The Summer Of Merzbox:

[Balor/SS1535]

Disc 18: Have we made it?  I think we made it.  Heavy industrial noise, and I like it!  I can't help but feel that we are missing out as listeners by not having some rough approximation of the original Pornoise packaging, though.

[Balor/SS1535]

Yes, a day missed... (I was on jury duty...)

But onwards to discs 19 and 20!

I am really tired today, so I guess this is probably more of a "me problem" than anything---but the loops just don't do much for me.  I liked the first disc the best so far.  In other news, I looked up the original packaging finally, and the pictures on Discogs don't live up to the image I had in my head!  I expected more literal trash...

[Balor/SS1535]

Disc 21: Back on track!  We are once again in the territory of industrial Merzbow.  At times almost like a harsher Throbbing Gristle.

[Balor/SS1535]

Disc 22: The Sadomasochismo side of this is among the best of the Merzbox that I have gone through thus far.  Dark, haunting, and atmospheric!  Here the oft-complained about sound collage elements take on a more expressive and content-communicating role.  It bears some similarities to the Music for Bondage Performance albums beyond just themes (which I now need to revisit again).  The second half of this disc was not as gripping, though I did like the bird samples on the last track.

[Balor/SS1535]

Disc 23: Merzbow truly evolves in a spiral.  Back again to collage-work, but also someplace new.  Rather than pure and simple Dada-juxtaposition, the samples and the compositions that Akita creates out of them are much more atmospheric.  While Merzbow has never been short on "themes" in his noise, this is really the outstanding era in which the form of his noise really coincides with some of the ideas he is expressing through it.  Dark, dissonant, but not fully harsh.  (Yes, I know that there is a larger, holistic project that is meaningfully reflected across literally all releases...)

[Balor/SS1535]

Disc 24: This one really spans some time.  1986-89?  As one might expect, the disc gets better as it goes on, evolving from industrial atmospherics to much harsher sounds.  Overall, this felt much "sleeker" than earlier collage-works.  He has clearly improved in his abilities to manipulate tapes---regardless of his dedication to trash.