God is War, formed in 2018, is the solo project of Mack Chami. Boogeyman Inc. (Profound Lore) is his latest offering, featuring seven tracks of glitching, abrasive, instrumental industrial noise music.

Throughout the tracks here, dark Trip-Hop beats mingle with dissonant synth noise and swirling ambience. The effect is often disorientating, sometimes suffocating, and always strangely beguiling. Glitchy electronic drums blast forth from the speakers, while reverb-drenched noise effects ebb and flow. There is little in the way of melody, with atmospheric synths instead taking the lead role. Indeed, the harmonic content is often atonal, with discordance and noise elements filling the sonic space. Such is the atmospheric potency of Boogeyman Inc., that listening to the record feels like being dumped in a barren alternative universe.

Boogeyman Inc. is a punishing and relentless listen, but it is also deceptively subtle and delicate at times. For example, “The Opium Den,” whilst still undeniably noisy, features artful rising and falling drums with lulling chime sounds over the top; the sonics here recall Brian Eno’s ambient work. This kind of blending of the ambient with the harsh is perhaps what characterises the album more than anything else. It is often simultaneously hypnotically tranquilising and terrifyingly formidable.

A possible criticism could be that the record is somewhat one-dimensional; most of the tracks have a similar feel. The dynamics also stay at fairly uniform levels throughout most of the record. But perhaps that misses the point. Indeed, if the purpose of Boogeyman Inc. is to create a relentlessly oppressive and severe atmosphere then it is undoubtedly successful.

Album highlights include the chaotic pure noise of album opener “I’m The One You Need To Be Worried About…You Remember That Motherfucker.” the pulsating Hip-Hop grooves of “With The Snap Of A Finger…Like As If You Were Never Fucking There”, the title track with its juxtaposition of brutal drums and ambient synth washes, and the otherworldly glitch-fest of “Horriblis Maximus.”

Boogeyman Inc. is not for the faint-hearted, but those well-versed in noise-based music will find it to be a dark and forlorn joy. 

Buy the album here:
https://linktr.ee/godiswar

7 / 10
DUNCAN EVANS