Whitehouse were the band that invented and pioneered Power Electronics, partially causing the popularity of British Noise in the 80s and onwards. Their from this decade run is a mixed bag, varying in quality and style. Named after infamous serial killer and rapist Peter Kürten or the Vampire of Düsseldorf, it's the band's first release to go more into the sadistic side of their philosophy; a format that would be paralleled on 1983's Right to Kill: Dedicated to Dennis Andrew Nilsen.
Opening with a recording of a news program about the "Yorkshire Ripper" Peter Sutcliffe, Ripper Territory quickly sets the mood well for this release. The synthesizers and other sounds across this album are always screeching in an unbridled rage, intensified by William Bennett's vocals. He delivers one of the most feral performances during this era of Whitehouse, at times sounding incomprehensible and more like a wild animal. I just wish his presence had more of a direction, as the songs sometimes don't have much of a point just feeling like tracklist fluff instead. A few of the songs here are rerecordings of older songs, a strange but welcome decision as they do improve them a lot from the originals. On a few tracks there are recordings of water flowing in the background which slightly help give it more diversity but it's quite an awkward choice and doesn't mesh well with anything. As a whole this album sounds thin in how it's mixed/produced, leading to an experience that in theory should be crushing but doesn't have good execution. It's a shame as it's up to this point in WH's discography their most daring record, a far cry from the aimless buzzing of their debut. Despite all of this, it's still a good album and represents a logical evolution of the sound presented on earlier records. Recommended for people interested in early Power Electronics and Whitehouse.
7/10
See also: Sutcliffe Jügend, Ramleh, Consumer Electronics
Listen here: Bandcamp
- kreyzi
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