Short audio clip taken when undertaking an investigation at a now closed mental hospital. The Haunted Auckland team (Sam, Mark, Aimee & Natasha) are in an upstairs dayroom. Clicks are Mark's torch. There is also mild cooing from pigeons on the roof. The only person who speaks is Sam. Do you hear anything else?

Did you hear it?

05 Hour of Death

NZs longest running dark experimental Industrial act, formed around 1985-86.

At its conception, a two piece utilizing many reel to reel tape recorders, loop effects and vocal cut-ups, various found steel objects and an arsenal of classic analog synths and drum machines. Very ecclectic  and unique, and were given the genre label, 'Junk Punk', by one reviewer to describe their sound.
They performed only three times as this incarnation, twice in New Zealand and once in Sydney, Australia. The live art performances included poetry and slide shows and were performed in art galleries. As part of an early 1986 performance the entire interior of a soon to be demolished house was torn apart in a frenzied ritual, accompanied by looping noise tapes fed through a generator driven PA system. Around 30 people took part in this now infamous display of art terrorism.

Their sound changed quite sporadically through the years, due to collaborating with a myriad of engineers, percussionists, guitarists, and like minded artists. BOSCH were always pretty experimental and 'outside the box'. You either loved them or hated them.
The late mid to late 1980s saw Bosch become a three piece of Gothic proportions. Merging Goth and Industrial to become a sort of  B-grade Neubauten / Feotus hatchling. This version only lasted a few months, but managed one, very loose live set which accompanied a gothic/dark art fashion show at an inner city nightclub.

1990 saw a new development of image and sound. A guitarist , Morpheus Ire, was added from a young local dark Metal band, Mother Morphine and bass/percussionist, Paul Blanchard, ex Plaster Saints, was recruited to play alongside the machines and keyboards,which instantly gave the group a whole new, heavier sounding 'Industrial Punk/Metal' direction. A more chaotic, angst ridden, almost anarchic direction. Live performances meant the destruction of stage sets and props. Audience participation was always encouraged live.
Hieronymus Bosch, though misunderstood by many, during this period, attracted quite a good loyal following from the Death/Punk and Metal communities whilst still maintaining their dedicated Industrial/Experimental music fanatics. They performed quite extensively throughout 1990 - '93.
Late 1993, Bosch headed back to its roots slightly, Industrial/Dark Ambient and only performing a couple of times, mainly as a solo act.

In 1996, Hieronymus Bosch expanded to a solid two member lineup. Trevor Donaldson, ex Sudersuk and classic NZ Punk band Armatrak joined and the two headed off into some rather scarey, electronic grinding 'nightmarescape' territories. 
"We've managed a few style change overs through the years but we always turned back to what we were all about".

Their sound is a very personal one. Constantly drawing aural imagery from their own and others personal lives. Interests, beliefs, fears and desires are all contained within the 'nightmare soundtracks'. Religion interests us, as does Life and Death. "Our main influence is life itself as a whole. There is so much drama going on in the world. Life isnt dissimilar to a huge television screen, continuously playing and repeating random scenarios. One moment, a horror show. War, chaos, death and fear, the next, perfect families in sugar coated dream worlds. Spirituality, Netherworlds of fantasy and escapism, Astronomy and the structure and complexities of the human mind all make appearances within the Bosch world. Our sound reflects as our own visions. Our views. Our way of thinking. Some pieces are slow and dark to depict the negatives of reality, (or Virtual reality), the down trodden and the weak, while other sections are lighter and somewhat uplifted. The balance is always there though. It seems to work".
HIERONYMUS BOSCH's music is constructed by combining the organic with electronic. Nature vs Technology. Layering samples with movement. Frequencies and modulations with sounds of their own existence. They are both fans in the idea of power in minimalism. Creating huge rhythm through repetition and looping of sounds and samples. Constantly building and creating new directions and moods.
Their first release back in 1990 was on video format."Our concept is a visual one, so we decided this was the best way to SHOW our sound". The five track release entitled simply HIERONYMUS BOSCH - THE VIDEO was limited to 300 copies and was swallowed up quickly within the hungry world underground scene

In 1997 HIERONYMUS BOSCH released a self titled album of dark and horrific scapes which has been circulating well throughout the world, mainly around the UK and European countries. 

1998 saw the creation of their second album , THE DIVIDED SELF.Another dark journey into the world of BOSCH. THE DIVIDED SELF is a collection of some sorts, a merging of styles and textures, lightness and darkness. They have also featured on a couple of overseas underground compilations and made a couple of appearances on the mid 90's performance/video release series TECHNOHELL.
In 2004 they released their third album THE DREAM SONGS on Polish Industrial label Fluttering Dragon.
Hieronymus Bosch have produced short film soundtracks for video artists in Belgium and Australia and have tracks in various local and international compilations.

[REVIEWS]
Hieronymus Bosch - Self titled album (CD) CLUB BIZARRE

Hieronymus bosch was the weirdest medieval painter/artist famous for his far out darkest and frightening paintings. He was described as the worlds first surrealist and his painted nightmares appear to be very modern still today. Hieronymus Bosch is also a project from the far away NZ and they have been creating dark industrial chaos since 1985 making them the longest running and surprisingly NZs only true Industrial performance act. This self titled and long awaited debut release combines sounds both electronic and acoustic to create rhythms of various moods. Sometimes beautiful (almost classical) and atmospheric-sometimes intense-overwhelming and nightmarish. Hieronymus Bosch are a unique and refreshing experience. Experience life death and beyond. ALBUM OF THE MONTHAudioglobe Newsletter 1997 [Italy]

Hieronymus Bosch - The Divided Self (CD) CLUB BIZARRE

Dark & brooding Nightmarescapes throb and writhe like wounded serpents, choking and ebbing painfully in formation across the desolate plains in the world of Hieronymus Bosch. Sinister moods develop and disturb the inner senses. Moulding electronic pulsing rhythmic waves and samples with acoustic/organic sound sculpting overlaid with the darkest of vocal spectres. Hieronymus Bosch explore the darkest of Netherworlds bringing to life the dreams and visions produced in all of us. The frightening scenarios played by the multitude in full horrifying reality in the mind of a child in deepest of sleep. Their world can also be a beautiful one. One of moments of light and solitude. A peace state awaiting breaking point. Relaxed yet tense!!!.The inner light is held forward to greet the darkness. Exploring both sides Hieronymus paint an aural masterpiece. A canvas depicting all that is real in life and beyond. For every bad there is goodness. For every good moment lurks the potential for evil. A merging in styles ranging from dark mystical ambient venturing into experimental/industrial territories. A genuine Masterpeice for those that appreciate the sounds of Dark-End labels like Cold Meat Industry and Projekt !!! [Audioglobe newsletter 2000]

Hieronymus Bosch - The Dream Songs  [Fluttering Dragon]

Third release from this long established, yet enigmatic project from New Zealand. Heavy electronics, harsh ambience, distorted textures, unsettling voices, pulsing rhythms, and feverish cinematic atmospheres are all utilized to delve into the theme of the psyche, fears, and dreams of children. www.citadel-gate.com

HIERONYMOUS BOSCH "The Dream Songs"Fluttering Dragon | dragon 030 | CD | 2004 

The third release from one of the most worldwide known dark ambient projects from New Zealand , Hieronymus Bosch, is entirely dedicated to the subject of children's nightmares, fear of falling asleep and being alone in the dark. At least that's what I deducted perusing the attached booklet... So, what's the point of having the pictures of young people who fought in the Warsaw Uprising in 1944 on the front cover and inside the booklet? What's the connection between the album's concept and the artwork? Didn't they have other problems than a monster under their beds back then? Luckily, the sounds coming out from the speakers help you to forget quickly about that unfortunate match, and start to drown in the hypnotic, yet mysterious beginning of "The Dream Songs". Like another phase of a dream, the music kicks off quite peacefully to reach, with every step made towards the within, that state of mind when a dreaming begins. And then the proper events happen... Even if Hieronymus Bosch's work was pigeonholed as a dark ambient, it's hard to say now how much the record contents deals with background music as such... It seems that the stylistic turning points the group have taken within its almost 20-year-long history are reflected in many ways in their current work (even though they announce a return to the dark ambient roots with this record). The ten tracks featured here tend to intensify the emotional aspect of the album concept. Be it the mysterious and quasi sacral moments from the beginning of the record, or the violent post-industrial rhythmic poundings in the vein of In Slaughter Natives or Mental Destruction, the authors of "The Dream Songs" stay away from dark ambient clichï¿½s. No static appearance, but a sound in motion! The music absorbs you with very intense, massive sonic bands that runs across almost the whole album, yet you will find voice samples, loop effects and some piano employed to create anxious, nightmarish atmospherics.

The formula of blending post-industrial, classical music and dark ambient (with emphasis on the last element) seems to have been perfectly realized by the now defunct Law. The New Zealanders follow a similar path, so if you liked Law, you won't get disappointed with "The Dream Songs"!
[krzysztof sadza]


05 Hour of Death

Hieronymus Bosch

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