2024 stock. Beginning their recording career in the late Seventies and early Eighties with the extreme noise of Knees and Bones (Multimood, n√©e Psychout), Controlled Bleeding quickly established themselves as notoriously unpredictable purveyors of new music, exploring the realms of hard dance music, nightmarish electro-acoustic soundscapes, mournful liturgical hymns of faith, and dark orchestral scores. A diverse catalog of CDs including Trudge (Wax Trax!), Golgotha (Staalplaat), Songs from the Ashes (Projekt), and The Drowning (Dark Vinyl) document the group’s myriad musical endeavors.

In 1994 the trio ceased operations temporarily as group founder Paul Lemos reevaluated his musical direction. After some months Controlled Bleeding reappeared as a duo, releasing an album of rich gothic dub, Songs from a Shallow Grave (Dossier), a somber, unified work that brought together the liturgical vocals of Joe Papa and Lemos’ deep bass grooves and multi-layered electronics.

In 1996 the lush double CD set Inanition (Hypnotic/Cleopatra) was released, presenting extended, often unsettling explorations into uncharted realms of dark ambiance. Inanition also marked the development of a new trio, with the addition of Vietnamese vocalist Trang.

After a year in the making, Controlled Bleeding’s finest work is now presented in the form of The Poisoner, a deeply disturbing, richly dynamic aural nightmare that redefines one’s vision of hell (just listen to part 2 and you’ll understand!). Here, Lemos, with the assistance of San Diego experimental composer Guy Lohnes, has created a work truly actualizing the potential that was always indicated in the group’s work. The Poisoner is a deeply disturbing, richly dynamic aural nightmare that redefines one’s vision of Hell. From the deepest hole in the ocean rises a current of darkness, a fearful shadow that absorbs all light.