Negative Gain Productions – 10th July 2026
Christopher Nosnibor
Nothing says angst-filled industrial rage with a dash of harsh Sadism than calling your band Choke Chain. But while the pitch is that their latest release is ‘the aural equivalent of existential dread’, there’s nothing about this which says ‘edgelord’. It feels like we’re in a new era here, where extreme acts are ditching the extreme shit, the shock shit, the right-wing shit, and are instead engaging with environmental issues, emotional issues.
As they pitch it, ‘The human race continuously proves itself to be largely incapable of any kindness or empathy, instead being completely obsessed with killing and destroying. That’s the central focus of Decomposition.’ It really does feel this way: the US and Israeli governments in particular seem hell-bent on annihilation right now. A part of me misses the Cold War: while we huddled under the perpetual fear of nuclear annihilation, there was equally a certain comfort in the protracted stalemate. The last few months, I’ve woken each morning, soaked in sweat and a state of anxiety and the first thing I’ve done is check my phone to make sure I’m still alive, and then check the news to see that the world is still there. This may sound extreme, but this is the nature of things, and I know I’m not alone in this feeling of perpetual panic.
Says Choke Chain founder, Mark Trueman: “The EP was mostly written during a time where I was very close to giving up. Everything felt completely hopeless, and still does to some degree. I really tried to put all of that feeling into these songs. I also tried to confront some of my personal trauma on this record, which is something I’ve pretty explicitly tried not to do through my music in the past”.
The EP is a positive proof of why we should be glad he didn’t give up, but it’s not hard to understand why things reached that point. Everything’s fucked. And we’re doomed. Whether it’s AI takeover or global climate change or WW3 (if we’re not there yet, we’re on the brink or in denial).
‘Misunderstood’ is a quintessential snarly industrial / metal plus samples intro, but Trueman’s rabid vocal gives hints of Dominic Fernow. The title track is relentlessly brutal: electronic industrial at its darkest, harshest, most metal. It’s very much in the vein of late 80s Wax Trax! with surging grooved and pounding electronic percussion, and the vocals mangled to fuck.
‘Morgue’ is classic sample-soaked dark electronica. It feels brittle, it broods, and there’s something unsettling about the layers of vocals which build layers of discomfort. ‘Life Ends’ is nothing short of rabid, an anguished roar of pain against a relentless electronic pulsation.
There’s no escaping it: with Decomposition, Choke Chain have delivered an EP that’s harsh, and heavy. It’s nasty, it’s uncomfortable. It’s like a punch to the gut, and leaves you feeling short on breath.
AA
Aural Aggravation 