RETREAT REVIEWS – A Revisitation

In 2021 the Fragment King recording titled RETREAT was released by Annihilvs Power Electronix, the label of Theologian mastermind Lee Bartow. It comprises multiple tracks in tape cassette format plus additional digital exclusive remixes by Snowbeasts and 2W (Thierry Arnal). What did reviewers have to say about RETREAT?

 

Sean Reveron, CVLT NATION:

"Unholy hell yes this is some dubbed out dirge that will make hairs on your neck stand up! I can’t get enough of the FRAGMENT KING project because it’s that RAD!"

Roland Torres, SILENCE AND SOUND:

"All in tense minimalism, FRAGMENT KING alias Mark Kammerbauer floods the space of guitar notes crawling on porous surfaces, impregnated with industrial engines. RETREAT is not without evoking the universe of Godflesh in delightful mode, flagging on piles of pointillist notes supported by spectral rhythms with mechanical consistency. FRAGMENT KING develops an underground world with abstract hallucinations, bending under the weight of diffuse shadows and gentle lacerations. The stridences stretch to become suffering songs, emerging from drifting worlds. The treated voices appear sporadically, attaching us to a life in tatters seeking to flee from permanent darkness. Very highly recommended."

Bauke van der Wal, VITAL WEEKLY:

"Fragment King is Mark Kammerbauer, and this is his main project regarding music. He did things in the past with Leech from Navicon Torture Technologies and a collaboration with Z’EV. Listening to this CD, I have flashbacks from older Godflesh: And in a good way. (...) Fragment King might be called ‘ROCK’ in iTunes. Still, it should be considered an accessible version of Sludge / Drone Metal, Power Electronics, Industrial and a layer of Noise. So yes, it fits many different stickers / labels. (...) The cassette ‘Retreat’, sent to us in the same package, was released in August 2021 on Annihilvs Power Electronix. The label is run by Lee (Leech / Theologian / Navicon Torture Technologies / etc.). A nicely packaged 5-track cassette with material Fragment King created between 2019 and 2021. The ‘Recorded in Munich’ reveals some extra info about Mark and I read somewhere, he’s a Bavarian American, which might explain the MHz connection. Five pieces that “… draw from digital beats and sounds, treated vocals and site-specific bass guitar feedback and drone sounds …” Damn, that sort of describes my favourite track from the “Angel Position” album. The “Torch Song” has quite an aggressive approach and is in sync with the stuff on the CD. The other four tracks are more ambient / experimental. They are completely different yet ‘in sync’ with each other. The digital version comes with an extra Fragment King track and two remixes by 2W and SnowBeasts. And that 2W ‘Labrat’ remix … Fuck, that’s heavy."

Tape cassette version: https://annihilvspowerelectronix.bandcamp.com/album/retreat 

Digital version: https://fragmentking.bandcamp.com/album/retreat

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