From cracked asphalt and burned-out factories comes "Sublimation," the debut album from Nicholas Pace's Diaphragm. Birthed from the NYC noise scene, Pace is certainly at no loss for influences, and it shows in his music. The first effort from Diaphragm is rather unsettling. The sounds of a heaping mass of scrap metal mobilized.

The low-end whir of "Rachis" opens the album. Pace takes us on an excursion through the channels of cold, metallic arteries. "Porcelain" is mechanized drone drowning in a pool of viscous brake fluid. The fluttering machinery eventually bursts from the liquid, covered in flames, flailing hopelessly until nothing is left. "Party Foul I" and "Party Foul II" begin as minimal drone pieces, but build gradually into chaotic industrialized wash. Pace shows restraint on "Morning Ritual - Evening Ritual" by using his clattering electronics to create a calm-yet-ominous state, offering respite from the metallic skree he mines on album closer "Black Watermelon." Diaphragm has a willingness to use harsh noise as a means of punctuation to minimalist passages.

The art layout of "Sublimation" speaks volumes about the music contained on this disc. Black-and-white photography of chain link fences, buildings, and broken concrete. Diaphragm has crafted an expressive work of industrial sound here, a fair companion to the economic decay of our times. 7/10 -- Robert Oberlander (4 March, 2009)