TREPANERINGSRITUALEN - 'Perfection & Permanence' 

CSR198CD (30 June 2014)
CD in 6-panel matt-laminate digipak
Barcode: 5060174956843

CSR198LP (8 July 2014)
Black LP in matt-laminate sleeve and printed innersleeve. Ltd 500 (DELETED)
Barcode: 5060174956850

CSR198LP (8 July 2014)
White LP in matt-laminate sleeve and printed innersleeve. Ltd 500 (DELETED)
Barcode: 5060174956850

CSR198LP (21 August 2017)
Blood Red LP in matt-laminate sleeve and printed innersleeve. Ltd 500 (DELETED)
Barcode: 5060174956850




Trepaneringsritualen explores themes of religion, magick and the hidden realms of consciousness, taking its musical cues from the old school of ritual ambient & death industrial. Rhythmic and seething at times, and oozing forward with a creeping sense of desolation at others, Trepaneringsritualen conjures forth bleak but mesmerizing visions of the end-times.

“Perfection & Permanence”: a hymn to Isis; a further exploration of the duality of the holy harlot, the black skinned Magdalen, mother and concert of the Christ; Yeshua Ben Yosef, son of MAN; the shameful dead, those who sold their brothers, condemned to forever roam the earth; to transgress the abyss, to mortify flesh, towards cosmic renovation. It is lonely, it is awful; on the verge of physical death, but still unable to understand; absolute perfection may be attained through WILL. A conversation with angels, in archaic tongues; Eiríkr inn Sigrsæli sold his blood and kin to desert rats for corporeal power. Eirikr, we spit on you.; from across the abyss, it rises. Ceaseless, blood-churning, terrible; an incoherent accusation by the mirror image, he who’s blood was shed to atone another man’s sins. Without bloodshed there can be no salvation. CD in 6-panel digipak.

Track listing:

1. Venerated & Despised (2:34)
2. A Black Egg (3:54)
3. Castrate Christ (4:37)
4. Liken Ingen Jord Vill Svälja (2:34)
5. Alone/A/Cross/Abyss (3:48)
6. 39 Lashes (2:57)
7. The Seventh Man (3:24)
8. Konung Krönt I Blod (3:30)
9. A Ceaseless Howling (3:29)
10. He Who Is My Mirror (5:17)

Reviews:

"Trepaneringsritualen overlooks humanity’s sickness and instead concerns itself with matters of magick, religion, and the occult. The ritualistic feel to much of Ekelund’s output is no accident, and Perfection & Permanence delves bone-deep into the dark recesses that fuel his need to create. Bleak, apocalyptic dirges and mechanical menace abound. The most insidious aspect to this album lies within its accessibility and crossover appeal... Cumulatively, the album makes for a perversely satisfying experience" (Pitchfork)

"Active since 2008, T × R × P is utterly scathing in it's sound, dire in its aesthetic and uncompromising in its efforts to shatter the orthodox. Ekelund's recent solo work is as dark and unrepentant as ever. His latest album, 2014's Perfection & Permanence crystallized his many years of sonic exploration into his most accessible recording yet, illuminating the contrast between caustic intensity and polished execution. For all of its bombast (and a perceptible rise in sonic fidelity), the album's refinements are subtle, alluding to inspiration that lies beyond blasphemy and the divine" (VICE)

"[A] terrific and terrifying album... Thomas Ekelund is capable of creating tremendously violent and obscure sounds without speeding up, just by constantly deforming his guttural echoed voice, by using distorted immersive loops and by mixing those with fat slow industrial rhythms. In a time when religion — yes, and capitalism — seems to be the root of all evil, maybe “Perfection & Permanence” is the ideal album to give a listen to" (Secret Thirteen)

"Death industrial is a tricky genre to get right, but if it’s any good then the odds are that Cold Spring will put it out... Trepaneringsritualen’s second album relies less on the harshness of texture than on atmosphere. Listen to this one loud, and preferably in complete darkness, for the full effect. You’ll feel each track crawl menacingly around the inside of your head before being poleaxed by the triumphant closing necro-chant of He Who is My Mirror. Superb stuff" (Stereoboard)

"An unconscious pursuit of the tribal collective survival instinct had found its incarnation in Trepaneringsritualen... Without a doubt, Thomas shoots a bullet of an extremely large caliber right into my head. "Perfection & Permanence" burns the ground that it walks on, inflames the hearts of noble men strengthening their pace. Obviously, T × R × P continues to kick ass with a unique passion and presents one of the best releases this year that will definitely capture the place of honor in my collection... Just go and grab it!" (Brutal Resonance, 9.5/10)

"This beautiful piece of evil was just cut by Cold Spring Records... Trepaneringsritualen can stick to the same format and still somehow make it sound distinctive. It's like taking the flayed corpse and giving it a new stretching of skin before taking it all off again. Big difference here is you're treated to an overall vision instead of a selection of previously released tracks... there's more of a focus on meditative pieces and atmosphere. You still get that driving, ritualistic presence of earlier works, but with a more delicate touch" (Deaf Sparrow, 4/5)

"The album’s overarching atmosphere is one of cathartic rhythmic death industrial – something akin to salvation through punishment and oppression. Whilst a diverse range of ritual atmospheres and soundscapes have been explored on earlier material, as highlighted there has also been an evolution towards a more structured song based style. ‘Perfection & Permanence’ is effectively the culmination of this direction and is the most focused and song structured release from TxRxP yet... Yet at the same time TxRxP have not forgone or lost the murky ritualised elements which make their music so visceral and engaging. Accordingly ‘Perfection & Permanence’ represents another step in the continued evolution and rise of TxRxP" (Noise Receptor)

"With looped drones, steeped in distortion and jolts of frequency shriek, Perfection & Permanence's blackened atmosphere exudes a strong ritual industrial feel, in the rhythms and particularly in the primal and atavistic tones of Ekelund. It's dense and threatening all bound up into a coherent and darkly appealing whole. On Perfection & Permanence, Trepaneringsritualen have done the unthinkable, they've made what they call "Götisk Dödsindustri" (gothic death industrial) threatening, alluring and eminently listenable." (Compulsiononline)

"Perfection & Permanence offers 10 tracks of dark atmospherics, blackened drone, dense loops, rhythmic pulses, and harrowing vocals... Trepaneringsritualen delivers an album of focused tension between some very dark elements, both sonically and thematically. Without a doubt, one of the best albums I’ve heard all year" (musiquemachine.com, 5/5)

"The psychological effect of this sort of music resides on a subliminal allegiance between sacred ambiances and terrifying sound textures... Ekelund bears not only the academic mark of those obsessed with dark arts, but he is mostly imbued with a feverish dependency on dark metal aesthetics... You receive Perfection & Permanence not only like an offering of death electronics à la lettre, but moreover as an offertory for the flesh and spirit alike, where the only alms collected will be your humanism. Because, as Ekelund has mentioned somewhere, this musical praxis is “essential to make them (us) more susceptible to communications from the other spheres" (Santa Sangre)

"He’s ever evolving into newer and more painful sounds, finding a groove in evil rhythms and going full on death industrial on Perfection & Permanence, a wholly unique decrepit ritual rooted deep in Christian mythology, growled distorted vocals that couldn’t possibly be coming from a human... with a mouthful of puss, the monstrous atomic bomb beats and throbbing synth balanced perfectly with walls of caustic static and ethereal gongs, the blackest most wretched ambient that will make your blood curdle, bleak as fuck sounds from beyond the post-apocalypse, where the remaining humans have taken up arms against angels, this is beautifully disgusting and absolutely fucking enthralling, the rotting remains of a human corpse that you can’t turn away from" (Anti-Gravity Bunny)

"Dark, cloistered atmospheres and hypnotic rhythm delivered with intent and abandon. It’s a recognisable sound, central to which has been a back-to-basics sound palette and a decidedly lo-fi smear. On Perfection & Permanence, the clouds part somewhat, but just barely. There is a greater use of vocal effects, panning, and “cleaner” synth lines cut through the filth... The results are slightly more polished than the soot-ridden atmosphere of previous outings, but fans needn’t worry as there is still dirt to be had in spades, and an organic, visceral presence so many other projects fail to achieve... Without doubt, this is another strong addition to the Trepaneringsritualen canon... make sure you get it" (Heathen Harvest, 8/10)

"If I had to compile an Industrial Top Ten Tracks, ["Black Egg"] would definitely make the list. However fret not, the majority of the album is pure Ritual, a frightening exploration into the darkest spheres of Ekeland’s own psyche... There’s a darkness that permeates this music that transcends musical boundaries" (Plague Haus)

“Perfection & Permanence feels like an eradication of vivacious cognition, sanding down curiosity and imperfection into steep, vertical towers of inner death and solitary purpose. Synthesisers are fired up to sound like petrol engines, while screams congregate around rhythms that make bleak references to standard song; some sections would almost be danceable, were it not for the atmosphere that shuts down all desire of expressive of lively movement” (Rock-A-Rolla)

"Perfection And Permanence is a "commercial" album, it still carries that feeling of what it was like first hearing Whitehouse in 1984 (OK - I was late to the party), but the sound is fully produced, concentrated and... commercial... Anthemic songs, great punching rhythms... "Perfection And Permanence" fits well into the Trepaneringsritualen cannon. It will sell well and project Thomas to new ears" (Muhmur Radio Programme)

"There is no doubt about it, Thomas' eye for details and excellent production leads to his projects being some of the most well made and well composed pieces of art that has emerged from the quite anaemic Swedish underground dark music scene. His label and design are immaculate, every sound in his music is placed perfectly, and his affinity of creating horrific and disturbing soundscapes, that almost borders on sounding too perfect, is just astounding!... The constant Ekelund soundscape holds the album together with a aura of evil pop music recorded from the next room, drenched in tar, and undergone surgery to remove all brilliance from the sounds. This is death pop for the hip industrial goth-kid. And boy is it great!" (Your Taste in Music Sucks)

"Un mesmerico ed apocalittico viaggio alla fine dei tempi, sospeso tra death industrial e ritual ambient... quest’album si conferma come uno dei migliori e più significativi lavori realizzati dall’artista svedese... Perfection & Permanance si pone una spanna sopra i molti progetti Noise Industrial contemporanei, perché è denso di riferimenti e contenuti (non solo riferimenti superficiali ed affettazioni, come capita purtroppo con molti lavori contemporanei che vorrebbero avvicinarsi a tematiche “occulte”). In questi anni T × R × P è riuscito a creare un universo tanto coerente, quanto spietato ed estremo" (Sentireascoltare)

"Das aktuelle Album des Göteborger "Dödsindustri"-Projektes hat so richtig, aber so rrrrrichtig Wumms. Und zwar auf diese gewisse, eigentümlich roh und primitiv anmutende Art, die wir an TREPANERINGSRITUALEN so überaus zu schätzen wissen... wer sich für rituelle Schlacht- und Andachtstrommeln postapokalyptischer Mutantenstämme erwärmen kann, der sei aufs Herzlichste zum Hochamt eingeladen... TxRxPs neueste Veröffentlichung macht einfach Spaß, langweilt keine Sekunde, ist bei aller Geradlinigkeit durchaus facettenreich und über weite Teile absolut mitreißend. Dem Rezensenten ist es ein Bedürfnis, sie an dieser Stelle aus dem Stand heraus und hochoffiziell zu seiner ausdrücklichen TxRxP-
Lieblingsveröffentlichung so far zu erklären... Hier wurde schweres Kaliber geliefert. – Man ist versucht zu sagen: Der Titel ist Programm" (NONPOP)

"Con "Perfection & Permanence" viene confermato tutto il fascino nero che ha portato il monicker svedese ad essere, in soli due anni, una delle migliori realtà della scena oscura: Thomas Martin Ekelund studia a puntino ogni dettaglio, dalla grafica alle scenografie live, dai simboli alle tematiche fino ai suoni, per creare qualcosa che rasenta la perfezione riuscendo ad evitare riferimenti troppo complicati, ma senza scadere nel prevedibile... Tolte le provocazioni di rito, rimane evidente l'intelligenza artistica (ma anche commerciale) dell'operazione. E "Perfection & Permanence" segna solo l'inizio di un'entità destinata a crescere" (Darkroom Magazine, 8.5/10)

"Una estética sacra de profundo y reflexivo simbolismo como nítida visión del arte musical creado por Thomas Martin Ekelund, alma máter de Trepaneringsritualen, dentro de un estilo denominado Death industrial que presenta monumentales destellos de genialidad y de creatividad sonora que impresionarán a los melómanos lectores... Diez extraordinarios temas que, vertebrando este álbum en una inteligente evolución y transformación sonora, revelan ese mensaje principal en el que están basadas cada una de estas composiciones con la perpetuación de la religión egipcia ancestral en el cristianismo... “Perfection & Permanence”, hieratismo y taumaturgia en la Belleza Sonora Siniestra. ¡¡¡Disfrútenlo!!!" (Lux Atenea)

"Elektronisch-dumpfe Klanglandschaften, Vibrationen und Rauschen treffen auf wummernde Rhythmik und ultra-verzerrte E-Gitarren. ‚Perfection & Permanence’ enthält 6 zum Teil großartige Walzen dröhnender Düsternis, immer wieder unterbrochen von reinen Ambient/Ritual Passagen. Die Zwischenstücke sind solide, die rhythmischen Kerntracks sind bisweilen der Hammer... Der Brückenschlag zwischens Death Industrial und Black Metal ist nicht neu (und Black Metal ist auf diesem Album auch wirklich nicht viel) aber die rockige Leichtigkeit überrascht in einem so düsteren Musikhaushalt und Ekelund geht gekonnt mit den einzelnen Motiven um. Unbedingt hörenswert" (Medienkonverter)