PLAYLIST with COMMENTS/REVIEWS

[lagrgal]

The New Blockaders - Sceam! Tape (KAS, 1990)

Counterfeit material purporting to be TNB. As with much of the stuff mr. Seki has released, this is just awesome, although at this point I'm a bit biased. Side A starts with metal abuse manipulated on K7, ascending out of almost complete silence and pretty much keeps going with only a couple interruptions in the first half. Nice industrious sound. Side B, on the contrary is not that obvious with source materials. Couple of loops, again tape manipulation, but this side is rather hot, while side A is just warm. Overall a nice tape, although I don't really think it sounds like typical TNB, more similar to The Haters of that era and reminiscent of Odal.

Stinkfinger - Forced Alibi CD (Freak Animal, 2025)

Acquired this at the Iron Shadows last week. The event itself was great and I couldn't have missed this disc. And plainly, just as described by the label, it's got a very 90's american feel to it, while still having moments of contrast, which so many of the HN tapes of the aforementioned era lack. Not too long, captivating, good stuff!

Turun kaupunginorkesteri with Jorma Panula – Suomalaisia Klassisia Suosikkisävelmiä CD (Naxos, 1995)

Grabbed this one in some second-hand store on my last day in Oulu. Was never really familiar with any finnish classics, but this compilation is a very intriguing insight! Considering the amount of discs in that store it was, of course, the visual which caught my eye in contrast with dozens of 2000's pop CDs which fill most of the shelves. Greatly composed, seemingly absent transitions. The only part I didn't really like were couple of pieces written by Mr. Einojuhani Rautavaara. Other than that, gracious.

[SSRI]

Bastard Noise & Bizarre Uproar: Galactic Penitentiary CD

Very good disc and pretty much what you'd expect if you put these two together. Metal sounds and heavier electronics are presumably BU and spacier stuff from BN. If I understood the credits correctly, both have submitted raw sounds to a pro sound engineer who has put the whole together, under the supervision of Wood I'm sure. There are lyrics in both Finnish and English that put the decline of humanity on display. Markkula's vocals are more subdued, but Wood goes hysteric-woman-meets-King-Diamond, especially on the second track. Just brilliant. There are two long tracks and both are very well constructed with seamless flow. There are some bird chirping synth sounds that usually give me rash on the brain, but here they are mixed well enough with other sounds so they don't get annoying. The only thing I would've liked different was the lengthy space trip ending of the second track. It was good as such, but I hoped for an end with a bang. Maybe it was the galactic penitentiary fading away into the void.

Good-looking letterpressed 7" size cardboard covers and a large insert with familiar Bastard Noise style layout.

I'm glad that even in these times of culture wars (whether real or superficial/imagined) Markkula and Wood keep collaborating.

A bit of interpretation still. BU worships downfall of humanity while BN is blatant misanthropy. Both valid approaches of course. Therefore: BU = love and BN = hate.

[Fistfuck Masonanie]

Cyess Afxzs - Was That Always There? (Input Error)

A fairly unique entry into the Cyess Afxzs catalogue. Stuart pushes his sound further into new territories.

For those that remember the WCN interview, Stuart discusses that to do something new with noise, he has a preference to insert musicality or more traditional musical elements. He's done this very successfully in the past, in my opinion, and maybe most notably with recent collabs with Scathing or the Sundial Sessions album among others.

Was That Always There? is another musical noise endeavor in that it utilizes more traditional instrumentation, perhaps more bluntly than on most other releases. Joining Stuart on the album is a drummer. This addition could be perceived as a return to Cyess Afxzs' earlier roots as it initially started out as a duo with a drummer.

The drumming is very much an improvisational drumming approach ala Hijokaidan of the last decade or a jazz fusion drummer even. Not in the abstract Eddie Prevost style ala AMM or similar. Stuart utilizes electronics, but I think I also hear guitar, wind or brass instruments, and piano or keyboard.

The album very much feels like a live "noise band" scenario with electronics and layering of sounds accompanying the drums and vice versa. However, it sounds more composed than just jamming and doesn't sound anything like Borbetomagus or Wasteland Jazz Unit, etc. A couple of spins, and I'm intrigued, but I will admit sometimes the drums are so upfront, they can be a little distracting and a little too upfront in my opinion. Maybe it's because I'm still listening and framing this as a noise release, when it's different than a traditional noise album. I have the same issues with the drumming on some Hijokaidan albums as well.

I'm a big fan of Cyess Afxzs and the unique approach to noise that Stuart takes. I will say that I don't think everyone will like this album, however, I can say it's a unique listen, and I have not heard many albums that sound like this in the noise realm.

I appreciate that Stuart is out there exploring and trying to push the traditions of what we consider noise, and each album is uniquely Cyess Afxzs.