The best boxes!?

[tiny_tove]

GO: Save our slaves

[Krigsverk]

Jonathan Briley - Complete works

Awesome collection of old stuff you could hardly find anywhere before. "Kulturgärning" as we say in Sweden.


Vlad Tepes – A Catharsis For Human Illness

Maybe not completely complete, but damn near. Still puts all modern raw black metal bands to shame. The intricate riffing, melodies etc that hides under all the distortion and lo-fi recordings are gifts that keep giving.

Honorable mention: The tape version of ZSS "Anti-personnel explosive device"; a metal box full of broken glass and rusty nails. Almost impossible to open without shedding blood.

[Penon]

The most memorable was certainly Flutwacht - Traumsplitter

LP in an oversized carboard box with quite a few bits of broken ceramic. The package was very heavy!

[Minus1]

Oh wow. I randomly clicked on page 7 and found this thread. CD Box Sets are a big weakness....sorry....source of joy for me.

It all started with The Merzbox back in around 2000. I have stated elsewhere that this monster still brings me great joy. What I love about many (not all) boxes is that we often see CDs that would never get standalone releases, due to the "experimental" nature. Box sets often give "the whole story".

Merz also released other wonderful sets: Merzbient 12CD, Merzphysics 10CD, Houjoue 6CD, and my personal favourite 24hrs A Day Of Seals 4CD. God, these are all fantastic Noise boxes.

(Fanimal, did you get beyond CD4 of Merzbox yet?)

Of course, nobody talks about Bach, Beethoven, Mozart, etc here (do they?), but my Complete Editions are my most prized possessions. (Max Richter - Sleep 8CD, anyone?)

Anyway....I digressed...sorry...back to Noise etc...

I have the CCCC 4CD Early Works. God I love it.

Urashima boxes are so beautiful. I have Vomir 6CD, Rita-Nylons 4CD, Masonna-Coquette 4CD, and Gerog 10CD of secret recordings of people having sex. Does life get any better than this?

Right up there in my collection is Kevin Drumm - Elapsed Time 6CD. Many of these works are surprisingly "quiet". (This isn't just Noise sets, right?)

David Tudor has a wonderful 7CD - The Art Of David Tudor. It covers works from '63-'92.

Tudor's friend John Cage got a 4CD Asphodel release of Atlas Eclipticalis and 103. I wouldn't sell it for $1000.

How about "Hard Jazz"? Albert Ayler 4CD Revelations is a revel....oh nevermind.

I could go on and on about this....but I'll shut up now and end with the best:

Roland Kayn!!!

16CD A Little Electronic Milky Way Of Sound.

10CD Scanning.

15CD The Ortho Project.

For me these 3 are an intersection of Noise / Experimental / Classical. They are monufuckingmental.

(I will now search the forum for Kayn. You should too!!)

There are many suggestions in this thread that I shall research. One of my great regrets in life: Not owning Incapacitants Stupid Box.

Edit: I did a search for Kayn and found only 1-2 fleeting mentions. If I can do one good thing at this forum, it will be to convince at least a few people to check him out. My mission is now clear.  :)

[k.p.g]

A few recent/previously unmentioned boxes...

David Gilden - Texas Pillbox (Fusty Cunt) ... 16xCS set
I snapped on getting the tape box of this one, and it did not disappoint in my first round of knocking all the tapes out.  I have since revisited two of the tapes; those being the notoriously horrible second tape that got omitted from the CD reissue and the Lingula tape.  Tape two is still horrible, and the Lingula tape, while not as mind-blowing as it was on first listen, is still really good.  Maybe a third listen to that one will make it sway back into "masterpiece" zone.  I meant to check out more of them by this time, but ended up packing the set into a box for moving.  I will make it a point to revisit upon unpacking.

Wolf Eyes - Box of Drolls (Disciples/Lower Floor Music) ... 3xCD set
Out of all the series this band has done over the years, Droll is my favorite.  When this box was announced, I saw it as a great opportunity to listen to some of the earlier entries that had alluded my ears.  The editing and collaging of these expansive tapes feels like it was handled with care by all involved.  I found myself picking up a few of these discs throughout last year when I needed something to zone out to.  You can always count on Wolf Eyes for that.

Merzbow - Last of Analog Sessions (Important Records) ... 3xCD set
Apparently this box is pretty pricy nowadays.  Think I found it in a record store for... 20 bucks?  Nice.
I did not want to feel left out on all the Merzbow mentions here, and this is the one boxset of his I own.  I remember ripping all 3 discs on a weekender with my band once, and it wore us out before we even got to our first gig... hah.
Given the title, I like to imagine that Masami said "fuck it, let me go ALL OUT," and ripped some of his most devastating work of the 90s.  I revisit this material & Material Gadgets the most out of any Merzbow I physically own.  Given that 2/3 of the discs on this set are shorter than the average Merzbow record of this era, ripping through the set is still something I can do when the mood is right.  A good portion of the full set can be found on YouTube if you are interested.   

K2 - Sexencyclopedia (New Forces, reissue) ... 5xCD set
I think I can say that this was my first ever boxset.  I was a casual K2 fan at the time, but wanted to learn more.  So I bought this, ripped through all 5 CDs in under a week and was totally burnt out on listening to him for the next year or so... oops.
I got into earlier K2 in the years that came after, and felt less inclined to revisit this box (or any "super harsh" material from this project) until last summer.  Coming back to it after all this time now though, I can really appreciate how unrelenting it is.  Even the bonus disc has some worthwhile material on it.  I gotta shout out New Forces for putting this one out, as it brought a lot of attention back to the power of K2 in the 2020s.

[Minus1]

Oh dear. This place is dangerous.

k.p.g. above sent me down the K2 rabbit hole. (I hate to admit that I somehow missed the K2 train.)

But after some intense research, the 6CD Urashima box - Burst After Burst shall henceforth be coming my way, thank you very much Scream And Writhe.

So...how did I do?

[BatteredStatesofEuphoria]

David Gilden - Texas Pillbox (Fusty Cunt) ... 16xCS set
I snapped on getting the tape box of this one, and it did not disappoint in my first round of knocking all the tapes out.  I have since revisited two of the tapes; those being the notoriously horrible second tape that got omitted from the CD reissue and the Lingula tape.  Tape two is still horrible, and the Lingula tape, while not as mind-blowing as it was on first listen, is still really good.  Maybe a third listen to that one will make it sway back into "masterpiece" zone.  I meant to check out more of them by this time, but ended up packing the set into a box for moving.  I will make it a point to revisit upon unpacking.

Over in the Gilden thread, I was wondering about this and admittedly gave it (not intentionally but in retrospect) an impossible hill to climb by asking how well it compared to the Skin Crime box in terms of consistency.

Well, I did end up picking up the CD version, and have been slowly making my way through it. And honestly, maybe it wasn't such an impossible hill. I think when its all said and done it will be right there with Skin Crime. I've listened to 11 of the 18 discs so far, and they're all great. And he reason I am going it through so slowly is I want to keep listening to each CD multiple times. I'll probably do a full sum-up in the Gilden thread eventually.

Merzbow - Last of Analog Sessions (Important Records) ... 3xCD set
Apparently this box is pretty pricy nowadays.  Think I found it in a record store for... 20 bucks?  Nice.
I did not want to feel left out on all the Merzbow mentions here, and this is the one boxset of his I own.  I remember ripping all 3 discs on a weekender with my band once, and it wore us out before we even got to our first gig... hah.
Given the title, I like to imagine that Masami said "fuck it, let me go ALL OUT," and ripped some of his most devastating work of the 90s.  I revisit this material & Material Gadgets the most out of any Merzbow I physically own.  Given that 2/3 of the discs on this set are shorter than the average Merzbow record of this era, ripping through the set is still something I can do when the mood is right.  A good portion of the full set can be found on YouTube if you are interested.

This one is pretty much worth it for Disc 2- Medamaya alone. The sound is massive even for him, and yet you can hear every little nuance. Right there with Noiseembryo and Pulse Demon as one of the most pummeling things he's done.

K2 - Sexencyclopedia (New Forces, reissue) ... 5xCD set

My only complaint about Sexencyclopedia is the final live track on disc 3. Considering its K2+Incapacitants, you would expect something magical. Instead, its just....there. Passable, I guess. Some electronic noodling. The occasional shout. But I keep expecting some monster to leap out of the speakers and leave everything around me a smoking pile of ruins, and am sadly disappointed.

Leaving that aside, the rest is pretty much flawless.

[moozz]

I've mentioned it in another thread but all this Merzbow talk makes me wanna say it here too: some of the Slowdown Records 6xCD Merzbow boxes are great. I especially like Metallic that has archival material from 1993-1995. That era to me is like the golden years of Merzbow. The 6xCD before that one is Tapestry Of Noise which collects archival material from 1989-1991. Absolutely nothing wrong with that period either! That box has an alternative mix for Cloud Cock 00 Grand and source tapes(?) and/or alternative mixes(?) for Crash For Hi-Fi. Plus 4 other discs.

If you love all Merzbow no matter if the cringiest early experimental stuff or the laziest laptop stuff you can always get the box that contains 10 of these 6xCD boxes. After that if you're still craving for more there is also the box of 6 of the 6xCD archival boxes that concentrates on material recorded from 2006 onwards. After those if you are STILL dying for more I think you should get your head checked.

[k.p.g]

Over in the Gilden thread, I was wondering about this and admittedly gave it (not intentionally but in retrospect) an impossible hill to climb by asking how well it compared to the Skin Crime box in terms of consistency.

Thanks for reminding me of the Skin Crime box... finally got it after all these years, just to get only through disc 4... sigh..

My only complaint about Sexencyclopedia is the final live track on disc 3. Considering its K2+Incapacitants, you would expect something magical. Instead, its just....there. Passable, I guess. Some electronic noodling. The occasional shout. But I keep expecting some monster to leap out of the speakers and leave everything around me a smoking pile of ruins, and am sadly disappointed.

Leaving that aside, the rest is pretty much flawless.

Ah shit, I forgot about that track.  Seeing as though I have never dug Incapacitants, I am curious to see how I will feel about this one. 

[Balor/SS1535]

I've mentioned it in another thread but all this Merzbow talk makes me wanna say it here too: some of the Slowdown Records 6xCD Merzbow boxes are great. I especially like Metallic that has archival material from 1993-1995. That era to me is like the golden years of Merzbow. The 6xCD before that one is Tapestry Of Noise which collects archival material from 1989-1991. Absolutely nothing wrong with that period either! That box has an alternative mix for Cloud Cock 00 Grand and source tapes(?) and/or alternative mixes(?) for Crash For Hi-Fi. Plus 4 other discs.

If you love all Merzbow no matter if the cringiest early experimental stuff or the laziest laptop stuff you can always get the box that contains 10 of these 6xCD boxes. After that if you're still craving for more there is also the box of 6 of the 6xCD archival boxes that concentrates on material recorded from 2006 onwards. After those if you are STILL dying for more I think you should get your head checked.

I have been tempted to get the 60cd one, but it looks like there is some overlap with the original Merzbox?  Good to hear which of the smaller sets are worth picking up though, as I (someone who should get his head checked) am always in the market for more Merzbow...

[MT]

Masonna - Exploring Self-Corrosive Noise With Coquette 7 tape box

Not yet mentioned here? Such a great box set, includes all essential Masonna (in my opinion). Best of the wild early steps of Masonna with vocal madness and pure pedal noise mastery. Of course Masonna had great albums outside of this box, but for my taste of Masonna this has it all.

[PTM Jim]

David Gilden - Texas Pillbox (Fusty Cunt) ... 16xCS set
I snapped on getting the tape box of this one, and it did not disappoint in my first round of knocking all the tapes out.  I have since revisited two of the tapes; those being the notoriously horrible second tape that got omitted from the CD reissue and the Lingula tape.  Tape two is still horrible, and the Lingula tape, while not as mind-blowing as it was on first listen, is still really good.  Maybe a third listen to that one will make it sway back into "masterpiece" zone.  I meant to check out more of them by this time, but ended up packing the set into a box for moving.  I will make it a point to revisit upon unpacking.

Over in the Gilden thread, I was wondering about this and admittedly gave it (not intentionally but in retrospect) an impossible hill to climb by asking how well it compared to the Skin Crime box in terms of consistency.

Well, I did end up picking up the CD version, and have been slowly making my way through it. And honestly, maybe it wasn't such an impossible hill. I think when its all said and done it will be right there with Skin Crime. I've listened to 11 of the 18 discs so far, and they're all great. And he reason I am going it through so slowly is I want to keep listening to each CD multiple times. I'll probably do a full sum-up in the Gilden thread eventually.

Even in putting it out, the Gilden box, while very good material, simply cannot beat the SKIN CRIME box.
To me, SC box is the absolute top of the mountain and a lesson in how a retrospective can be perfected.

In saying that, I'm very happy people are liking the Gilden set.



To add to this list:
Mauthausen Orchestra - Gravitational Arch Of Sex 12xCS (Original, not the yucky "reissue"): Total perfection.

Murder Corporation - The New Crimes 8xCS: Does anyone else actually have this? I don't know anyone else that does. Amazing. Fulfilling. An endurance test, but not a chore to listen to.
(oh nevermind, I forgot Menstrual did an 8 CD reissue. It's in your best interest to grab one if you can)

BLJ - Wise Men Still Seek Him 4xCS: early box of 4 VERY good tapes.

Moonblood – Lunar Chronicles Occvlt 12xCS +CD: Great set of demos/rehearsals and albums.

[BatteredStatesofEuphoria]

Thanks for reminding me of the Skin Crime box... finally got it after all these years, just to get only through disc 4... sigh..

Definitely make some time for the rest. After 4 is where the real classic material really kicks in. Not that the first 4 disc are bad at all, either. Its great to hear how the sound developed from the early scattershot experiments on Prenatal and crude tape manipulation and filth (in a good way) of Desecration, then see all that refined in Eyestrain and Genetal Modification, until it fully blooms into that "classic" SC 90s sound from Urge on.

Even in putting it out, the Gilden box, while very good material, simply cannot beat the SKIN CRIME box.
To me, SC box is the absolute top of the mountain and a lesson in how a retrospective can be perfected.

In saying that, I'm very happy people are liking the Gilden set.

Case Studies... is definitely at the summit, but there's nothing wrong with being a few feet below it. :P I can definitely see how it influenced some of your thinking when putting the Gilden box together, and I will say if there's one way thing Texas Pillbox does win its the artwork. Amazing presentation all around.

I actually have a question about the material that I'm curious about. Disc 16 is labeled Magico Ritual, while Disc 17 is labeled Unknown Outtakes. But 16 clearly has several (7 in all, I think?) pieces on it, even though its only 1 track on the CD, whereas 17 is one long, continuous track. I assume the titles may have come from how whatever masters you obtained were labeled? Given the plural wording "Unknown Outtakes," which implies more than one, I wonder, is it possible 16 and 17 were mislabled and were actually switched?

Its not anything earth shattering, but its a wrinkle I find interesting. Maybe it's just yet another enigma to add to the list around Mr. Gilden. In any case, the fact that something with such a mundane, unassuming title as "Unknown Outtakes" is one of my favorites of the box so far speaks to the overall quality of the material.

[BatteredStatesofEuphoria]

Oh dear. This place is dangerous.

k.p.g. above sent me down the K2 rabbit hole. (I hate to admit that I somehow missed the K2 train.)

But after some intense research, the 6CD Urashima box - Burst After Burst shall henceforth be coming my way, thank you very much Scream And Writhe.

So...how did I do?

Burst After Burst is overall a good purchase, but just be aware that only the final two discs represent the same kind of sound as on Sexencyclopedia (the metal junk, cut up period, his "Phase 2" as he refers to it). The first three are earlier works, and more industrial noise, but they are all enjoyable.

The fourth disc, De Novo is basically him doing junk noise without the afore-mentioned fast cutups and edits. Its the only one I find I don't ever spin repeatedly as I find it kind of boring. Its interesting from a historical standpoint to hear as a point in his development, but imho, what it really proves is that adding the cutups and featuring more of the friktor bass is what gave his sound energy and took it to the next level.

[Minus1]

Oh dear. This place is dangerous.

k.p.g. above sent me down the K2 rabbit hole. (I hate to admit that I somehow missed the K2 train.)

But after some intense research, the 6CD Urashima box - Burst After Burst shall henceforth be coming my way, thank you very much Scream And Writhe.

So...how did I do?

Burst After Burst is overall a good purchase, but just be aware that only the final two discs represent the same kind of sound as on Sexencyclopedia (the metal junk, cut up period, his "Phase 2" as he refers to it). The first three are earlier works, and more industrial noise, but they are all enjoyable.

The fourth disc, De Novo is basically him doing junk noise without the afore-mentioned fast cutups and edits. Its the only one I find I don't ever spin repeatedly as I find it kind of boring. Its interesting from a historical standpoint to hear as a point in his development, but imho, what it really proves is that adding the cutups and featuring more of the friktor bass is what gave his sound energy and took it to the next level.

Wonderful info - thanks! I'm happy about the "journey" that this set takes.

So....um....

I researched the Gilden and Skin Crime sets. I can't find Skin Crime anywhere.

I found Gilden though.

I went to the Gilden thread. I played a few things. I went to other places for some info.

And then I clicked Pay Now. 😂

I had never even heard of Gilden until this thread. Thank you! (I think?)

I may have to go away for a while...