Metascore
82

Universal acclaim - based on 7 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 7 out of 7
  2. Mixed: 0 out of 7
  3. Negative: 0 out of 7
  1. The melding of clinical technology and human elements -- i.e., real instruments -- as a way of bringing the listener in made it nearly unbearable, but so utterly original that it compelled one to engage it.
  2. It’s not only an addition to 2009’s unassailably fantastic class of ambient music, but in a way is unique to that class for the menace with which it’s threaded.
  3. In the midst of the beautiful descending piano chords of the Twin Peaks referencing ‘Leo Needs a New Pair of Shoes’ a blade of static erupts without warning, coming to life with an extremely high-frequency version of a distress flare’s hiss. Once this has faded the track’s coda becomes the most beautiful section of the album, clean descending string-playing blending with a more frenetic bowing and echoing wolf cries.
  4. It’s a hollow, unforgiving, brutal yet utterly beautiful record, full of deep intricacies that won’t let you go. ‘By The Throat’ indeed.
  5. The result is easily one of the more intriguing and overlooked releases of 2009, and an infinitely disturbing meld of visceral semblance and quiet complexity.
  6. By the Throat demands those kinds of complex distinctions, though. Its radiance is a dark one, and its most sinister moments lead to deliberate calm.
  7. Certainly, this won’t be everyone’s cup of tea. But for those looking for mystical sources of inspiration, or an unsettling soundtrack, then By the Throat might be just the trick.

Awards & Rankings

User Score
8.6

Universal acclaim- based on 18 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 16 out of 18
  2. Mixed: 0 out of 18
  3. Negative: 2 out of 18
  1. Dec 6, 2017
    10
    Do you ever get anxiety? Have you ever listened to a piece of music which crushes that dreadful feeling inside your head? By The Throat is aDo you ever get anxiety? Have you ever listened to a piece of music which crushes that dreadful feeling inside your head? By The Throat is a piece of music that pushes out any discomfort that you may have and replaces it with its out artistic brand of hell. A powerful and cinematic experience that when truly submerged in to, will take you for a ride, to the nasty part of town, beat you down and leave you for dead. The good news is that when its finally over you'll be happy to be alive. While not extremely abrasive or noisy, relatively speaking, the journey it takes the listener on is cold, dangerous and difficult. It stands as a truly experimental and progressive piece of something like neo-classical music. Somewhere between Swans The Seer and Tim Heckers Virgins is Ben Frosts By The Throat - a modern electronic masterpiece. Full Review »