Sarin
Searching Hell
X-IMG
Searching Hell is the first release in six years from Sarin, the primary musical outlet of X-IMG mainman and collaborator on numerous side projects (General Dynamics, Human Performance Lab, Konkurs) Emad Dabiri. Between those other projects and X-IMG curation, Dabiri is as on top of shifts in the techno body music landscape which have occured in that time as anyone, and thus the reintroduction of a project which dates back at least to 2014 is as good an opportunity as any to field test what remains and what’s changing in a sound which has been a major force in industrial clubs for nearly a decade. While the grimy read on techno fundamentals that’s defined much of the X-IMG catalog is still present, Searching Hell also finds Dabiri digging deep for lodes of classic EBM and electro-industrial sounds and compositions.
The stuttering, rubbery bass which has been at the centre of Sarin’s approach from the beginning is still a core element of Searching Hell, sometimes seeping its way into each corner of the mix and harmonic range like mold, as on the wormy “No Anaesthetic”, sometimes kicking along at a much more (and almost jaunty?) clip on “Wire Trip”. In comparison to 2019’s Moral Cleansing, changes to the rhythmic programming have more to do with the granularity of sound design rather than the core rhythms themselves: the mix of shudder and bounce one anticipates when cueing up a Sarin release remains the same, even if there’s a slightly wider variance between spiky and liquid bass tone.
It’s in the rest of the record’s synth programming, and even its vocal delivery, that Searching Hell feels like it’s drawing a more conscious line back to EBM and industrial legacies from both Europe and North America. True, Dabiri’s never been shy about drawing influence from those traditions, but there’s a variety and intensity to the focus on them here which feels intentional. The acid and sample splashed breakdowns of “Terminal Stage” could be drawn from any number of classic late 80s Antler releases, while the brooding distorted vocals (a rarity on preceding Sarin releases) on “Fatal Exception” and “Fire To Blood” prompt a reception of those tracks as decisively EBM tunes rather than techno ones.
Spend long enough in the industrial world (or any niche musical scene) and you’ll see a range of responses to a particular sub-style’s moment at the centre of things coming and going, from futurepop to witch house to techno-body music. Searching Hell is a great example of how the advancements made within one of those styles can be blended and sublimated within the larger musical legacy they’re an offshoot of after the sheer novelty of those advancements has worn off.
