This place needs a fresh, new Slogun topic.
I've been listening to a lot of his older stuff lately, as I am not the biggest fan of Bloody Roots. I wouldn't say it was bad by any means, actually there were a handful of songs which I absolutely loved, "Able Filth" would make my top list of PE songs any day, but the album as a whole started to feel the same and loses my attention whenever I sit down to listen to the entire album (this feeling is possibly akin to that which was probably being addressed in the "playtimes..." thread). Tearing Up Your Plans has always been my favorite of his, it is John's zenith that hasn't been reached since. And his "murder series" 7'' contribution for Self-Abuse titled The Heights is nearly perfect, I would go so far as to say it is probably the best piece of the murder series closely following after Taint.
Whether you like his material or not it is impossible to deny that Slogun leaves a distinctive stamp on Power Electronics history with his own brand of P.E. that only he can do, even though imitators have came and went they have never gotten close to his level of vigor and weight. That's a good word for Slogun, weight, it is always heavy and crushing with vocals upfront 90% of the time making sure the listener hears the message. I hope he pushes out more material for many years to come.
I think new album was very good return to more structured PE. Shorter songs which have different sounds. Vocals are loud and in your face. I would have hoped few different vocal effects/echoes used in some of the tracks besides the clean voice.
"Kill To Forget", "Tearing Up Your Plans" and "Written In Blood" have always been the favorites since I heard them. Early stuff value high due more complex audio than in later works. Vocals very effected and whole sound more... ehm.. psychedelic, than simply brutal. Evolution went from focus & experimentation on sound, to vocals, and at certain point it sounded that it was all about the vocals & lyrics. Minimalistic sound, staying same through the "songs", while clear shouted vocals on top.
Now with Bloody Roots, it's taken into modern day extra-loud compressed brutality, which fits that style very well. Music starts to have changes/layers/ideas.. It's relevant album in discography because it has new approaches. Theme of lyrics have slightly changed. Sound quality has changed.
so I'm quite confident that Slogun still after many years would have potential to make even his best album, which isn't something you can say about... well, almost any of the US pe bands of the time. Most of them are gone anyways.
I've only ever heard his track from the split with Sickness, "Always Numb". It's alright but I've just been really busy getting into other things I've bought any of his full lengths. From what I've read his approach seems to be pretty polarizing but I'm always up for new things.
Kill to Forget is good start. And still available for normal price.
I think "The Pleasures of Death" is essential PE.
Slogun strikes me as one of the Rodney Dangerfields of power-electronics. Gets little respect. He's got a new album. It's good, but I like everything under Slogun. I don't know about the 2015 reissue, but the original Tearing Up Your Plans CD was mastered so loudly that I could still clearly hear it on an old stereo of mine with the volume completely turned off. I don't believe I ever experience that with any other disc.
Slogun – Nothing. Ever. CD 2019
Definitely one of my favorites
As the issuing label I'd like to say that "Nothing. Ever." album is a mature pessimistic PE recording, dystopian PE if there is such a term.
Available from Old Captain label:
OCCD44 Slogun – Nothing. Ever. CD / CD + Poster (co-released with Eibon Records)
OCCD16 Slogun – Tearing Up Your Plans CD / CD + Poster Repress
+ two last T-Shirts in stock.
Also a part of the special bundle from the label:
https://oldcaptain.bandcamp.com/merch/old-captains-power-electronics-industrial-budget-bundle
Bandcamp: https://oldcaptain.bandcamp.com/
i agree with OP, kind of overlooked project, at least here. kill to forget is probably still my favourite, haven't followed the project for a while, but great news from the old captain! he definitely have his own sound, this kind of very heavy, american (hard to explain) vibe.. reminds me of the aesthetics of movies like cruisin' and taxi driver in a way. g.r. by deathpile has this vibe to me too.. should definitely look into the albums i've listened least
Quote from: brutalist_tapes on March 26, 2019, 03:54:50 PM
kind of overlooked project
Perhaps it is about the different era?
Early 2000's, I would say SLOGUN was the biggest. They would tour Japan, multiple European dates. Festivals and mini-tours. They'd have releases on several fairly "big" labels in the genre. Shirts, stickers, special packaged items, collector trophies etc... If there was USA PE band people knew, it was Slogun.
But then... perhaps around 2005 onwards, activity slowed down a bit? During last ~10 years, of course there is couple albums and couple splits, but I would past reputation of band was so high, that it didn't cause huge response. All those albums have sold in my mailorder pretty well. Only single copies of couple releases remain in stock.
For bands that are actually overlooked, releases simply collect dust forever..
Quote from: FreakAnimalFinland on March 27, 2019, 04:07:51 PM
Quote from: brutalist_tapes on March 26, 2019, 03:54:50 PM
kind of overlooked project
Perhaps it is about the different era?
Early 2000's, I would say SLOGUN was the biggest. They would tour Japan, multiple European dates. Festivals and mini-tours. They'd have releases on several fairly "big" labels in the genre. Shirts, stickers, special packaged items, collector trophies etc... If there was USA PE band people knew, it was Slogun.
But then... perhaps around 2005 onwards, activity slowed down a bit? During last ~10 years, of course there is couple albums and couple splits, but I would past reputation of band was so high, that it didn't cause huge response. All those albums have sold in my mailorder pretty well. Only single copies of couple releases remain in stock.
For bands that are actually overlooked, releases simply collect dust forever..
yeah you are right, different era a little bit before my time, got into noise/PE around '05 so it is probably correct. and the PE sound kind of moved away from this relatively "clean" stuff (if you can even say so)? thinking of all the scrap metal/more "chaotic" and no-fi/feedback abuse-heavy projects that seemed to pop up around the end of 00s. and on your last point, true... anyway, i would say that slogun deserves this status, apart from maybe being a little bit overlooked by the young PE-heads. always loved that kill to forget, though, should spin it more often.. maybe it is just overlooked a little by me, ha
SLOGUN "Nothing. Ever." CD
New CD, recorded 2018, released in 2019. In some ways it is exactly the Slogun we know, but not quite! It feels as if musically it is still a notch better, more complex, more detailed than already advanced previous recordings. It ain't the heavy bolt of electronics like in the old days, but compositionally vastly improved. Each track stands out unique. It was not the case in many of the past works. I think opening track is actually easily the weakest. Music feels to lack the kick and hostility present in the vocal performance. Starting from the second track, album keeps rolling forward very well. Complexity, but also more pressure. Vocals are the thing that Slogun could still improve. Or lets say, not the vocals, but the vocal efx. Vocals are what Slogun is known for. No less attacking. What I mean is that you got one sound, one delay, through entire album. When music has so much variation and depth, it would be nice to see Slogun play with the vocals also as a sound element (like in earliest days) rather than most of all dialogue over the music.
I don't complain much, though. This shows that Slogun is still going strong, and in many ways even stronger than ever. If people expect the brutalist wall-of-noise, it is not here. This is closer to even euro industrial sound, than the 90's US PE brutality.
Outside of his great studio works, it's always fantastic watching John play live. Definitely one of the artists I always look up to when it comes to live pacing, subtle vs. aggressive tendencies on stage, etc.
The last time I heard from John (a few months ago), he said he is finished with Slogun. The website has been down since late last year. I wouldn't be surprised if he makes a return or there are reissues, etc. but he sounded pretty adamant.
Been diving into the Slogun archives the last month or so and there is so much great material I forgot about. Definitely one of the heavy hitters of US PE!
Never noticed this thread before. John is one of my PE heroes and I can't describe the atmosphere he captures, especially on a track like "This Is It, Right Here". His interview on Noisextra was a great listen to, especially hearing him talk about his love of new wave/goth/post punk since it's a similar background to mine. Adds an extra level of connection in my eyes.
One thing, I have talked many times, but not sure if on forum, was Slogun live sets about 20 years ago. When he started to play live, it was perhaps the most active live artists from perspective of someone who did shows around the world. Lots of European dates, Japanese gigs, etc. He'd play France, UK, Germany etc, and also having friends coming along, Control, Sickness, etc.. Most of american power electronics, you could never see over here, but Slogun is something I have seen many times.
The best of the shows were able to capture this menacing vibe, that very few artists do. It wasn't about something ACTUALLY happening, but the that menacing feeling that something is about the happen. Even if it would be artists walking square shape path around the audience. Not just circling around the crowd, but making sharp 90* angle turn and almost like audience would be in cage, and waiting what the hell is about to happen. And this vibe is way more adrenaline rush than kind of "pushing audience PE group hug", heh.. He would could just keep audience wait - minimal noise-drone electronics blasting on PA, and then just eventually starting to do vocals. Not really "a show", but ability to get audiences full attention.
Quote from: FreakAnimalFinland on May 22, 2024, 10:15:31 AMOne thing, I have talked many times, but not sure if on forum, was Slogun live sets about 20 years ago. When he started to play live, it was perhaps the most active live artists from perspective of someone who did shows around the world. Lots of European dates, Japanese gigs, etc. He'd play France, UK, Germany etc, and also having friends coming along, Control, Sickness, etc.. Most of american power electronics, you could never see over here, but Slogun is something I have seen many times.
The best of the shows were able to capture this menacing vibe, that very few artists do. It wasn't about something ACTUALLY happening, but the that menacing feeling that something is about the happen. Even if it would be artists walking square shape path around the audience. Not just circling around the crowd, but making sharp 90* angle turn and almost like audience would be in cage, and waiting what the hell is about to happen. And this vibe is way more adrenaline rush than kind of "pushing audience PE group hug", heh.. He would could just keep audience wait - minimal noise-drone electronics blasting on PA, and then just eventually starting to do vocals. Not really "a show", but ability to get audiences full attention.
Yes! I think John is the only one I've seen that could convey that kind of menacing, uneasy feeling without actually doing much. Even just the way he looks at the crowd, physical posture etc, just works.
I also like that if you actually manage to listen to what he's saying in live performances it's mostly self loathing, depressing, even pretty intimate stuff, almost the opposite of what could be expected from the atmosphere of the show. Of course in between confrontational provocation of the audience and spitting. Definitely one of "our" best to ever perform live.
Quote from: FreakAnimalFinland on May 22, 2024, 10:15:31 AMOne thing, I have talked many times, but not sure if on forum, was Slogun live sets about 20 years ago. When he started to play live, it was perhaps the most active live artists from perspective of someone who did shows around the world. Lots of European dates, Japanese gigs, etc. He'd play France, UK, Germany etc, and also having friends coming along, Control, Sickness, etc.. Most of american power electronics, you could never see over here, but Slogun is something I have seen many times.
The best of the shows were able to capture this menacing vibe, that very few artists do. It wasn't about something ACTUALLY happening, but the that menacing feeling that something is about the happen. Even if it would be artists walking square shape path around the audience. Not just circling around the crowd, but making sharp 90* angle turn and almost like audience would be in cage, and waiting what the hell is about to happen. And this vibe is way more adrenaline rush than kind of "pushing audience PE group hug", heh.. He would could just keep audience wait - minimal noise-drone electronics blasting on PA, and then just eventually starting to do vocals. Not really "a show", but ability to get audiences full attention.
Saw one of those UK shows- fucking good night- those were the days....
Is live set at Tesco GBA! NYC 2002 was like that i was there to witness it all.
coming back to this thread to say, I'm sad more live material from Slogun isn't out there too much. the tracks included on the Sickness split and "I Travel" are stunning, especially knowing for the most part all his lyrics during these were made up on the spot. Of course they're taken from preexisting tracks sometimes, but the adlibbing ties the manic state together.