We've been waiting for a vinyl issue of Alberich material for an age, and here it is - an 8 track selection of often brutal, always heavy-hitting Industrial/Techno/Ambient productions from one of the most interesting characters to have emerged from the Hospital axis. Scoping rare and out-of-print highlights from his extensive cache over the last 6 years, it embodies a shell-shocked and embattled spirit in eight parts ranging from water-boarded ambience to remorseless industrial rhythms and night-goggled darkwave projections. Since the earliest days of Hospital, Kris Lapke has been integral to the label's audacious aesthetic, whether applying signature ceramic finish to their releases as go-to mastering engineer, or as a shadow member of various projects on the label. However, it's under the Alberich aegis that he's produced his most important work, a string of almost entirely cassette-only releases united by themes of military might, depraved distortion and cathartic despair. In a bloodied field where noise is worn like armour, Alberich has developed an almost impenetrable, aggressive defence mechanism to shield a bitter, bruised and occasionally vulnerable soul. It's employed to invasive, visceral effect in his most brutal pieces such as the rollicking 'Rumbala' and 'Panerai', and tempered to make sure your wounds won't heal after the industrial battery of 'Open Warfare' or the bone-splitting 'Image Of Progress', but it's most affective when combined with bilious, scowling darkwave synth atmospheres in the shocking vista of 'Gold' or the crushing pathos of 'Virgins'. Yet, if there's any one track that sums up the feeling of desolation, attrition and decay most vividly, it's 'No Mistake', where the abrasive exoskeleton is shed to reveal genuinely heart-in-mouth chords and glazed-eye pads which leave us an emotional mush every time. In contrast to the current draft of noise techno knuckleheads and dilettantes, Alberich is the real deal, trading on the balance of pleasure/pain thresholds with unfettered, instinctive nous and thunderous, immersive impact.