Public Guilt / Hinterzimmer

Strotter Inst. is the alter ego of a certain Christop Hess, member of the post-industrial band Herpes Ö Deluxe. For his Strotter Inst. albums he spins records on manipulated turntables and digitally alters those results to create a rhythmic dark ambient sound. This translates into something that is sort of a mix between Pan Sonic, Philip Jeck, Otomo Yoshihide and some dark ambient bands. Each track leads into the next one without a break, which makes the entire record sound like one long track.

And actually the rhythmic patterns are pretty similar on each track, sort of pulsating, not straight 4/4, but still similar to a heartbeat. Add to that some of the hiss that you often find on industrial and post-industrial albums, some dark brooding mess always lingering in the background and some distorted vocals and you arrive at a fairly atmospheric, but rather average post-industrial drone album. It sounds a bit more interesting on some tunes, like the 8th one when the rhythm changes a bit and when other instruments like a guitar or bass are actually distinguishable from the rest. Also, track no. 10 is a bit more friendly with birds chirping in the background. However, most of “Minenhund” should appeal mostly to fans of dark ambient and industrial music who already own all Controlled Bleeding and Lustmord and need more stuff like that. 5/10 -- Stephan Bauer (1 April, 2009)