It has to be said that I enjoy downbeat music a great deal, and gioventu Suicida Studentesca take some beating in the sheer depressively suicidal soundtrack stakes. I guess in a world where light (at least in a 'spiritual' sense) is in increasingly short supply, it's sometimes hard not to be engulfed by the hopelessness of it all. And it is with equal certainty that I can say that this present CDr from the duo of Loki Deformis (of death ambient outfit Aethere) and Suizid, issued on Japan's renowned Deserted Factory label, could possibly be a contender for the official soundtrack to the death of civilisation and the human species. It won't be a sudden, abrupt end either -- certainly it will gather pace towards the conclusion of the endgame but its main character will be a long drawn out suicide. Mood-wise GSS reflect this perfectly, mixing sonorous and dour electronic noise and industrially metallic background bashings overlaid with mostly voice samples. The net effect is one of insidiously creeping doom, exemplified in the opening track where the squeal of a pig and people's voices are mixed with explosive reverberant percussion and haunting washes of sussurating sheets and pulsing didgeridoo electronics, combining to create an almost darkly ambient atmosphere. It's almost like a parade of the decadent ghosts of modern society being dragged before some kind of jury in a species of morbid exhibition of just how irreversibly far we've come. There's a sense of revulsion attendant on seeing the revenants and a realisation we must turn our heads away; simultaneously our fascinated gaze won't allow us to divert our attention. We want to be there to witness homo sapiens' last gasp while knowing that we too will disappear when it reaches its conclusion. It doesn't get any better on the follow-on track, 'Happy Italy'. If anything it's even more pessimistic, plunging us into a scenario reminiscent of the apocalyptic scenes in 'The Terminator'. Angry distorted voice riding over detonations and searing laser beams, the thundering radiation-laden clouds looming blackly and bleakly overhead, promising not sustenance but terminal acid-instigated destruction and nuclear oblivion. Pointedly, the voice of Silvio Berlusconi interjects itself occasionally to rapturous applause, hinting chillingly to Fascist rallies. Depressing indeed. The same formula follows throughout the rest of the album, and the slow-dive downward trend continues unabated. These two gentlemen harbour a very bleak vision indeed and they have to be commended on successfully translating what's inside their heads into real-world sound. Those swirling black clouds scudded across my mind's eye, ready to unleash their deadly liquid cargo and lay waste to millennia of humanity and its creations. If the term misanthropic could be applied to any music or band that I have come across lately then I would say that this lot come closest to being a good definition of the epithet. It's bleak, scarified, mutilated, and deformed, moreover it's utterly unrepentant and unafraid of telling it like it is. In the world that these two have created between them there is no room for hope and if, somehow, it did find a way there it would shrivel up and die before it had even taken its first breath. Sitting as I am in a dark corner of my room, with only the light of an overcast sky filtered through drawn curtains and the computer monitor to illuminate the room, it's easy to imagine the scenarios painted by the music of gioventu' Suicida Studentesca. This, I would posit, is a fine instance of the music encapsulating perfectly the genre it sits within -- it makes for very uneasy listening, and underscores the uncertainties that we as a species face in the modern age admirably. S:M:J63 / Heathen Harvest

What we have here is really good heavy electronics. Slow, quite minimalist, highly controlled. Already on the opening track, Man gave name to all animals it is obvious that this is high-level stuff: a grinding machine background, on top of it some pulsating notes and unclear, saturated vocals. Fine breaks and subtle build-up. And on occasion, some sampled pop low-key in the mix, too. The stylishly haunting Happy Italy continues on the same tightly steered course, building unto a screaming somewhere on the border between annoying and clever. The third track moves into a softer phase, almost to noise ambient, but the level of quality does not sink, nor does the overall mood change. There's still restrained screams, banging and other small things that make the main sound layer come alive. At the three-minute point the song suddenly lights up, with Inade-like melodic waves and female speech being added. This goes on a couple of minutes, after which there's a return to the earlier ambient-like style. The final track, I hate Everything, in turn starts as a combination of muted noise and an almost new-agey melody wave, and then increases the noise's emphasis in the mix. Lovely Happy Italy is a very successful short album, on which slow heavy electronics combine with beautiful noise-originating melodies. In addition to being good by itself, it also provides a very nice change from more purist noise and PE albums. A highly recommended purchase. Jiituomas / Kuolleen Musiikin Yhdistys

Lovely Happy Italy? Well, maybe this strange album title could be meant serious when this would be pop music, but not in the case of the Italian Harsh Noise/Industrial unit GSS. Or is this just their cynical point of view? Who knows...... Well, this is their first album, that has been released by Deserted Factory in 2007 and although it only include four songs the complete running time is almost close to the 40 minutes mark. GSS create a sound, that stands in the tradition of The Grey Wolves, Genocide Organ or Black Light Orchestra. The opening song 'Man gave name to all Animals' is relatively smooth, but 'Happy Italy' reveals all the musical weight and hate of this band. Slowly the song sets up, before an extreme distorted voice is bursting out of the wall-of-sound, as well as a sample of Silvio Berlusconi's voice. In between a brutal beat disrupts this massive structures, while the background consists out of different sonic waves and loops. The result is fascinating and merciless. 'Anna Maria Franzoni on Italia1' starts very slow and sinister, before varied samples and a strange sound create a depressive atmosphere. There's a certain heaviness within this song and different sounds keep it in motion. Again, varied samples are integrated here and they have been taken from this lady called A.M. Franzoni, who is totally unknown to me. The last song is entitled 'I hate everything', and the title speaks for itself. An extreme distorted voice builds an effective contrast to the dark background and this a total emotional discharge of hate and anger. 'Lovely Happy Italy' is a very uncomfortable album, that isn't made for timid people. For my taste GSS have recorded a damn good debut and I hope, they will come up with more material in the future! Let there be noise! KK / Cosmic Lava

Jolly nice guys here, students committing suicide. Following the path of many choosing a death without glory. A foolish thing to do. And the music of this Italian guy Emanuele R. isn't very delightful either, but Lovely Happy Italy is a typical Deserted factory release with most unpleasant dark ambient noise. This pitch black soundtrack of self chosen death is one of devastating nihilism in the vein of acts such as Megaptera. Personally it did remind me of the two Dutch Vietnam zombie sicko's of The Jim Morrisons. There are four tracks on this thirty three minutes release pretending you at limbo. The atmosphere is very dark and oppressing with a sense of paranoia. It sounds fearful and desperate. "Man Gave Name to All Animals" starts with a drone, a mix of vocals and screaming pigs. Ingredients for an unpleasant trip that takes you for the coming twelve minutes through a sonic slaughterhouse with buzzing background noises, raking chains and indefinable machinery. "Happy Italy" is ominous and powerful at the same time; it has great loud echoing banging resonating your teeth and bowels. Aggressive distorted vocals completing this claustrophobic piece of music. Deeper into the horrifying abyss we get with "Anna Maria Franzoni on Italy" grinding ambient with howling voices and clattering metal. Are we entering the torture room? With the last song everything has been said; "I Hate Everything" Dark monotonous industrial ambient with intoxicating atmosphere poisoning your blood. This is dirty and unpleasant and that is how we like it. A suffocating soundtrack to help you to pass the final frontier. Remco / Gothtronic

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