Vatican Shadow meets Regis on Blackest Ever Black; Silent Servant preps LP for Hospital Productions

Noise icon Dominick ‘Prurient’ Fernow’s admiration for crepuscular techno operators Regis and Silent Servant is well-documented. A pair of upcoming new releases is set to bring the three artists closer together.

Late March will see the release of Iraqi Praetorian Guard, a 12″ EP on Blackest Ever Black [full disclosure: a label operated independently by FACT’s Kiran Sande] by Vatican Shadow, Fernow’s solo project anchored in murky DIY techno and military psychedelia. This 12″ features two Vatican originals, ‘Cairo Sword Unsheathed’ and ‘Gunmen With Silencer’, remastered from his debut cassette, 2010’s Byzantine Private CIA, and an epic Regis reinterpretation of ‘Church Of All Images’.

Up till now, Vatican Shadow’s music has been available only in tape and digital formats, but that’s all set to change in the next few weeks: as well as the aforementioned Blackest Ever Black 12″, Type Records are expected to release a Vatican Shadow vinyl edition this month – more details on that soon.

Regis isn’t the only Sandwell District operative to have been working with Fernow (pictured above) of late. Fernow recently relocated to Los Angeles, calling time on his Hospital Productions record store in downtown New York, but keeping the label of the same name alive. It’s since emerged that fellow LA-dweller John Mendez, aka Silent Servant, will release his debut album through Hospital Productions.

Given their shared industrial heritage, it’s perhaps unsurprising that Mendez has found himself in Fernow’s Hospital camp – which is indelibly associated with ear-scraping noise offerings from the likes of Kevin Drumm, Maurizio Bianchi, Hair Police, Burning Star Core, Richard Ramirez and Wolf Eyes – but it’s definitely an interesting development for all concerned. No more specific information on the Silent Servant LP available at this time, but of course we’ll update you when we find out more.