“Here is the first Earth recorded full length, before time, theft and Earth 2 changed things.”
Dylan Carlson, the bands sole constant member, had that to say when reflecting on the first recordings of the band from 1990. Southern Lord issued A Bureaucratic Desire for Extra Capsular Extraction, which represents the bands first recordings collected in a definitive presentation for the first time in 2010.
Up until then, because of a variety of factors, the songs here had only been available in piecemeal through a series of abbreviated releases, compilations and bootleg 7′ singles. Never had all of it been presented together as the band had originally intended.
Opening with some distant and distorted guitar, “A Bureaucratic Desire for Revenge Parts 1 & 2” begins the heaviness. Unrivaled amounts of volume, distortion and repetition sweep across your ears and mind. To this day, when I hear these tracks, I grin from ear to ear. The sound is immense.
“Ouroboros is Broken” is an unforgettable and beloved song for devotees of Earth. Methodical and menacing for its entire 18 minute running time. A gong ripples across evil guitars creating a darkness that is not easily forgotten. It is a transcendent song and it was there right from the beginning.
“Geometry of Murder” fills the room with smoke and dims your vision. Brooding and methodical, yes, but it surges and churns along adding more and more force as it moves ahead. “German Dental Work” incorporates some of what I would describe as machine like sounds into its composition. It is bruising, monolithic and abrasive.
“Divine and Bright” is a brisker track that drops off to total silence before a space like drone buzzes into some forceful drums and dramatic guitar lines. The pace slows to a crawl and reprises the drone just for a moment before flickering out.
Earth 2: Special Low Frequency Version followed and would change things forever, but it started here with A Bureaucratic Desire for Extra Capsular Extraction. Scale, volume, saturation, and walls of sound that continue to influence to this day began with these recordings. Earth are essential listening and this album is highly recommended.
http://www.thronesanddominions.com/
Paul runs Bleeding Light Records.