Choke Chain
Decomposition
Negative Gain Productions
If you were asked to come up with a descriptor for the music made by one-man Wisconsin EBM act Choke Chain, chances are “raw” would be amongst the first that came to mind. Not just in the rough, aggressive programming and sound design that Mark Trueman has been plying since his first tracks surfaced in 2020, but in the exposed feelings that comes through in his shrieked vocals, which land halfway between an exorcism and the howl of agonized, dying animal.
Given that fraught and deeply unnerving emotions have been a trademark of his recorded and live performances (which are amongst the most bracing we’ve seen this decade), it’s probably not a mystery why Choke Chain’s new release Decomposition leans heavily into the sound of dark electro, body music’s atmospheric, darkly emotional offshoot. Opener “Misunderstood” heralds the change instantly; the song is defined by how the punchy bass and drums play out beneath the weight of its menacing atmosphere and synth bells, whose light and airy sound is in direct contrast to the way they bring out the pain in the howled vocals. That approach plays out again in even more manic fashion on “Life Ends”, where machine-gunned FM bass and rolling kicks are draped in bleak funereal pads.
What makes the change so striking is how it doesn’t dilute Choke Chain’s intensity but reframes it, turning what could be perceived as pure rage and anger into what is unmistakably an intense and personal struggle against Trueman’s own demons. Even at its most aggressive, as on the whiplashing “Imprisoned”, the prevailing feeling is misery and a virulent strain of angst, to the point where every grunt and squeal starts to sound like he’s wretching, trying to vomit the pain out. It’s that ugliness that makes it all so appealing though; there’s a real catharsis in hearing how he charges through the gauzy wall of synths and that sweep across the title track, either fleeing or diving headlong into the darkness, it isn’t clear.
All of this is to say that Choke Chain has opened up the sound of his music, which while no less oppressive is far more passionate, almost grotesquely so. The irony of Decomposition is that for a record fixated on death, Choke Chain has rarely sounded so desperately, vividly alive.
