Review by UnhinderedbyTalent for Black Hole - Land of Mystery (1985)

Reaching for YouTube to complete an album review is a sign either that the album is old or bad that nobody ever sought means to re-release it at any point. Land of Mystery falls under the old category most definitely to the point where it sounds older than it is. Whether this was a conscious effort or more because the budget was non-existent and so they had to make do with whatever they could get will probably never be known. One thing that I can state with a high level of confidence is that Black Hole could not play their instruments (I mean they can’t even keep time) and it is painful to listen to the record at certain points.

It is so painful an experience that I am breaking my rule of listening to something three times as a minimum before reviewing it because I am not sitting through this shit again. Singer Robert Measles cannot sing. Somehow still there are occasions when his vocals work, and the haunting drone of his voice compliments the aesthetic that they are trying to deliver. The rest of the time they are just awful noises that hold no real direction or structure.

Without any strong musicianship to rescue his vocals there is not much in the way of space to hide but I do still find myself looking up from what I am doing captured in some occasional moment of ethereal atmosphere that is usually instantly ruined by the band trying to play something a little too complex for their capabilities. The drums cannot be played on a real drumkit and still sound that light and ineffective, I am sure. The stringed instrument playing is all over the place and the concept of arrangements in general is shocking.

Albums like this really annoy me. They exist on little if any merit of the musicians involved and achieve some cult status from being quirky or by some fluke sounding like a much more highly regarded band from years ago. Terrible album.