DECIBEL magazine, August 2014: "The Noise Issue"

[Brad]

Picked this up at the magazine shop today, haven't read all of it yet.  Cover artist is Godflesh, but there are also pages devoted to the Japanoise scene, Prurient, Pharmakon, Theologian, etc. Here is their "Top 25 Noise Albums Of All Time" list:

1. Hanatarash - Hanatarash 3
2. Brighter Death Now - Innerwar
3. Francisco Lopez - Absolute Noise Ensemble
4. Harry Pussy - In an Emergency You Can Shit on a Puerto Rican Whore
5. The Nihilist Spasm Band - No Record
6. Kevin Drumm - Sheer Hellish Miasma
7. SPK - Information Overload Unit
8. Merzbow - 1930
9. Borbetomagus - Barbed Wire Maggots
10. AMM - Ammmusic
11. Noise Nomads - Ernest Thrasher
12. Emil Beaulieau - Emil Beaulieau Has a Relapse
13. Total - Beyond the Rim
14. Sutcliffe Jugend - When Pornography Is No Longer Enough
15. Theologian - The Chasms of My Heart
16. Various Artists - The Sound of Hate, Volume 2
17. Fushitsusha - Purple Trap: The Wound That Was Given Birth Must Be Bigger Than the Would that Gave Birth
18. M.B. - [Activitat]
19. Wolf Eyes - Burned Mind
20. NON - Physical Evidence
21. Smegma - Pigs for Lepers
22. Paul Dolden - Seuil de Silences
23. Prurient - And Still, Wanting
24. Whitehouse - Total Sex
25. Aube - Cardiac Strain

[Mikerdeath]

Decibel magazine is a joke and they are making a mockery of the genres they report on with what they choose to publish.

[eyestrain]

While it certainly isn't my top 25 list, nor am I a fan of Decibel in any way; I do have to give them the slightest credit for picking obscure and fairly decent albums. Nobody gets mentioned twice and it isn't a bunch of industrial-metal or high-gain black metal. A nice starting point for the uninformed regardless of the shoddy source. Were the features made by relevant people or is if just whomever Decibel could ask?

[Bloated Slutbag]

While it certainly isn't my top 25 list, nor am I a fan of Decibel in any way; I do have to give them the slightest credit for picking obscure and fairly decent albums.

I'm going with eyestrain on this note. Don't need to peruse another list with Noisembryo and Gallon Gravy at the top. Credit too for the Paul Dolden pick,  someone I've been meaning to get back to. May just, after sucking down, through the teeth of a cast iron smile, the newly released Renaldo And The Loaf reissue.

[Brad]

Were the features made by relevant people or is if just whomever Decibel could ask?

Definitely the latter, it's a pretty nonsensical assortment.  The "noise issue" section covers: Cut Hands, Hark, Prurient, Blood Circle Sun, Pharmakon, Theologian, T.O.M.B., KEN mode (in a reacting-to-other-records type of article), Bastard Noise, The Austerity Program, Boris, article on the origins of Japanese noise in general, Steve Albini (mostly talking about Shellac), Melvins, Godflesh.

[tiny_tove]

just a question, who is this?

Harry Pussy - In an Emergency You Can Shit on a Puerto Rican Whore

[eyestrain]

Were the features made by relevant people or is if just whomever Decibel could ask?

Definitely the latter, it's a pretty nonsensical assortment.  The "noise issue" section covers: Cut Hands, Hark, Prurient, Blood Circle Sun, Pharmakon, Theologian, T.O.M.B., KEN mode (in a reacting-to-other-records type of article), Bastard Noise, The Austerity Program, Boris, article on the origins of Japanese noise in general, Steve Albini (mostly talking about Shellac), Melvins, Godflesh.

!!!!!

Yikes

[Andrew McIntosh]

Whoever put that list together has a very genuine desire for, and very personal view of the genre, which I applaud. Either that or it's the most clued-in guessing I've seen, which I'll just gaze in what-the-fuck at. Delighted to see Brighter Death Now rated higher over Wolf Eyes, Whitehouse, Prurient and Non - that alone deserves plaudits.

[2pf cell]

just a question, who is this?

Harry Pussy - In an Emergency You Can Shit on a Puerto Rican Whore

harry pussy were a fucking incredible band. normally two guitars and drums, with the drummer (adris) screaming and shrieking too.
on first listens they sound like totally hell for leather guitar rock noise; but after a while you realise that the guitarists know exactly what they're playing...
one of those guitarists grew up to be bill orcutt.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oqwtXeI1AFo

john peel gave them the best description of all time: "harry pussy - what yr parents think sonic youth sound like"

[2pf cell]

also, adris hoyos rules.

[Bloated Slutbag]

Well, they were at least as Bananafish-worthy as Caroliner, though in the general soundsphere of Emergency... no pun intended I'm sure...  I'd more readily pick, say, Tokyo Anal Dynamite. Squeaked in on the title?

[Leewar]

Prurient, Pharmakon = zzzzzzzzzzzzzz. Like i dont hear enough about this overrated, dull hipster garbage.

[FreakAnimalFinland]

12. Emil Beaulieau - Emil Beaulieau Has a Relapse
is curious choice! It was album meant to on Release Records, but once label got the master, they cancelled release. I recall some quite amusing vocals of Emil doing kind of humoristic remarks of toughness of some Relapse bands. I guess only quite small run on CDR format was done by RRR.

I'm supportive for any noise info on almost any magazine out there. This was the way how many people used to first get in touch with obscure genres. I would still suspect few people live outside flood of internet information. Gateway to new things, maybe?

[whiteheatnoise]

Not that this list is to be taken seriously, but my first thought after reading this was "no Macronympha?!?"

[Brad]

Whoever put that list together has a very genuine desire for, and very personal view of the genre, which I applaud. Either that or it's the most clued-in guessing I've seen, which I'll just gaze in what-the-fuck at.

The Top 25 list was written by Scott Seward, who owns a record store called John Doe Jr. in Greenfield, MA.