No. I did not forget---just a bit late in my timezone (but still on time)!
It's been a long time since I last listened to disc 1---probably since I did my last full-listen of the Merzbox. I don't recall it making much of an impression on me then, and I can't say it did to me now either, though I now (with an added few years of listening more widely to noise) appreciate it more. In many ways, it sounds pretty typical for "noise" of the period? Or at very least, it fits well alongside a certain strand of extremely minimal, drone-like noise that appeared in the late 1970s and early 80s. While dated now, it's interesting to see how Merzbow started with something so minimal and then developed towards the opposite extreme!
It makes me think, is there anyone still making noise that consists of such simple drones/rhythyms---that is not turning into HNW?