That topic will catch his solo and his plethora of noise projects (Black leather Jesus, Werewolf Jerusalem and any of his HN/HNW monikers):
Any thoughts for one of the legendary american noisicians?
Any favourite albums of his solo or/and his numerous project(s) album(s) of yours?
What would you advise to a newbie to start with?
avoid this one like the plague.
I don't have a lot of his stuff, some is good some is ok, I did see him in London a while back as Werewolf Jerusalem and he was amazing live.
I was listening to his split 12" with Black Scorpio Underground last night and liked it, I have reviewed a coiple of things over the years and liked what I heard.
got to know his solo work with the impressive "I keep my stuff inside"... then madly falled in love with BLACK LEATHER JESUS... the slaughter prod boxset wrapped in leather and chains was brilliant...
RR and BLJ are the first noise releases I ever listened to. I listen to very little noise overall, unless you count noisy drone and black metal, then I listen to quite a bit probably. Anyways, I return to either BLJ or Dilloway almost exclusively if looking to zone out to some static. Ramirez is a legend rightfully.
say BLJ earlier this year in LA and they rocked. even had a moshpit encore.
I do not have a lot of his stuff but i remember hearing BLJ on that Freak Animal comp that came with the magazine, somehow it made an impression on me and i played that track a lot.
IMHO TRUE
"tracking device" is a fucking masterpiece. saw BLJ live in houston at their.... 20th anniversary show, i think? close to a dozen people on stage with richard leading them all. quite incredible.
I'm very proud of all Ramirez & BLJ stuff I have released. Each release has been somewhat "curated". Dropping weaker stuff, asking for more material, etc.. Or re-issues what has been done out of best small edition releases I have heard.
They are all different from eachother.
BLJ Trocar has eerie droning quality below harsh noise surface
RR Tracking Device is more power electronics/industrial type of material - not like "I keep my stuff inside" or split with Alchemy of the 20th Century. In a way, structured and forceful, but different from those two.
BLJ united states of... is just good loud multilayered harsh noise
BLJ "Torture Machinist" my all time favorite, 5 piece line-up churning textured and dense noise, with a lot of detail. What it lacks on sheer brutality and over-the-top flat distortion, it wins with abundance of subtle details.
It's all sold out, so not really promoting my own stuff here, hah... It's unfortunate that RR's more "ambitious" works like Tracking Device, I keep My stuff inside and split with Alchemy of the 20th Century hardly is remembered while the yet another radio-through-distortion works is. Not saying it's bad, but as sound artist, he has ability and skill to go beyond the easy noise.
I'd really recommend Deconstructed Hand Device!!
An Innocent Young Throat Cutter is about the most brutal HNW this happy camper has ever heard.
Anal Drill, at least the 90s material, the few tapes/compilation tracks I've heard, is extremely tasty harsh noise, a sort of proto-HNW sound to be filed alongside the likes of OVMN or Dead Body Love. Some of the best material I've heard from Richard, under any guise/band/alias....
https://www.discogs.com/Slave-Labour-Vol-I-And-II/master/195523
I've been lusting after this release for ages....
The recent reissue of "Burned Into The World's Memory" on New Forces is excellent.
Quote from: FreakAnimalFinland on September 06, 2013, 09:59:44 AM
It's unfortunate that RR's more "ambitious" works like Tracking Device, I keep My stuff inside and split with Alchemy of the 20th Century hardly is remembered while the yet another radio-through-distortion works is. Not saying it's bad, but as sound artist, he has ability and skill to go beyond the easy noise.
The Alchemy split material was requested because of how much I enjoyed I Keep My Stuff Inside. Three tracks were submitted for the split. Two were used. Would like to know where the other track was used, if at all.
"I Keep My Stuff Inside" is likely my favorite of RR solo works. not only for the nostalgia of being 16 and getting an LP that was padlocked shut and using bolt cutters for the first time (i remember thinking: yes! this is industrial music!) , but all this time later still the compositional intent and sound work holds up as focused and solid. cold, industrial, and a more unusual set of sounds (from the RR i've heard at least) make it stand out. ok, maybe a tiny bit much flanger for me - but hey, that shit wasn't played out yet when this was recorded!
On the flip side of the sound palette, "Male" CS on Truculent Recordings (released about 7 years later) is also a fav despite totally minimal, stream-of-conciousness feel... mostly metal, feedback and voice, this is primitive stuff - but personally i connect with the movements on a cerebral level, making it a tape i'd never get rid of, i play it about once every other year.
Ninth Massacre collection box on Trash Ritual is awesome, total endless filth - i've missed almost all his 90s work except for some downloads but this collection is so awesome i can only hope to keep hearing more and more, somehow.
Werewolf Jerusalem's Confessions Of A Sex Maniac is up there, if not the most frequently listened individual noise release.
I recently got a CD version of the BLJ/RR split Scrapyard and it's great, very good material from both. One thing that I was thinking that I've read Ramirez say he doesn't like synth noise but the siren sound on Male Nudity Among American Wreckage sounds very much like a synth? Or it could also be mixer feedback maybe..
Very much waiting to hear the tape reissue on New Forces.
Just heard Fatgirl and wanted to rave about it!! Very dense (more than layered) droning harsh noise, bloody great. Reading this thread it occurs to me to suggest Electric Bar With Chairs by 265 Bowery to those enjoying I Keep My Stuff On The Inside.
Wait...this 8-year dormant thread is the only Ramirez thread not related to a new release or show, etc?
(Or are my search skills that bad?)
Anyway...
As I type, Bleeding Headwound bursts forth. 2 tracks / 62min. (But I think it was 3 tracks on the original C60. They just merged side A into 1 track for this CD reissue.)
Originally 1995.
A sonar ping starts the proceedings, before all hell breaks loose. This one is really reminding me of a particular 90s Merzbow album. A very clean, layered production. A lot of hi-pitch sounds here and there. An undertow forms beneath this maelstrom.
Sirens and more underwater acoustics herald the start of tack 2. Then the pings get amplified and distorted beyond recognition. The undertow is gone. This track has more isolated sounds. Track 1 had speed. This one is stuck in the ice. (I keep thinking ships / submarines here.)
I think a submariner got a bleeding headwound! A rescue operation was needed.
Then track 2 speeds up! (The rescue boat and patient?) More speed / screech than track 1. That's how it ends: Hard and fast.
I'm not doing this justice. Me and my silly scenarios.
(The original tracks were named: Atomic Distortions, Left Eye, and Spinal Amputation. I might be onto something!?)
A fucking wonderful album. Certainly one of my favs from RR, and I think I have about 25. This one gave me a bleeding hea... Oh nevermind. 😂
Quote from: STREETMEAT on September 02, 2013, 11:15:35 PMavoid this one like the plague.
I know this is 13 years late, but...what?? 😂
Quote from: Decrepitude on February 07, 2017, 10:41:27 AMWerewolf Jerusalem's Confessions Of A Sex Maniac is up there, if not the most frequently listened individual noise release.
I recently got a CD version of the BLJ/RR split Scrapyard and it's great, very good material from both. One thing that I was thinking that I've read Ramirez say he doesn't like synth noise but the siren sound on Male Nudity Among American Wreckage sounds very much like a synth? Or it could also be mixer feedback maybe..
Very much waiting to hear the tape reissue on New Forces.
Yeah, I'm enjoying the Scrapyard CD as I type. (1995 LP plus a 2010 track.) I cannot expertly comment on the source of that siren sound, but I don't think it's a synth.
OEC put out Ramirenz "i keep my stuff inside" cd. Waiting to check out how material sounds on cd!
Above mentioned CD has bonus material. 1998 live, sound board recording.
I have not listened that yet, but remarkable batch just came on ANTIHUMANISM. Label some may remember for original TAINT/GRUNT LP and bunch of other releases. He put out 6 new Ramirez side project CD's. All glass mastered, pressed CD's, jewelbox, b/w simple booklets. Pressings are only 70! Needless to say it feels a bit too little for something like 1993 MEAT SHOP tape reissue?! At least over here in Finland, among small circle of noise devotees of the time, Meat Shop was well appreciated!
Listened everything, except one disc waits till next week. Liking all, presenting different sides of Ramirez works. Mostly 90's or early 00's, but also one is reissue of 2024 material! Of course, no objection. If there is good stuff out there, why wait 20+ years to reissue it..
Yeah, both Meat Rape and Metal Dildo releases are excellent. I have tape versions Richard reissued over the last few years, but thinking of grabbing the CDs too. That Powdered Beatles tape as well.
Does Antihumanism have an online shop or are orders placed via email only?
The only releases in that batch I haven't heard are the Threshold of Sleep and Priest in Shit comp. Would love to hear some comments about those from anyone familiar with them.
Antihumanism titles can be ordered from nhfastore for same price as he sells. I would think he has discogs account at least and he is present on this forum too. I think CD's are found Freak Animal (nhfastore), OEC and S&W distros, not elsewhere since pressings are so small.
No shop, not at the moment on discogs. Send message or email to antihumanism@hotmail.com
But of course it is more interesting to order with a bunch of other stuff from nhfa, oec or S&W (his copiex are still in the way).
Also copies to Richard are taking longer then expected to arrive.
In next batch I'll wait first that he got his copies.
6 more cd's should go to the pressing soon enough.
Quote from: Antihumanism on April 12, 2026, 09:12:23 PM6 more cd's should go to the pressing soon enough.
6 more Ramirez CDs? Yes please!
Quote from: moozz on April 14, 2026, 01:11:26 PMQuote from: Antihumanism on April 12, 2026, 09:12:23 PM6 more cd's should go to the pressing soon enough.
6 more Ramirez CDs? Yes please!
Yes. Normally I have files this week and next week to pressing.
3x 1996 + 2003/2006 (compilation of 2 tapes) + 2001 + 2023 tapes, is what i only reveal now hah.
USA people, Richard should have his copies tomorrow. Guess he'll put them soon enough on bandcamp.
Canada people, S&W should have them soon. Package passed customs and is now in sorting center so I guess its a matter of couple days max.
This first 6 showed up at S+W today, also. I went kind of crazy, researching, sampling, etc. Seems that I don't know most names of RR side projects.
I went with Meatshop. But maybe I should do more...
Edit: Ah fuckit I got all 6. 😂 I'll review when the postperson cometh.
Antihumanism has gone the extra mile here. I'm happy to support.
Quote from: Minus1 on April 15, 2026, 03:57:06 AMThis first 6 showed up at S+W today, also. I went kind of crazy, researching, sampling, etc. Seems that I don't know most names of RR side projects.
I went with Meatshop. But maybe I should do more...
Edit: Ah fuckit I got all 6. 😂 I'll review when the postperson cometh.
Antihumanism has gone the extra mile here. I'm happy to support.
Nice!
I did post in new releases section announcement what has 5 of 6 cd's bandcamp links:
https://special-interests.net/forum/index.php?topic=14306.0
Couple hours after my previous post above Taylor emailed saying he got copies. Good!
Quote from: Minus1 on April 15, 2026, 03:57:06 AMThis first 6 showed up at S+W today, also. I went kind of crazy, researching, sampling, etc. Seems that I don't know most names of RR side projects.
I don't think even Richard remembers some of the names. Take the name of a random giallo and there is a big chance that it is a project involving Richard Ramirez.
I Keep My Stuff Inside.
3 tracks / 57+ min.
A re-release of 1996 recordings, plus a live track from 1998.
What a fucking eerie start! Very Dr Who And The Daleks. Distorted / robotic vocal. A strange and lovely swirl of sound. This isn't typical RR. A very dark ambient pace / tone on this first 25min track. I can't really make out what is being said, but I don't think it is "Will that be a medium or a large dipped cone?"
Track 2 continues this Satanic mood / pace. Are we...er...inside now? This might be my new best Halloween album for the kiddies. Even more dark ambience here, punctuated with shards of PE type explosions from time to time. Volume fluctuations add to the suspense. Slower than fog.
Shit gets real at 16min of the second 25min. An eruption of sound, but the mood is sustained. It soon dies back down. Our protagonist is talking again. But we still ain't at DQ.
There's a very wide variety of sounds / effects employed throughout all of this.
Other (minor) eruptions occur before track 2 ends. But the general pace remains glacial.
(I'm actually worried that the bonus live track will spoil this mood.)
This really is a side of RR that I was unaware of! I'm shocked by this. It's terrifying. It's brilliant.
And they DIDN'T fuck it up with track 3. It fits! It serves as a worthy appendix.
Metal Dildo.
1 track / 51+ min.
A 2026 Antihumanism re-release of a 1995 work.
Well, I have the first 6 Antihumanism Ramirez 2026 releases, and I patiently await the next 6. I guess I became a Ramirez fanatic.
I now devote 6 x PMs in a row to this!
(I can't really keep up with the various names, nor fully understand the need to call himself Metal Dildo here. But I digress.)
Fuuuuck! I randomly chose The Motherload first? This longform track is a beast! A beautiful, reverby, late night on a train kinda feel. (I just type what it evokes for me. I'm sure it makes little sense.) 😂
This a dreamy sort of HNW. Soft / velvety edges. Oh Man this is fucking great.
Gradual, subtle changes / layerings.
I keep thinking: "This is originally a cassette. There will be a jarring break halfway, and it will piss me off." But no such interruption occurs! 😂
God, this is such a fantastic, deep, breathtaking sound. I just got lost in it.
An instant fav. Fuckin', top 1% of all the Noise that I own. 😂 My new fav Ramirez disc!??
(I feel truly blessed that I am only one of 70 crazy motherfuckers in the whole world who owns this disc.) 😂
Fuuuck! The other 5 surely cannot compete!?
Very good you enjoy it!
Copies of the 6 new ones are on the way to scream and writhe since Thursday.
We are soon gonna discuss what will be next done, at least now there was talked he'll do new recordings with Sean, junk noise album (he didn't say project name yet)+ BLJ "gauze" t-shirt.
Quote from: Antihumanism on May 23, 2026, 12:01:18 PMVery good you enjoy it!
Copies of the 6 new ones are on the way to scream and writhe since Thursday.
We are soon gonna discuss what will be next done, at least now there was talked he'll do new recordings with Sean, junk noise album (he didn't say project name yet)+ BLJ "gauze" t-shirt.
Are copies on the way to Richard as well? Happy to pick them up from either source, but just curious.
If the new recording is a metal junk album with Sean, I would guess Priest is Shit, which is very exciting. Their album last year, Virgin Martyr, was excellent.
I love that you gave Richard free rein to reissue what he likes. The choices have been extremely good so far.
Yes of course his copies are also on the way. Maybe end next week there..
For the first batch i let him chose completely, for this second batch he had already one in mind (rope cosmetologist, 2 tapes on 1 cd)
and then i send small list where he again chose from.
Indeed that priest in shit album is very good!
Priest In Shit - Language In Shit (Various Collected Works).
5 tracks / 37+ min.
A 2026 Antihumanism re-release of a 2004 CDr.
A quartet of Ramirez, Ramirez, Osborne, Jiminez.
Erm...is this really 5 tracks from various other PIT releases? Which ones? Or is it previously unreleased things (up to 2004)?
Track 1 just fucking barges in - a swirl of vocal samples - weird loops - junk noise - HNW - a superb and concise intro to an eclectic and erratic disc! (Because I'm editing on my second spin, you see.)
Track 2 changes course! Live, I think. We slooowed the fuck down here. Feedback dominates. But it devolves into mayhem / screaming. Quite sparse and lovely. Maybe it lingers a bit though.
Track 3 picks the pace back up. A dense / swirling psych-rock-ish freak out. Kind of AMT-ish. It fades out, incongruously.
Track 4 is a wonderful loopy droney thing! But it just fucking ends too soon. 😂
Track 5 is a strange and wonderful thing. Some kind of conversation gets pummelled by shards of Noise, like volcanic eruptions. And then everything settles down for a while before a fucking MASSIVE (and abrupt!) ending.
(I'm playing this MF twice on this maiden voyage.)
This CD is very good - but it's hard to put my finger on it. The 5 tracks cover an array of sounds / moods. I think the 5 fit together quite well, but I'm not sure. 😂 Maybe the "collected works" angle gets to me? There's a lot of ideas / variety in this 37min. This is a slippery beast! Things end when I didn't expect / want them to. (What did Sinatra say? Always leave them wanting more?)
I'm intrigued by it. I bow to it.
Powdered Beatles - What Am I?
10 tracks / 59+ min. (I keep seeing 51min. Why?) 😂
A 2026 Antihumanism re-release of a 1996 cassette.
Cathey-Ramirez.
This one has the most "industrial" feel of this batch, so far, at least in the way I (mis?)understand this term. 😂
TG 2nd Annual on steroids? Dark, menacing, slow moving.
Well, shit speeds up later. 😂 Voice / feedback / mayhem. Percussive tracks. Some strange-ass sermon towards the end. A lot happens in this 59min. But it all flows beautifully. An album "arc" is maintained. Fucking wonderful. This one needs many more spins.
Fuck! I know this is a shitty review. Or a non-review. I fucking loved this. Ok? 😂
Meat Shop - Dragging Meat Rape.
3 tracks / 61+ min.
A 2026 Antihumanism re-release of a 1993 cassette.
Ramirez.
Caution: If high pitched squeals really bother you, then skip the first couple minutes of this.
It soon descends (ascends?) into an epic junk rumble / roar, which often has a cutup / stop-start / my-CD-is-skipping characteristic to it. Voice is in the mix. Fucking epic. Disorienting.
We change pace towards the end of track 1 - gigantic droney swaths invade the mayhem. Track 1 is basically an album! A 24min hell of a journey.
Track 2 is a different beast altogether. 6min of pulsating, grandfather-clock beats over an ambient soundscape. I get 1960s computer / Oliveros vibes. Is this the breather between two epics?
Track 3 - the second half of this album - starts cautiously. A Diplodocus is approaching? I'm really getting Boris - Absolutego vibes here! Tension slowly builds.
A few minutes in, shit has gotten real. Such a gradual build. Shards of HNW attack. The 31min thing meanders and winds it's way forth.
Things quiet down here and there, and then surge again. Divebomber type sounds soon abound.
Erm...I think this track meanders too much. 😂 I might have lost the plot a bit. Or it's all a bit much to take in on this maiden voyage.
I look forward to wresting with this one again.
Virgin Rope Makeover - Suite Pink Swing.
2 tracks / 40+ min.
A 2026 Antihumanism re-release of a recent (2024!) C30, but now with a 10min bonus track.
Ramirez.
Now, I gotta confess, I'm playing this twice tonight because:
a) On the first spin it became background Noise as I researched Sutcliffe Jugend and furiously shopped at S+W. (Criminal, I know.) But I got a good sense of this, and...
b) I wanted to play it again right away because THIS FUCKING RULES!!! 😂
This is a dense, murky fucker, which is halfway to HNW. It's filthy sounding. A river of junk and shit. A waterfall of mucus. Droney. Course. Surface layers creep in and out. The whole 30min has a sustained / compelling narrative. The pace / feel does not deviate, hardly. But plenty of dynamics occur within the narrow boundaries.
But wait: The bonus track is the fucking climax here! Most bonus tracks aren't that, right? "Oh we'll throw this on as an extra / afterthought." But here this amplifies everything. The icing on the cake. This thing is three-quarters of the way to HNW. It fits perfectly with the 30min Suite Pink Swing, but this is Maximum Pink...and it lives up to it's name. 😂 It's the "single version". Faster. The summary. The finishing touch. This gives me Hijo - Modern / Romance vibes.
A brilliant CD.
And what a fucking great album title. 😂
Threshold Of Sleep - Behind Enemy Lines.
2 tracks / 58+ min.
A 2026 Antihumanism re-release of a 1995 C60.
Track 1 has 9 parts and track 2 has 5 parts. Somewhere in the mix is live at Çatal Hüyük (Houston, TX) 1992 and live at Harvey's Club Deluxe (Houston, TX) 1993 (excerpt).
Cathey, Ramirez, Houston.
To my ears this is easily the weirdest and most diverse of this batch of 6. It pulls me in all directions. Crude Noise, quiet interludes, tv commercials / films, Oliveros-like electronica, silent periods between parts, Alvin Lucier type dronage, everything AND the kitchen sink!
I mean, like, a real head-scratcher. (Beard-stroker?) A strange motherfucker, this! 😂 A big left turn for Ramirez. Confounding. Baffling. Experimenting.
I don't dislike it! But...what the fuck is this? 😂
It takes BALLS to do this! An album like this has me clamoring to understand it, replay it, absorb it.
You fucked me up with this one, Richard. Bravo, Dude. Bravo.
Starting to make my way through the New Forces boxsets... expect some reviews in tandem with yours, Minus1!
Quote from: k.p.g on May 28, 2026, 05:07:35 PMStarting to make my way through the New Forces boxsets... expect some reviews in tandem with yours, Minus1!
Bitchin!
I'll give you guys a break for a while. 😂 The next Antihumanism 6 is not at S+W yet, and I'm taking time with an order build.
But this 6 was a hell of a ride.
Quote from: k.p.g on May 28, 2026, 05:07:35 PMStarting to make my way through the New Forces boxsets... expect some reviews in tandem with yours, Minus1!
Right on time because he is getting yo number 6 of 6 of Antihumanism releases.
New ones should be soon available from scream and writhe.
Quote from: Minus1 on May 28, 2026, 08:11:02 PMQuote from: k.p.g on May 28, 2026, 05:07:35 PMStarting to make my way through the New Forces boxsets... expect some reviews in tandem with yours, Minus1!
Bitchin!
I'll give you guys a break for a while. 😂 The next Antihumanism 6 is not at S+W yet, and I'm taking time with an order build.
But this 6 was a hell of a ride.
Ah you did the 6 already.
Quote from: Antihumanism on May 28, 2026, 08:13:01 PMQuote from: k.p.g on May 28, 2026, 05:07:35 PMStarting to make my way through the New Forces boxsets... expect some reviews in tandem with yours, Minus1!
Right on time because he is getting yo number 6 of 6 of Antihumanism releases.
New ones should be soon available from scream and writhe.
Done! 😍
BLACK LEATHER JESUS / RATLICKER split CD
gay pride baby!!
Quote from: Antihumanism on May 28, 2026, 08:13:49 PMQuote from: Minus1 on May 28, 2026, 08:11:02 PMQuote from: k.p.g on May 28, 2026, 05:07:35 PMStarting to make my way through the New Forces boxsets... expect some reviews in tandem with yours, Minus1!
Bitchin!
I'll give you guys a break for a while. 😂 The next Antihumanism 6 is not at S+W yet, and I'm taking time with an order build.
But this 6 was a hell of a ride.
Ah you did the 6 already.
And the second 6 arrived today, with a lovely Meat Shop bag and an Antihumanism bag!! 😍
Thanks so much.
(I'm drowning in new CDs, but I think I'll get to this batch in the next week or two.)