This is Iovae (aka Cincinnati's Ron Orovitz)'s second pro-released cd, after last year's "Quartervois" on Zarek, and a theory of limited run discs on Drone Disco, Chondritic, American Labels etc., including collaborations with Mammal and Burning Star Core. First of all, the cd looks extremely nice, with a b/w layout based on enlarged details of, I guess, an old engraving - minimal but very eye-catching. As for the sounds, Iovae is definitely a noisemaker - not overtly harsh and mean, but surely on the aggressive side of the spectrum. The recording is crisp throughout, but not much of the disc is really memorable for me. "Enlightenment" and "Grinder erupt", for example, are basically high end synth oscillations with some distortion, and that's it. Am I the only one to think that flat synth improvisations are a bit boring? All tracks sound like one-take recordings with minimum edits, and I guess they'd be nice live performances, but as they are they sound a bit unrefined. The opening "Formi", for instance, has some interesting shifts, but would have benefited from more layers or a more dynamic editing. My favourite track is the last one, "Ode to Schadenfreude", where turntable manipulation replaces the oscillators. Pitch shiftings, distortion and looping tecniques turn the original tune into a sort of menacing rumble - think of early Philip Jeck in a noisier version. Here the live feel is a plus and not a minus, and the piece definitely stands out from the more common noise tracks.