Monstrum Sepsis- Doors and Windows

Artist: Monstrum Sepsis
CD Title: Doors & Windows
Label: WTII Records
Reviewer: Matthew Johnson
Date: 8/1/04

So many purveyors of dark instrumental electronics are taking a minimalist approach these days, releasing compositions featuring little more than drum loops and effects. Wisconsin’s Monstrum Sepsis happily take the opposite approach. While remaining true to darker themes, their latest EP is rife with diversity and even melody. Starting things off is a live piece called “Walkout” that at first feels just as muted and distorted as your garden-variety power noise track, albeit at a mellower tempo, but then multiple layers of keys work their way in, giving the first hint of something very different from what we might’ve been expecting. The band’s musical diversity is astounding, and though they use similar techniques throughout, they jump from one genre to the next not only on the album as a whole but even within individual songs. Take “Skipping Stone,” for example. It starts out with weird ambient dub, then unexpectedly leaps into frenetic drum ‘n’ bass activity just when you start to chill out. “Painfully Obvious” layers otherworldly drones and nervous, high-pitched pulses over a slow groove, while “Thermodynamics” mixes industrial heaviness with driving hard trance and a well-placed Homer Simpson quote. This EP also collects remixes of songs from the band’s previous full-length by a number of industrial and electronic luminaries. Android Lust gives us a lovely orchestral mix of “DSC” over noise-infused rhythms, while Mimetic’s reworking of “Doors & Windows” starts out with relaxed breakbeats and electronic oscillations before filling things out with lush synthesized strings. Haujobb’s mix of “Doors & Windows” stands out with complex, hard-hitting rhythms and echoed wind chimes, and Torrent Vaccine keeps “DSC” relaxed but danceable by blending fast-paced techno beats with slow, dramatic keyboard work. Monstrum Sepsis pays equal attention to noise and beauty in a way I haven’t seen since Mlada-Fronta, but where Mlada-Fronta’s magnum opus Oxydes took its inspiration from cold metal alloys, Monstrum Sepsis evokes the weirdness of the natural world. This release comes highly recommended for fans of both industrial soundscapes and electronic dance music. For more about Monstrum Sepsis, check their website at

Monstrum Sepsis Website