CD, Crunch Pod, 2008
manufactura.sistinas.com
“In the Company of Wolves” is awesome, in the original sense of the word: a monumental, unstoppable wave of supercharged sonic fury, a juggernaut in the path of which nothing can escape destruction. Especially when you consider that this is only an EP. It’s crammed full with new mixes, collaborations and a couple unreleased tracks (including the über-catchy dropped bass fiesta that is “Hollywood Babylon”), and should satisfy fans old and new. It’s also an extremely diverse offering, giving noise addicts the Manufactura-standard percussive blast they so desperately crave (on Converter’s remix of “Die For Me” and Manufactura’s fresh take on “You’re Fucking Worthless”), but also displaying a softer side, such as can be heard on Broken Fabiola’s remix of “Cut by Loving Hands.” There are even moments of minimalist gloom – bordering on goth – as evidenced by Operative’s mix of “God Damn the Sun,” but that’s almost to be expected on a Swans tribute. Combichrist’s typical electro-bass livens up “Sex & Suicide” as well.
Stylistically and technically, there’s a lot happening: this is possibly the most layered, complex “industrial” record I’ve heard. Even the percussive sound changes from track to track – as if thirteen different drum arrays, each with different filters, compressors and effects have been utilized. Original sound generation is intricate and evocative, conjuring images of anything from mist-shrouded ruins to alien machinery to grievous bodily harm!
What it comes down to is this: Manufactura is not your average purveyor of industrial rhythms. And consequently, “In the Company of Wolves” is anything but a conventional recording. This release is daring in its variety, daunting in its creativity, inspiring in its emotive content and downright frightening in its raw intensity. This portrayal of man’s inevitable regression towards his primal nature is a perfect accompaniment to the looming global economic depression and the misanthropic violence it will bring.
[10/10]
— David vander Merwe