die phase ein, bei der alles aus seinen projekten zusammen fliesst. das ist bei snog schon lŠngst der fall, doch dźrfen dort die elemente frei regieren und reagieren. "the coming dark age" dagegen extrahiert und wirft das stromlinienförmige substrat auf den plattenteller. da klingt noch alles wie aus einem guss. elektro, minimalelektronik, "forbidden planet"-avantgarde, nitzer ebb, dark ambient, massive attack, noise: stilistisch variierend geht es doch meistens um den geraden groove, der sich um schmirgelige sounds legt, die mit metallischer dunkelheit blitzen und sonorer mattheit vibrieren. weniger gabba, mehr 80er minimalelektronik und proto-ebm, so ist das konzept diesmal umrissen. dazu penderecki-geisterchöre und viel 50er analog-gezirpe. die wahrscheinlich cleverste und unterhaltsamste platte, die black lung seit der "depopulation bomb" auf den markt geworfen hat. gerade, weil sie so anders als die vorgŠnger ist, hat sie wieder dieselbe einschlagskraft wie anno dazumal die zweite platte. hart, groovend und cineastisch: david thrussel bleibt auf dem dunklen elektronikthron. (till)

wreck this mess
l'intitulé Ń tout comme les titres des morceaux ("karmageddon, concrete octopus, the view from hubbert's peak, leibowitz's canticle, toward the petro-apocalypse, megalopolis dies") Ń trahit encore les sombres préoccupations de david thrussel aka black lung. les optimistes diront qu'il développe malgré tout une thématique peu moins parano que dans son dernier opus, the grand chessboard qui dénonŤait presque point par point le "bréviaire de la haine" civilisationnelle commis par zbigniew brezinski (ancien conseiller du président carter). cette fois, dale allen pfeiffer est réquisitionné. et peut-être robert vacca... musicalement, en tout cas, ses compositions sont toujours très contrastées, alternant des moments de fureur intense avec des plages pleines de violence contenue. il y a des crissements et d'étranges mélodies. des textures denses qui enrobent des sonorités plus ciselées. des ambiances que l'on qualifiera, une fois de plus, de cinématographique. mais les rythmiques paraissent toutefois moins martiales, plus saccadées. chaotiques. comme notre époque. (ld)

gothtronic
black lung is back, with a concept album as usual. "the coming dark age" is an album about the loss of fossil fuel energy and the rol mankind plays hereby. it is an instrumental album, that is very hard to describe. various genres are touched upon - as the previous album "the grand chessboard" was. a bizarre combination of experimental music containing breakbeats, changes in speed, and yet sounding great as a whole. "the coming dark age" continues to build around this sound, and even adds influences of drum'n'bass, techno and industrial. the experimental sounds and experimenting can be compared to a sound similar to aphex twin, but black lung really is different as it's harsher and maybe more confronting. it's obvious that a story is told, without hearing any vocals that tell it. black lung (aka david thrussell) has been writing film music for the last 5 years of his now 13-year old career and that is also hearable on this record. lustmord uses this talent for writing sterile, cold albums, but black lung uses it to give a smooth feeling to an album so diverse of influences. "the coming dark age" is an expansion to the 12"-record "karmageddon" that was released by ant-zen earlier, and for the people who picked that up (the three songs on that record are on this album as well) i'd say that this record is a worthy buy as well. it's hard to get into this album, but that's why it's so interesting and effective. and worth your money. (eelco)

funprox
david thrussell is a very productive artist. last year he served the listener the grand chessboard as black lung. recently a snog remix cd/12" was released and also a black lung 12" entitled karmageddon saw the light earlier this year. the coming dark age , his new album, is a sequel to this last 12". as always with david thrussell this record is a conceptual piece of work. the new, or coming, dark age is a near future with shortage of fossil fuel. track titles like 'the great automobile hunt', 'armies of oil', toward the petrol-apocalypse' and of course karmageddon' speak for themselves in this context. next to that the coming dark age is also portrayed as a time on earth with shortage of water and food and worldwide poverty. so, no happy messages about our future. the music itself is typical black lung material. electro related music, with repetitive rhythms and at time structures that collapse. there are also some industrial and idm influences in some tracks. despite the concept the music is not very dark. highlights are the more soundscape orientated pieces like 'the coming dark age' and 'the new dark age'. but, there are also some beat driven tracks that work very well with their minimal approach, such as 'the great automobile hunt' and 'karmageddon'. the coming dark age is again a decent album but one that will probably mostly interest the fans of the black lung sound. there is only a small change david thrussel will win new ears for his warnings. if that is what he wants he should maybe try some new approaches to his music. (mvg)

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