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S​/​T

by 2W

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1.
2.
NEVER BEND 05:00
3.
4.
5.
BE THE END 10:16
6.
NOTHING 03:29
7.
8.

about

Traditionally, the notion that a band should not wear their influences on their sleeve too blatantly is applied derisively. But as a society we value nostalgia, and we're in an era when entire genres have sprung forth from conventions established by a single band.
When I conducted an unpublished interview with Justin Broadrick in 1994 following the release of SELFLESS, we briefly touched on the fact that the existence of GODFLESH had spawned an endless stream of imitators.

It would be decades later when his Avalanche label released the “1” album by Thierry Arnal's AMANTRA in 2015, and the follow-up full-length, "AS IT SHOULD HAVE BEEN" in 2017.
Having been a lifelong fan of Broadrick's oeuvre, I rejoiced at the glimmering, exhilarating blend of shoegaze, techno, and guitar-industrial that seemed to have been distilled from the very essence of an era when labels such as Pathological, Subharmonic, Lo Fibre, Alleysweeper, Charnel, Sentrax, Asphodel, and even Earache, were spearheading an evolution in contemporary music, ultimately leading to the arrival of Broadrick's JESU in the wake of the very public dissolution of GODFLESH.
Following the initial excitement of the reunion tour, for me, their eventual resurrection was met almost with indifference; my opinion was, what could they have added to the conversation when so many others (HALO, NADJA, BLACK SUN, FRAGMENT KING, KINTAAN, the list is endless) had taken this extraordinarily influential band's "thing" and forced it in new and exciting directions in the intervening years.

Which brings us at last to 2W. Introductory communication from Thierry regarding this project specifically stated “GODFLESH type of music,” although like our aforementioned hero, Arnal gives his various projects a definitive personal signature, and with intent listening, the relationship between 2W and AMANTRA is patently apparent. Co-producer/bassist Pascal Bertier (NEAR DARK MATTER) is then the Benny Green to Arnal's JKB, as together they elevate the project from a mere imitation, to something entirely of Its own breed. I find some parallels with Australia's KOLLAPS, where what are now genre tropes of early industrial music have been crushed and deconstructed until barely recognisable, and all the better for it.
Undeniably bleak and harrowing, 2W is almost too representative of the 21st century, its driving and distorted rhythms forming the backdrop of our collective march into extinction, with some underlying sensation of hope buried in the relationship between high and low frequencies.
2W comes complete with an endorsement from JKB himself, who acknowledges not only his band's obvious influence, but also the fact that it is more than a mere clone, it is another step forward in an evolutionary chain.

ANNIHILVS is therefore proud to present the self-titled debut album by 2W as a digital download.
The forthcoming second full-length will be our first CD release of 2022.

credits

released May 3, 2021

Thierry Arnal : Guitar, vocals, electronics

Pascal Bertier : Bass, electronics

Produced by Thierry Arnal & Pascal Bertier

Artwork by Thierry Arnal

www.instagram.com/2w.official
www.facebook.com/2WOfficial-426858004582839

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ANNIHILVS POWER ELECTRONIX New York

ANNIHILVS POWER ELECTRONIX is an underground record label founded in the Summer of 1997, originally as a means to distribute the works of NAVICON TORTURE TECHNOLOGIES (1997-2009) and associated projects.
Specialising in industrial, power electronics, darkambient, drone, experimental and doom, the label has since expanded to include several other artists from around the globe.
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