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IRM (S)
It's been several years since Erik Jarl and Martin Bladh, tired of conventional flat sounds flooding them every day, began their search for more aggressive and genuine way of artistic expression only to finally form their own group known as IRM in 1997. During that time the self-taught musicians became masters of the studio and the creators of radical sound. Following the path of projects such as Brighter Death Now and Whitehouse, IRM is still evolving while remaining faithful to the extreme version of power electronics and death industrial. The band’s trademark is certainly the voice of Bladh, who spits out their lyrics inspired by the works of cultural outsiders such as Yukio Mishima, Rudolf Schwarzkogler or Francis Bacon—words haunted with pain but also purity and beauty. This aesthetic, combined with the sharp sounds prove IRM to be unique and genuine, especially when contrasted with most of the projects of modern power electronics. The compositions of the formation, seemingly simple and characterized by a repetitiveness of rhythmic structures, are made of skillfully used and combined elements in order to build an elaborate atmosphere, full of detail. IRM's works constitute the core of the industrial aesthetic—the message and the sound can distort our everyday reality and confuse the listener, but at the same time they are also evoke a strong feeling of catharsis. The music is intimate and mechanical at the same time, both esoteric and utterly ruthless.