To label Hijokaidan and Masonna "japan noise" appears accurate: They are noise from japan aren't they? Is there some confusion about any of these facts?
The moment when there is difficulty to give precise mathematically accurate rule, some people say it's "impossible". But it's not different from saying cold or hot water. Its not different from saying black or white. Even if there are things between, we acknowledge the difference of black and white and hot and cold. Some grey area between is irrelevant, if HARSH NOISE WALL basically has been often applied only to THE most static, THE most harsh (in context of utmost distortion of original sound signal, resulting mere distortion?). What sets apart "harsh noise wall" from traditional static long noise pieces, would appear to be most of all intent? Intent to focus only on this very minimal approach, where compositional structure may be almost non-existent - or perhaps more accurately to say: Happens only on level of microscopic distortion? If it's all sorts of throwing objects, screaming, guitars, drums, vivid electronics, it appears to be distance quite far from the
grey solid brick wall.
Usual examples:
The Rita
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zvQoTfgA8FoThe Rita / Werewolf Jerusalem
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7_ftL4DcdNgVomir
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wLzEgrHKxNMetc.
However, often project like Werewolf Jerusalem uses almost Chop Shop like quit cuts from one sound to another. Distracting flow of steady rumbling & crackling noise. And celebrated projects like Cherry Point and perhaps several releases of The Rita too, are more like normal quite dynamic harsh noise with plenty of modulation of drastic moves within the noise piece. Perhaps one should purchase AS LOUD AS POSSIBLE and read the article by The Rita related to this matter. And many of noise makers where doing stuff before term "HNW" was established.
When we talk of "modernism", it's most standard proceedings are: Manifest like approach taken for new expression, what seeks new purity, new restricted form. (Like purification of noise to even more monochrome and direct form.)
But most often they didn't born out of absolute nothing and it soon blends into everything else. It could be even up to debate whether the "MILITANT WALLS" merely had its sudden peak in 2005-2006 and was almost instantly watered down simply by calling just about anything HNW, despite it would be just noise.
What would be most militant output to summarize the genre? "Total Slitting Of Throats" CD? Perhaps! At the same time, very few involved projects are "HNW" in general. It was vision of The Rita where he went further from standard noise piece. If something like that CD and Vomir sets the standard for THE harsh noise wall, then it's pretty easy to see what remains merely good solid noise pieces? To check out the standard, CD's appear to be sold at discogs for less than 3 euro... HongKongGoolagong can get the reference of utmost "HNW" by listening for example Whitehouse "movement" tracks:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h9AXHfjGZ1YOh no! Vomir before Vomir, haha!
(old versions:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RthIrdP24yA Movement 1994.. I guess Movement 1982 is not in youtube? Step by step you hear growing level of "wall". Step by step, finally in utmost static purity. Take that example and transform it to developing "genre"? Movement 1982 was basically just track on great album. Movement 1994 stood out strongly in its minimalism, yet was had still plenty of compositional elements, 2001 = total brick wall of distort mayhem with everything stripped away)
