PLAYLIST with COMMENTS/REVIEWS

[bitewerksMTB]

Die Schönste Musik Of Japan Vol. 1 (Geschmack Records)- interesting comp. that features very little of what I expected. Merzbow is manipulating & playing with metal but it never gets very harsh but threatens to at a few different spots; Gero. is pretty noisy. I've heard very little from this infamous act so can't compare to anything else; Incapacitants do a piercing piece but leave a lot of space in between the harshness to give it all a little bit of breathing room; Dissecting Table does screeching, quirky synth n' percussion; S-Core sounds like a gong (or cymbal) loop being manipulated; Grim is the noisiest here with Mauthausen Orch-type screeching & Self-Terror is the most obscure act  with a heavy, noisy loops that may be junk metal that changes over the course of 8 minutes.

[Yrjö-Koskinen]

RASTHOF DACHAU ‎– Blut Und Boden, LP
Revisit on account of the new cassette version released by "friends of Steinklang", but sold through Steinklang (still a bunch of copies available). The tapes are a little steep at 12 Euros, but if you're not fortunate enough to own the vinyl or CD, it's money well spent. The introductory track "Exitus" is one of them anthems we keep hearing about these days. "Was geschieht im Augenblick des Todens? Was geschieht danach...?" And when that distorted, filter sweeping synth rhythm comes marching in... Jesus Christ, it's Beauty itself manifest. Some might find this album, as well as much else of Steinklang's output, a little soft around the edges soundwise, but I'm so adult now that I really don't care anymore. I remember reading something about Mika of Impaled Nazarene judging "Soumi Finland Perkele" to be kind of a sell-out album, and disregarding Steinklang releases because of their comparatively high production value really amounts to something similar. "Total War" isn't a sellout/commercial track anywhere in the real world, nor is anything on Blut on Boden sell-out or easily digested - despite the fact that this may well be one of the most accessible extreme industrial/PE albums ever made. A perfect balance of provocative/in your face stuff and suggestive "social" commentary despite consisting mainly of clear-cut deutsch-industrial. Necessary stuff.

V/A - ...And Even Wolves Hid Their Teeth And Tongue Wherever Shelter Was Given, CD
A release that was instrumental for me when it came to getting down with the industrial sheit, and which is well worth returning to every once in a while to reevaluate my relationship to music and such things. Still all-but perfect. While I haven't followed many of the bands on their future pursuits, I still love every single track on this comp, even the less digestible ones, and many a love-affair with experimental and industrial music began right here. Old Mortiis (excellently resurrected lately), Ordo Equilibrio (only ever liked 1-2 track from each of their albums at all, but this was one of them), Mental Destruction (yes!) and so on... Incidentally, this album gave MZ-412 the opportunity to become my introduction to truly non-musical music. Even if it took a few more years to really "get it", I pumped the lifeless/soulless spirituality of "God Of Fifty Names" more times than I can count back in the day. Speaking of anthems, Deutsch Nepal's "Gouge Free Market" needs to be mentioned as well.

Alcohol and industrial is the way.

[l.b.]

RASTHOF DACHAU ‎– Blut Und Boden, LP
[...] Some might find this album, as well as much else of Steinklang's output, a little soft around the edges soundwise [...] this may well be one of the most accessible extreme industrial/PE albums ever made.

agree it's a great record but is much different from the entire rest of their catalog, which is closer to what might call "traditional" power electronics, compared to this first lp which is largely absent of vocals, constructed of hi-fi loops and digital synth etc. from '98, you'd think by now people would have moved on from griping about the (admittedly sometimes-corny) "over"-production of steinklang, cmi, loki found etc. after 20 years cant we get over "necro" tape sound?

[ConcreteMascara]

The Haters - Death-Defying Sickness CD - Noisopoly - I bought this at least 5 years ago and I don't think I've ever listened to it. found it while re-organizing some shit and I'm happy I did. just a massive, slowly moving wave of noise for an hour. i love the delightful baseline tone in the mid/right channel that keeps everything static and moving simultaneously. and then it's a lot of left-of-mid harsh coming in and out, regularly modulated. it's not easy to keep any piece of music engage for an hour straight but The Haters make it seem fucking easy here.

[Acne]

Sigillum S ‎– Trance Flexure - I haven't listened to Sigillum S in a while, I love Bardo Thos-Grol and used that as inspiration to make some dark ambient stuff a few years ago but never really revisited. Didn't realize that TF was the first release and listened to it while walking around on this awesome sunny day - great vocals and some awesome synth driven dark ambient, some of the vocals right towards the beginning of the album didn't seem to fit and a few times i found the transitions to be a bit jarring but overall it was awesome especially for 1986. Found myself wanting to take a halfstep back from making harsh noise to smoothing things out a bit.

[bitewerksMTB]

The New Blockaders "The History of Nothing" cd (siren) & 2 discs from the " Gesamtnichtswerk" 4-disc set

Both releases are pretty much mandatory if you're into TNB esp. the 4-disc set as it has the early work plus some unrel. early work that was re-worked later on. It's interesting comparing the debut LP as it isn't very harsh. It has its moments of brutal scraping but it's mostly dragging & some weird popping-type sounds. I'll be getting to the final 2 discs soon.

The best piece on "T.H.O.N." is an unrel.'d track that was reworked into a sort of cut-up track that has looped music with some very harsh noise sections.

Did anyone here get to experience TNB live in the early '80s? Was it the brothers plus others as members; what type of junk, etc.? I'm not sure I've ever seen photos or read anything..

[Theodore]

Holding the new -2019 self released- Treriksroset cassette in my hands i was wondering what is that make Treriksroset stand out. Is it my own bias ? What established my opinion ? A believer questioning the dogma of his faith. Thomas wanting to touch the wounds. I start listening with this spirit, trying to pay attention to details, to analyze the structure, to understand why ! Took me 10 minutes, i understood, i knew ! Cant explain it, i dont have the technical knowledge, neither my english help me. Actualy i dont have that talent, to put music in words, i cant, not even in my language. But i know why ! It's here and it's real ! Treriksroset's superiority, Treriksroset's truth !

Relieved, i surrended with confidence. The next hour i saw miracles happen, stigmata on my body, gates of noise heaven opened and i walked in.

Silence, klank, cassette ended. - Me, more convinced than ever, ready to kill and be killed for my faith. Crusade ! Do you believe ?

[brutalist_tapes]

Holding the new -2019 self released- Treriksroset cassette in my hands i was wondering what is that make Treriksroset stand out. Is it my own bias ? What established my opinion ? A believer questioning the dogma of his faith. Thomas wanting to touch the wounds. I start listening with this spirit, trying to pay attention to details, to analyze the structure, to understand why ! Took me 10 minutes, i understood, i knew ! Cant explain it, i dont have the technical knowledge, neither my english help me. Actualy i dont have that talent, to put music in words, i cant, not even in my language. But i know why ! It's here and it's real ! Treriksroset's superiority, Treriksroset's truth !

Relieved, i surrended with confidence. The next hour i saw miracles happen, stigmata on my body, gates of noise heaven opened and i walked in.

Silence, klank, cassette ended. - Me, more convinced than ever, ready to kill and be killed for my faith. Crusade ! Do you believe ?

excellent comments and yeah, you are right, there is something about his music that just stands out, i also keep return to the project. will have to listen to this new stuff asap!

[Strangecross]

Netzach - Altitude of thurs drum based loops buried in high treble static. good first thing in the morning or a peaceful evening. This puts me in the mood of what I would imagine people get from Alberich, but I don't actually own any Alberich so don't take my advice. I am pretty interested in getting the split with Linekraft.
The Haters - Urban SensitivityI dont think ive listened to this in over 10 years. I think my opinion of it is about the same as back then- the first track is pretty bad, just sounds like shop class in an uninteresting way, the other tracks are pretty uninteresting as well EXCEPT track 3- 'made mostly from breaking glass. ' but no it does not sounds like it is! it sounds like actual music except from a paralell universe. its really crazy.
TEF - Framework Shows Dada drumming is back and means business. The cd gets more dramatic as it goes on , but mostly just the most choice cuts of scathing noise. even when it moves away from harsh every sound is appealing.
K2 - technodrugreissue. never knew k2 made this kind of modulated material, but im not too familiar with the project. need to give it another listen but I can say it is good.
SSRI -Focalore one of my favorite recent tape acquirements, at least of a new-ish tape, but also wish I had this when I was younger because I would have played it til it fell apart. some Gelsomina is some of my favorite noise ever so this is great to finally hear. good interview in troubled sleep as well.

[brutalist_tapes]

listening to BDN after not listening in long time, being on an old school death industrial binge.. definitely one of the greatest, especially the early, really necro-sounding stuff before innerwar.. (although i like that second period as well).. haven't listened much to stuff after late 90s.. what is the best of the later work..?

[moozz]

Merzbow - Jinrinkinmouzui (Slowdown Records)

Recorded and mixed in 1985, released in 2019. Another old gem released just a couple of months ago. This is yet another unreleased collection(?) from the mid '80s with sounds all over the place which keeps it all interesting and lots of fun. Radio broadcast samples (with possibly some porn moaning samples thrown in), metal banging, plucked instruments, all sorts of noises. This is somehow slower moving than some of his other material from the same era. Like with other recent archival recordings this one also has links (at least one) to previously existing old releases. The first track is called Jinrinkinmouzui (Wild Animal & Polyhedral Garden - Another Mix) which refers to Batztoutai With Material Gadgets. This sounds like a longer and louder mix of Wild Animal & Polythedral Garden from that album. Again, if you like that style I cannot see how you could go wrong with this one.

[moozz]

Merzbow - Antimonument Tapes (Slowdown Records)

Recorded and mixed in 1985-86, released in 2019. No surprise that this one has ties to Antimonument. Half of the songs are mixes of tracks from that album (Tatara and several versions of 3 Types Of Industrial Pollution). Even if this one has been mastered to have more punch than the original (and it feels louder than the other Slowdown releases I have reviewed earlier) it still ends up being somehow pointless and not that interesting. Here the emphasis is on the klang, klang and bang. The original is more varied. But there is some excellent harsh noise hidden in some of these tracks. Hit and miss.

[moozz]

Merzbow - De-Soundtrack (Slowdown Records)

Recorded and mixed in 1986-87, released in 2019. Part crazy cut-up madness, part disabled orchestra with squeaky violin. Lots of rhythmic stuff (drums & percussion) and too much of that annoying violin torture. Like retarded orchestra trying out instruments they cannot play. Kiyoshi Mizutani provides guitar sounds.

[moozz]

Merzbow - Kaoscitron (Slowdown Records)

One of the newer non-archival treasures. Well, not really a treasure IMO. This on was recorded in 2016-17. Sure it does not totally suck but the man has hundreds of hours of better material. The album starts with bubbly synths that are soon drowned by distorted noises that I could appreciate if it did not have all the bubbling still in the background that soon turns annoying. 6 minutes of this and the album takes a 180 degree turn. The next half an hour is mellow slow drum machine beats with synths on top. Some slightly more distorted sounds appear every now and then but all in all this is pretty soft. The last 26min track takes the listener back to where the album started with harsher noise with some bleepy/bubbly synth wanking on top (in the background?). Not a winner but probably something interesting for those who enjoy some of the more recent Merzbow releases.

[bitewerksMTB]

Controlled Bleeding "Distress Signals II" LP (Artoffact)- unrel material from the sessions that was released on tape by Broken Flag (I own the orig). Harsh electronics-noise with lots of screaming, feedback, junk metal, synth sounds. Recommended if you're a fan of "D.S." & "Knees and Bones".

S.T.A.B. Electronics "Enemy of Pigs" LP (Unrest)-  violent electronics from the UK based on heavy sex content. Side 2 ramps up the sexual rants & non-stop vocals; my fave tracks are "Of Misandry" and "Sic Semper Tyranis". Solid release all the way through. Too bad it's so limited so jump on a copy FAST.

If anyone has "Day of the Male" & "Instrument for Operating on Mutant Women", drop me a message.