Fire in the Head – Screams for the Mute

Fire in the Head is the power electronics project of Michael Page. In addition to ‘power electronics’ other labels might be used here as well such as ‘death industrial’, ‘power noise’, or maybe even ‘death drone’ (that’s a new one to me!).

I would not classify this material as ‘ambient’, however. ‘Screams for the Mute’ is not exactly rhythmic either, but there is definitely a hypnotic and patterned feeling to most of the tracks. Even though this is some very harsh material, it’s not overly ear blasting, and really keeps attention.

I’ve read elsewhere that Page uses Fire in the Head to explore some of the darker sides of human nature- (familiar with these?). Some of the song titles also give this impression: ‘Playing God’, ‘Through jaded eyes’, ‘Watch and burn’, ‘When this no longer suffices’ and so forth. Also, I’ve heard that Page was a guest member of Slogun (the New York City true crime mob). While the violent vocals of Slogun aren’t here, the intensity sure is. A solid effort indeed.

artist: Fire in the Head
label: Deserted Factory
details: 8 tracks, 39 mins 2004