Imminent - Cask Strength

1999 -- On the late-ish tip, I have just discovered Imminent Starvation through the track "Lost Highway", while Moreau releases Nord, chops up his mixer into pieces and drops the Starvation part of this project of his. The same year, the first Maschinenfest hosts the newly named Imminent as a headliner and I am in the audience, very excited at the gates of a new universe to discover.
2009 -- After ten editions, I do not attend Maschinenfest this year. It is starting to become a little boring and the cycle feels complete: Imminent, who never disappointed in the twenty-or-so times I saw him live in the interval, played "Lost Highway" at the 2008 edition, for the first time in over a decade, bringing the emotional dancefloor to its knees. In the meantime, among other evolutions, Moreau has become a whisky connoisseur and a regular guest at tastings organised by yours, truly, as well as the subject of many a tease regarding his never-to-be-released forthcoming album. A perfectionist, Moreau was never completely satisfied with what he could have released, he said.
The annoucement of the imminent release (pun intended) raised excitement, obviously; but when I got to see the press release with detailed pictures and marvelously phrased marketing prose, my heart sank and it was torture to not be allowed to share the joy immediately. "Cask Strength", it is called, then.
The artwork depicts imaginary kilns and the limited edition looks like a cigar case, another treat of so many whisky enthusiasts. Speaking of the limited edition, the object itself is a work of art, a superb example of craftmanship comparable to the presentation bottlers reserve to the most exclusive vintages. A ballsy move by Stefan Alt, label manager and whisky connoisseur himself, who had several prototypes made, and a great job done by the actual manufacturers of the item. The attention to every last detail is astonishing -- after staring at it for a while, one still discovers new shapes, logos and motifs in the wood, cut very clearly by the laser. The best part is the tumbler, though (cat # ikon90). Although it is not too suitable for drinking whisky other than blend on the rocks (proper nosing glasses were impossible to work with, apparently), it remains a remarkable trophy, engraved with the same intricate pattern as the box.
The music? A vatting of several casks of Imminent (Starvation). The first minute ("Séracs") offers a modern approach, minimal, glitchy and slightly abstract that could well raise a few eyebrows, until 1:47 brings nostalgia into the mix and the ride may begin. Follow some raw, metallic tracks that may be reminiscent of his oldest works ("Garn"), long, atmospheric, yet ever phrenetic pieces in the same vein as his moodiest tracks ("Teskede"), electricity-laden, tachycardiac noise ("Bock"), rusty-barrel-driven drum n bass ("Ébat"), a relatively chilled-out and catchy Western ballad that could have seen the light of day on a The Incredible Three 7" ("Lorsc") and even a post-schranz floorbunner that might make "Tentack" sound like chamber music: the aptly named "Ila", as wild and ruthless as the single malts from the Scottish island of the same Gaelic name.
Let me be honest: some of the sounds are sometimes a bit too artificial for my liking (the "claps" on "Droak") and, in rare occasions, the melody is very close from tipping over to the questionnable side (on "Droak", again, which still works, strangely enough). As a whole, however, this is quite simply a fantastic album. Ten years of ageing give it a certain maturity and a wider palette of colours than the earlier output had, just like an older whisky should logically be richer and more refined, although seemingly more tamed. This is perhaps not as in-your-face and monolithic, but it does not mean it is lighter or blander in any way. The "cask strength" mention is not there for a laugh and as Ed Loxapac said in a review somewhere else: "Only two options remain after listening to this album repeatedly: swallow a fistful of benzodiazepines or invade Poland".
Powerful, undiluted stuff.