Though sounding absolutely nothing like Mick Harris' previous band Napalm Death, Scorn is an equally (if not moreso) disturbing project that has the innate ability to give listeners the heebie-jeebies. Based somewhat on dub rhythms, low end bass lines, looped sounds and voices sounding like they were culled from ancient spirits, Colossus is the type of record that I can appreciate to a large degree, but can only handle on rare occasion. The album lasts over an hour and the creepiness factor sets in early. I think it's mostly the echoing and almost spoken voices bouncing around the tracks that cause the most amount of eerieness. Some tracks, such as "The Sky is Loaded", have quite a bit of spooky sound effects that are actually effective, not goofy haunted house noises. The use of the looping and dub style bass often gives the tracks a bit of a hypnotic effect, as though you are trapped on a bad acid trip and surrounded by some of your less comforting emotions. With the production also giving the sounds a lot of space to work with, there is a plethora of disturbing sounds effects bouncing around the rhythm pieces. There are some moments that are straight of Harris' other project, Lull. "Little Angel" focuses on waves and tones for effectiveness, much as his work with Lull does. The end result is an album that is effectively disturbing to both your psyche and mood. Naturally there are a lot of people who quite enjoy being touched in the head this way and Colossus will do much to provide a rather unsettling musical experience. As I said earlier, I save this for rare listens as it is not something I enjoy often, but it does serve its purpose when I do play it.

Review by John Chedsey

Review date: 08/2000

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