An old thread, but it is maybe worth bumping since Zorn has now organized a trilogy of new Painkiller albums?
I missed the first one, but I did pick up The Equinox (reviews online suggest that the second is the better of the two released thus far). While I have sampled other works from the project online, the only other sustained exposure I have had is through Execution Ground (which I enjoyed a lot). To my ears, the big evolution seems to be Mick Harris switching from real drums to electronic beats. Zorn's sax and the bass sound as good as ever, but I'm not sure how into the "techno" direction I will be. I would like to pick up the third installment when it is released next month if my local record store has it in stock.
Speaking of Tzadik generally, I was really pleased with the Terton album (Outer, Inner, Secret) for its very mellow free jazz and its emphasis on the texture of instruments playing off of one another. I was never one for big band jazz, but I like these trios.
It might also be worth bringing up that Zorn gets a brief but important mention in Novak's book on Japanoise, as being, according to the author, one of the key early people bringing in noisy Japanese music to the rest of the world.
