PLAYLIST with COMMENTS/REVIEWS

[k.p.g]

Known Victims shows up here (on CD) as track 6 of 9. (It's a different placement on the LP, right?) I know that many dislike this 13min that "disrupts the flow/feel of the album". For me it's perfectly placed. I need a fucking break from "G.R." at that point. ("Break" might be the wrong word. Sorry.)

I really do not understand this take from people.  For me, "Known Victims" is the peak of this record, perhaps being only topped by "Kenworth."

[k.p.g]

Coyote Sinkers - Silo Shuckers (American Tapes)
Speculum Spyked - Speculum Spyked (American Tapes)
Two LPs from the frozen depths of Michigan to help zone out after about an hour of shoveling snow this afternoon.  Something always cool about these mid-2000's LP from American is how they can really be played at any speed for your enjoyment (ask the man himself, he approves of the move).  I usually default to doing them on 33rpm, as that just means a great stretch of Inzanity, but decided to see what Coyote Sinkers would be like on 45. 

This group is a solid duo of Olson & Dilloway, and I am pretty sure it is the jam that led them to eventually forming Casket Sinkers.  Whereas that group has more of a balance in sounds between the two, this iteration feels more like Dilloway is playing second fiddle to Olson's horn and scrap madness.  On 45, it's a good effort, and reminds me of what later efforts from groups like Crazy Doberman would go on to do.

Speculum Spyked is Olson and Damion Romero.  Interesting, as I thought that the latter retired the Speculum Fight persona a while before this LP.  Well, let's not focus hard on semantics; this LP is great.  I play it strictly on 33.  Couldn't imagine it sped up. It's just so monolithic in a slower zone.  And given the styles of these two, they pair surprisingly well!  Olson let's Romero's sound haunt the majority of the mix, never overplaying too much.  This is a far chiller listen to wind into the evening with between the two records.

[Fistfuck Masonanie]

Merzbow & John Wiese - Akashaplexia

Finally getting around to listening to this anticipated and massive release.

The two artists share a number of releases together now, but they have all been mail collabs or live recorded performances to this point. Never an in studio release before. I'm very curious about what that process was like. What kind of concepts or boundaries did they discuss before hitting record, if any, or is it all off the cuff?

When I first read that this was recorded in a single day, I imagined the two sitting in a room and fleshing out a vision for an entire multi-disc album and completing it in that same day. Which seemed astonishing.

Now listening, what seems more likely, is that the two jammed in studio and then John took those recordings and edited or arranged them together for the final product. I would be very surprised otherwise with how highly articulate the sounds are and how they transition at what would be a "telekinetic" pace for a live collaboration.

Disc 1 | Garden Path Sentence:
Highly erratic and fast-paced audio collage. Many details flow in and out of focus, piano and percussive samples, manipulated tape warble, and/or vinyl tabletop abuse. At times, it reminds me of Masami's 80s output in the more dadaistic realm. There is a segment that feels like getting sucked into a tornado. Glimpses of voices cut through the wind, and great samples of glass shards and debris are flying about. As the 45-minute track progresses, it transitions flawlessly in and out of new segments. Some are harsher, some focus on looped and sampled elements from a wide variety of timbres and resources. It never dips into completely familiar or expected territories and kept me actively listening throughout. There are no lulls. Always something squiggling under the microscope to zoom in on. New details are being introduced and just as quickly and cleverly pulled away.

Disc 2 | Bleskam (Action Sphere / Maya):
This transitions nicely from the first disc. A little more subdued audio collage starts things off. Not as frantic and fast-paced as disc 1. Sounds like an old record needle jumping from vinyl to vinyl and catching small pieces of melodies, but never lasting long enough to identify a source. Actually reminded me of Max J Eastman a bit. It transitions into this Alice in Wonderland-like nightmare with chiming clocks, psychedelic bits, and a loop that sounds like it originated from the basement of an insane asylum. This disc feels strikingly similar in spirit to something like a modern-day Batztoutai with Material Gadgets, which I was really surprised to hear Masami do in this day and age. I really enjoyed this disc, and it's my favorite so far.

Disc 3 | Glass Has Vanished:
Disc 3 starts off ominous... a bass tone undulating at a low volume. Mechanical creaking loops in an unsettling fashion. What sounds like radio play creeps into the mix. This isn't the first time on this boxset either. I can't tell if it's tried and true old school radio play, or just the way samples are sliced and diced. It certainly replicates that feel, which is another factor of this release that reminds me of experimental 80s Merzbow like Batztoutai. From there, we get one of the rare instances of some sweeping noise filters or more traditional pedal like harsh noise. Not a lot of that across the discs so far. Everything I've described above has already happened in the first 5 minutes. While this disc is not a straight-up harsh noise track, it has the most harsh noise elements of any of the discs so far. My other favorite element on this particular disc is the haunting and dissonant use of church organ in the second half. Bizarre and fantastic.

Disc 4 | Higashiikebukuro Bouquet Divisions:
Bubbling, percolating, and squiggly synthesizer soup with white noise blasts. Easily the harshest start to any of the discs. The first two hours were just warm up! John and Masami start cooking with gas now. All of the previously mentioned elements through the discs, like loops, sampling, and other audio collage is still very present on this disc. Everything is just kicked up a notch on the harshness meter. It also really builds into a schizophrenic frenzy with how quickly the sounds are spliced in and out. There is also this screeching string instrument introduced that really cuts through the mix. At the peak of madness... it cuts out, and we get the closest thing to silence across the 4 discs yet. John and Masami tinker with more microcosmic details and mechanical jerky loops which build back up gradually into new frenzies.

I mentioned earlier, but I have been extremely impressed and surprised by this release. I wasn't sure what to expect and assumed it would be more of a collection of "live" long-form improvised pedal and laptop noise jams similar to the recent EKA Varna, but more thought-out and thematic than that release. However, what we get is a highly detailed, articulated, and meticulously arranged amalgam of audio collage. Somewhat similar to 80s Merzbow dadaist releases like Batztoutai. Very nice.

[Minus1]

Merzbow & John Wiese - Akashaplexia

Finally getting around to listening to this anticipated and massive release.

The two artists share a number of releases together now, but they have all been mail collabs or live recorded performances to this point. Never an in studio release before. I'm very curious about what that process was like. What kind of concepts or boundaries did they discuss before hitting record, if any, or is it all off the cuff?

When I first read that this was recorded in a single day, I imagined the two sitting in a room and fleshing out a vision for an entire multi-disc album and completing it in that same day. Which seemed astonishing.

Now listening, what seems more likely, is that the two jammed in studio and then John took those recordings and edited or arranged them together for the final product. I would be very surprised otherwise with how highly articulate the sounds are and how they transition at what would be a "telekinetic" pace for a live collaboration.

Disc 1 | Garden Path Sentence:
Highly erratic and fast-paced audio collage. Many details flow in and out of focus, piano and percussive samples, manipulated tape warble, and/or vinyl tabletop abuse. At times, it reminds me of Masami's 80s output in the more dadaistic realm. There is a segment that feels like getting sucked into a tornado. Glimpses of voices cut through the wind, and great samples of glass shards and debris are flying about. As the 45-minute track progresses, it transitions flawlessly in and out of new segments. Some are harsher, some focus on looped and sampled elements from a wide variety of timbres and resources. It never dips into completely familiar or expected territories and kept me actively listening throughout. There are no lulls. Always something squiggling under the microscope to zoom in on. New details are being introduced and just as quickly and cleverly pulled away.

Disc 2 | Bleskam (Action Sphere / Maya):
This transitions nicely from the first disc. A little more subdued audio collage starts things off. Not as frantic and fast-paced as disc 1. Sounds like an old record needle jumping from vinyl to vinyl and catching small pieces of melodies, but never lasting long enough to identify a source. Actually reminded me of Max J Eastman a bit. It transitions into this Alice in Wonderland-like nightmare with chiming clocks, psychedelic bits, and a loop that sounds like it originated from the basement of an insane asylum. This disc feels strikingly similar in spirit to something like a modern-day Batztoutai with Material Gadgets, which I was really surprised to hear Masami do in this day and age. I really enjoyed this disc, and it's my favorite so far.

Disc 3 | Glass Has Vanished:
Disc 3 starts off ominous... a bass tone undulating at a low volume. Mechanical creaking loops in an unsettling fashion. What sounds like radio play creeps into the mix. This isn't the first time on this boxset either. I can't tell if it's tried and true old school radio play, or just the way samples are sliced and diced. It certainly replicates that feel, which is another factor of this release that reminds me of experimental 80s Merzbow like Batztoutai. From there, we get one of the rare instances of some sweeping noise filters or more traditional pedal like harsh noise. Not a lot of that across the discs so far. Everything I've described above has already happened in the first 5 minutes. While this disc is not a straight-up harsh noise track, it has the most harsh noise elements of any of the discs so far. My other favorite element on this particular disc is the haunting and dissonant use of church organ in the second half. Bizarre and fantastic.

Disc 4 | Higashiikebukuro Bouquet Divisions:
Bubbling, percolating, and squiggly synthesizer soup with white noise blasts. Easily the harshest start to any of the discs. The first two hours were just warm up! John and Masami start cooking with gas now. All of the previously mentioned elements through the discs, like loops, sampling, and other audio collage is still very present on this disc. Everything is just kicked up a notch on the harshness meter. It also really builds into a schizophrenic frenzy with how quickly the sounds are spliced in and out. There is also this screeching string instrument introduced that really cuts through the mix. At the peak of madness... it cuts out, and we get the closest thing to silence across the 4 discs yet. John and Masami tinker with more microcosmic details and mechanical jerky loops which build back up gradually into new frenzies.

I mentioned earlier, but I have been extremely impressed and surprised by this release. I wasn't sure what to expect and assumed it would be more of a collection of "live" long-form improvised pedal and laptop noise jams similar to the recent EKA Varna, but more thought-out and thematic than that release. However, what we get is a highly detailed, articulated, and meticulously arranged amalgam of audio collage. Somewhat similar to 80s Merzbow dadaist releases like Batztoutai. Very nice.

Aw Man, great writeup! Thanks. My fav of last year.

[k.p.g]

Black Leather Jesus / MSBR - Sonic Destruction (Deadline Recordings)
The original LP, in all its glory!  Love the hand stitched package that I assume Ramirez made for this one.  Speaking of, just how is this Black Leather Jesus side?  Well, fucking fantastic, for one.  Opens up feeling less like a full band effort, and more like a "pass the aux chord" around of stylings.  You get some guitar squelches, some rumble tumble crunch and even some vocal exercising before it all just explodes into that BLJ cacophony that is so deeply revered.  And with this particular era of the group, that cacophony is sitting almost exclusively in the mid-range, which I personally prefer to the group's more low end-heavy affairs.  Makes me imagine a group of people trapped in a mine, with each one fighting to make their voice heard the loudest.  Sometimes someone pokes through greater than another, but it is never really for too long.  Glorious.
MSBR jumps out the gate with just a ROAR.  Stupid to say, but I imagine Koji's synth to have a button that says "EVIL" written across it, as that just is the tone this fuckin' thing nails so perfectly that it had to have been dialed in to a key.  As much as I love Koji's more experimental routes he takes with the project, this is the sound that made me fall in love with MSBR to begin with.  It's relentless, unforgiving, and yet very unique in terms of its approach to harsh noise from other Japanese artists; far more American than anything else.  Even with the second track, despite it having its harsh moments, its far more spaced out than any other contemporaries in the region of that time.  This wouldn't feel too out of place in Michigan perhaps.  Lovely stuff all around.

While I bought this one initially to have my MSBR expand by one more, BLJ really came to play here.  Fantastic work on both ends.

Miscarriage - DOA (American Tapes)
Oh yeah, this the stuff.  20 years ago, the stars aligned and the grouping of John Olson, Greh Holger, Aaron Dilloway and Mike Connelly was formed to deliver this gnarly slab of midwest darkness.  The 4 of them each put their own version out on their respective label, but it ended up being the American one that I would come across in the bins of Hanson Records a few years back.  It comes with a bonus CDr attached, but that material honestly pales in comparison to the LP.  I'd almost go as far as to say it is "inessential." 
When it comes to the LP though, yeah, it is dark as hell, but also pretty aggressive for the personnel involved.  If I could compare it to anything else from this crew at the time, it would maybe be Wolf Eyes during the Human Animal period, but even this has far more PE leanings than that record did.  The vocals that crop up halfway through are maniacal.  I tried to pry Olson for who did 'em and got stonewalled.  It could really be any 4 of them, and that's a lovely mystery to have.  While that goes on, the typical Dilloway loops and Olson sax musings are drenched in nicely with layers of distortion of menacing synth drive.  It all comes together so nicely.  For a first (and really, only) outing, it's a great one.  I could have seen the makings for a more "legit" PE type of project for these 4 if they wanted to stick it out long-term, but then that begs the question of "would I still have the same sense of wonder about this LP if they did more?"  Sometimes you just have lightning in a bottle.

[Baglady]

MOGAO - Hidden God CD (Hiisi Prod, 2023)
Thought I had lost this CD forever, but finally it fell out when I was browsing for something else. Been wanting to revisit it for quite some time.
Beyond the rather weird cover, it's a very unassuming noise album if you don't pay attention (or if you just don't get it, hah). Rattling junk, frying electronics and feedback. Done to death, sure, but it's all in the details here - the perfect live room recording, the way the sounds just crack when it gets too much for the recording device (whatver that is), the instability, the dominance of brittle yet fierce mid frequencies, all the small debris flying around and the damn on-the-edge delivery. Fucking careless mastery. The whole package is bursting in the seams. My favorite noise album from the last five, six, seven years or so? Might just be. Had to scroll through a couple of distros to find another copy to give to a buddy just now. The world needs to know!

[k.p.g]

Violent Shogun - Banishment of Tyranny (Absurd Exposition)
It dropped in the final days of 2025, but this disc will be ranking highly in my final rankings for "Best of 2026."  Second listen in as many weeks.  After putting it on today, I had my laptop closed at work to sign a few documents.  About a minute into the first track, I said "nope, need to find a copy this instant," opened up my laptop back up and emailed the label. 
Remi's mingling of tape and synth work here is so damn satisfying to listen to.  Every sound burrows into your ear and grabs your attention.  There is harsh to be had, but it never feels too overbearing.  There is a lack of density to it that allows for dreamier tape sequences to have their prominent share in the mix.  The man told me he is using a pretty sparse set up, but it just feels like so much more is going on.  Maybe Remi doesn't want to give away too many secrets to how the sausage is made, and I totally love that.  My imagination runs wild as I picture the environment that bore these noises, and I smile.  Fantastic release. 

[HateSermon]

Toteslaut "Embalmed Isolation" cassette. Death Hymns.
Not what I would expect from Toteslaut but, then again, Toteslaut isn't always the same every release. Sometimes you get industrial noise, sometimes martial, sometimes... something else. This one is more like ignorant death / black metal trapped inside of a vacuum sealed latex body bag. Second track is the most noise-like, while tracks 1 and 3 are kick ass noisy metal bookends. Good tape, worth picking up.

Toteslaut "Kamakshi" cassette. Death Hymns.
Straight-to-tape sounding industrial noise with heavily delayed vocals buried in the mix. Now this is more my speed. Love the artwork on these releases, too. Heavy rubber xerox filth.

[k.p.g]

Star / Kadef - Wer Seinen Spaß Hat, Vermißt Die Trane Im Augenwinkel Nicht (Hospital Productions)
Glad I could get the ß onto here, otherwise I would have felt my German ancestors cursing me from the grave for trying to type out this title without it. 
As for the remaining content of this tape, the sound is great.  These artists blended together so well that I often had times keeping up when one started and the other began.  It's a total surrealist daydream.  Hints of musical bliss creep in, but that is never for too long.  Absurdity comes crashing down at every point.
The art is also straddling an interesting line between that dreamy aesthetic and the overtly "wars and whores" tinge that Hospital has on more PE-adjacent tapes.  I usually see that stuff and shrug past it, but I found myself studying the insert images for quite a bit.  The tinfoil art on the inside is the real mystery of this though.  It's pasted on so well, and I can see some sort of other imagery beneath it.  I really like the art as it is though, so I shouldn't pry at it any further.
A great release that you can interact with on a level deeper than just listening.  FUN!

Erik Nystrand - Brain Damaged by Head Meat (Head Meat)
Rock 'n Roll harsh noise!!!!!!!!!!  Yes, Nystrand is shredding his way through the six string here, and it is burnin' up my speakers.  You get some weirder content in here at points, but otherwise, it is straight to the point.  This and a cup of coffee will wake you up proper.

[Krigsverk]

XE – KYLMÄNÄ JA KOVANA (CD, WRATH)

It´s not like there is something new going on here - it is pure XE as we know it, and it is done good. Graphics sure to offend the uninitated as expected. Nothing new, but it does what it does effectively. The album is made up of three long tracks and it all clocks in at 39-ish minutes. The first two tracks are amazing, harsh as hell with very hateful snarling delivered vocals, high pitch feedback constantly attacking your ears and deep roaring feedback to massage your bowels. The third track is a bit slower, building up tensions, but it never explodes with the same ferocity as the two first ones. Lots of looping "arbeiter partei arbeiter partei arbeiter partei" gets a bit on my nerves maybe. But sum it up; great album.

[groesk]

Craniorachischisis - Craniorachischisis (2018)
pretty decent gorenoise, but not much else. has nothing else outside of pitched up gutturals and mostly repetitive drums. production does not help in making things more intense.

Homemade Snuff Film - Demo (2026)
cool gorenoise that was apparently made on accident due to guitar tuning issues on a goregrind band's recent album. so it was shipped out as a standalone project that may or may not get activity. hopefully it gets more releases than a single demo.

Intolitarian - Suicidal Allegiance (2016)
warnoise that is excessively repetitive. the drums have a really nice production. but the music stops and goes for 3-10 seconds at a time, then stops for 5 seconds. it's not because the tracks are short. and there's the nazi samples that don't make getting through this any better. but it is mercifully short.

[Fistfuck Masonanie]

Government Alpha / R.H.Y. Yau (Auscultare Research)

1997 cassette split. c30. Two of my all time favorite artists.

Yau side includes all of the beautiful/disgusting gastro-intestinal sounds and harsh blasting that made me fall in love with him all of those years ago. The use of silence, nauseating body sounds, and sudden eruptions is fantastic. Little to no rolling quarters or celery chewing on this one like on the Pure disc or other favorites. Mostly moist throat sounds and intense and sudden blasts of feedback and distortion. The occassional keyboard chord?! Some other chopped up sounds? Gets pretty saturated and harsh towards the end.

Government Alpha side starts with some glitched out skipping and rattling feedback. Feedback starts panning in the stereo field to fuck your ears straight up. Yoshida really uses the left and right channel well to keep you disoriented and shape his sound. Not sure if it's his use of wah-wah or something else, but there are these ascending and descending tones drifting in the beginning. Sudden cut out to weird vocal effects similar to Yau at one point! A lot of attention to detail to balancing thin and slicing feedback, with rumbling textures. Like a fine noise wine only Yoshida can serve up. Aged beautifully. 

A very nice moment in time captured for two highly impactful artists.

[Phenol]

Linija Mass – Mechano-Faktura CDR. The essence of industrial here. The inside sleeve states "Mehr Metall, mehr Maschinen" and that's exactly what you get: metal and machine noises on 4 lengthy tracks that have rhythmic features but can't necessarily be categorized as "music" per se. This one has a very spacious sound that puts you right onto the factory floor. If you like industrial in its purest form, Linija Mass delivers the goods as always.

[k.p.g]

Max Julian Eastman - Rapturing (Chemical Independence)
Decided I needed some god in my life after a brutal sleep.  Late night work had me sinning.  Perfect disc for this occasion.  It's a crude affair, but a magical one as well.  VHS processing and loop whimsy all crash and collide onto one another.  Max knows a good sound when he's found it, and will often exploit it from as many sides as possible once he's got it.  I have heard a few sounds on this one from previous releases, but embrace them with open arms again.  Lovely stuff.  At just 35 minutes in run time, it is one of those discs that makes me reflect on my own working process.  It serves as a good reminder that not every release needs to necessarily build upon the last or even "one-up" anything prior.  Sometimes, we just need a good collection of tracks to return to.  That's what this disc offers.  Good stuff.

Demon Life - Mind Fogger (Influencing Machine Records)
Feels weird to be posting this one now that I have done more research.  I wasn't sure when this was put out, as I just picked it up from Flanagan back in the summer.  But as I look now, it's not logged on Discogs, not announced by the label at all.  Hell, Influencing Machine hasn't even updated their website since 2019.  Huh.  Ok. 
Well, for those who may or may not know, this is the latest Demon Life CD, which is a follow-up to the 2023 tape they did.  That first tape left me a little underwhelmed after putting on some great performances across the Summer of 2022, where the group had some real "erratic occult" energy going for them.  Maybe downsizing the group from 4 to 3 in that time led to some sound changes.  So be it, not here to talk about that tape.  I am here to talk about this disc, which is a far better effort.  Sounds like the trio of Flanagan, Gick and Stella have a better understanding of how to fill the space between each other on this go around.  The disc hops between either drugged out psyjazz to glitchy space weirdness, with some scrap metal and other harsh to fill the in-between.  I found myself nodding along and enjoying, but couldn't help but be distracted by the more piercing glitch components.  Still, it overall makes for a good listen.
Hopefully this disc has some sort of proper rollout to it, as I think fans of all respective parties will enjoy.