PLAYLIST with COMMENTS/REVIEWS

[Cranial Blast]

Clinic Of Torture - Memento Of Punishment CD (IOPS)

A very interesting live performance on this one and perhaps now my favorite Clinic Of Torture release yet. The album starts off with the longest track and most interesting composition over the album. First track intros with this distorted synth that builds this really stark atmosphere, that is almost hard to put into words, but sounds excellent and really captures the mood! It properly lays the ground work for what lies ahead, which is some nice junk metal under reverb, giving the sounds such a close up, gives lots of great depths and range across the track. The other tracks on the album give a nice torment to the ears with lots of loud piercing shrills and buzzing sounds. It's perfectly balanced in the sense that it feels like audio torment. All of the sounds culminate nicely in the mix, giving good climax for the performance as a whole. The last track really builds in a fury of tearing distortion and more feedback shrills, definitely a nice closing track in contrast to where it all started from the beginning. This is easily one of my favorite releases this year and the packaging is prepared nicely, just like some of the other previous IOPS releases like Steel Corset, Anatomical Venus, ect. I'm not sure exactly where this live performance was captured, but whomever was there to capture this moment in time, I'd consider them very lucky!

[Fistfuck Masonanie]

Grunt – Kiveen Ikuistettu (Freak Animal)

Absolutely gorgeous packaging on this new release. The CD is housed in a 52 page hardcover book with the photography work of Mr. Aspa. One of the most professional and beautiful noise packages in recent memory.

The CD itself documents two live gigs. 6 tracks recorded live in Kaarina, Finland 3.5.2025 and a single long track recorded live in Lahti, Finland on 14.12.2024.

The sounds on the first gig are varied across the ~23 minute set. The opening track sounds similar to the latest Karike CD. Very raw and very minimal metal scraping. It's very organic sounding and electronics are only added sparingly to evoke atmosphere. The remaining songs venture into more traditional PE territory with industrial loops, vocals, and what I assume is a synth.

The PE focused tracks at times remind me of material close to Petturien Rooli or World Draped In A Camouflage. This is very much a set of pre-determined songs and not improvisational in nature. The tracks flow and segue into one another nicely and feels like a very composed and well intentioned mini-album or EP.  It's interesting to hear such well developed songs executed in a live setting. Seems like the crowd enjoyed it as well due to the enthusistic cheers at the end!

The second gig starts off in a somewhat similar nature to the first gig with organic metal scraping and jostling. This time there is some mal-adjusted feedback simmering like rattle snake ready to strike. However! There is quite the level of dynamics to this one. I won't overtly detail what it sounds like as it's somewhat different. I really enjoyed how this one develops. I like that Grunt as a project has been stretching out and exploring various styles in the last few years.

Rautakymi – Ei Tästä Maailmasta (Freak Animal)

Debut CD by this contemporary Finnish artist. Tribe Tapes had re-issued the Pinta tape earlier this year, so I'm somewhat familiar with the previous work. Pinta is one of only two tapes from the artist before this album.

This continues the very raw straight to 4-track noise approach. It has a warmth and slight murkiness from recording straigh to tape. It's not easy to tell what each source is which adds to the enigmatic nature of the sounds for me.

I hear a lot of metal scrapping tape loops manipulated in a variety of manners. There are also a lot of filter sweeps and/or phaser effects of some sort. Backward tape loop sounds and very murky crumbling textures.

I wouldn't say it's straight harsh noise, it's definitely a little experimental while playing in the harsh noise sandbox. I think I need to relisten to Pinta, because I remember that being more straight ahead.

I was curious about the titles so I asked Google to translate. The album title "Ei Tästä Maailmasta" in English roughly translates to "Out of this world" which is a very fitting title. The sounds do actually feel somewhat alien, or maybe paranormal? There is also some sort of theme of science and knoweldge if you look up the other titles and a fitting sample on the latter half of the album.

Very unique sounds and I'm still wrapping my head around it. Will be giving it more spins in the upcoming week.

[Fistfuck Masonanie]

Vile Vulgar - Private Art (Institute Of Paraphilia Studies)

Anonymous project on the IOPS label. Similar to the old adage, "all women on the internet are men until proven otherwise," I assume all IOPS projects are Mikko until proven otherwise.

The sounds on here are very cavernous and decrepit PE/industrial sans vocals. It's heavy on atmosphere. Metal scraping, barrel bashing, and synths. I remember reading someone guessed this was an anonymous Keith Brewer release.

It's a very good guess, as there is a lot of metal and synth work throughout that's comparable to the last couple of Mania tapes like All Aftermath or Hardly Lethal. Speaking of Hardly Lethal, the inner artwork on Vile Vulgar is suspiciously similar to the color palette and style of the artwork on that release...

For some reason though, this one feels like Mikko to me, however, I could easily be wrong. Contextual clues point to Keith. Either way, if you are a fan of Mania or Grunt, this one fits nicely in between the sounds of the two projects, and you won't be disappointed.

[HateSermon]

Vile Vulgar - Private Art (Institute Of Paraphilia Studies)

Anonymous project on the IOPS label. Similar to the old adage, "all women on the internet are men until proven otherwise," I assume all IOPS projects are Mikko until proven otherwise.

The sounds on here are very cavernous and decrepit PE/industrial sans vocals. It's heavy on atmosphere. Metal scraping, barrel bashing, and synths. I remember reading someone guessed this was an anonymous Keith Brewer release.

It's a very good guess, as there is a lot of metal and synth work throughout that's comparable to the last couple of Mania tapes like All Aftermath or Hardly Lethal. Speaking of Hardly Lethal, the inner artwork on Vile Vulgar is suspiciously similar to the color palette and style of the artwork on that release...

For some reason though, this one feels like Mikko to me, however, I could easily be wrong. Contextual clues point to Keith. Either way, if you are a fan of Mania or Grunt, this one fits nicely in between the sounds of the two projects, and you won't be disappointed.

Excellent tape. For me, all signs point to Keith and I've left it at that. But... maybe there were others involved? At the end of the day, I'd rather it remain a mystery. Glad this tape is kept in print. 

[k.p.g]

Dorchester Library: From the somewhat subtle and gradual shifting tones of Silence of Vacuum, we are thrown into the violent bursts of harsh noise that is Dorchester Library. Fast-paced and ripping. It took me a moment to realize, but there are drums buried under a veil of harsh electronics. Mikko may have taken a Creamface, or other spastic drum session, and added harsh electronics on top! Think Hijokaidan King of Noise with metal or grindcore drums.

I remember hearing this project for the first time at a New York apartment as the sun was rising, having gotten no sleep.  Pretty stark contrast from what I knew of Mikko's other work.  Project has always remained pretty mythical to me since, even if I did ask the person who put it on to turn it off so I could finally sleep.

[k.p.g]

Hand & Knee/Mallard Theory - Basic Instincts (Tribe Tapes)
The noise split; an easy format to make, a tricky one to pull off.  I dunno.  Splits are great, but they also can be a big old bag of disappointment.  How many splits have you gotten where one artist absolutely delivers and the other says "eh.  I forgot I agreed to do this.  I guess I have a little bit from this last recording session?"  Or worse; neither artist delivers the hype that their name garners.  God...

Well, this split is not one of those cases.  As a matter of fact, I would say this split should be referenced on how to format one in the current age.  Tracks flow between these two artists seamlessly once the collaborative intro ends. This avoids skipping over one whole slab of one artist if they bore you.  You don't like what one is doing?  Go to the next quick without waiting 20 more minutes!  I doubt anyone who listens will have that problem, as the kinship between these two for dystopian noise beauty is this discs greatest strength. 

I think this split was the moment that I started seeing both artists not just as contemporaries/"pretty good rippers."  No, they are artists in my eyes.  Hand & Knee has carved out a niche in his sound that blurs the lines of industrial, junk noise and power electronics in a way that I find hard to pin down or compare it to.  I hear remnants of some artists, but no apt comparison.  These tracks creep at their own speed.  Hand & Knee does only what Hand & Knee does.  And a track like "White Washed" ... OH MAN

Mallard Theory rips harsh noise and you know that.  But I never saw Henry's ripping to have so much intricacy as I have seen it since this disc.  He found a way to combine the red hot harsh sounds with alien electronics that would make the likes of James Ferraro & Damon Edge proud.  But like I said with Hand & Knee, there is no one you can say Mallard Theory is biting from; this is its own thing.  This is what life on the farm is like.  This is what it means to be a duck.  I was blasting this disc on the way home with a friend the other week and he said "Mallard is so harsh, yet so peaceful, like a duck floating in the pond."  Yup, my thoughts exactly.

Fantastic disc; one of the best things to ever emerge from the continuously impressive roster of Tribe Tapes.  If you needed a modern harsh noise disc to sink your teeth into after some time away from the artform, I would give you this.  No one will do it better.

[Theodore]

Vile Vulgar - Private Art (Institute Of Paraphilia Studies)

I remember reading someone guessed this was an anonymous Keith Brewer release.

Excellent tape. For me, all signs point to Keith and I've left it at that.

Respectable distro i had bought it from wrote in the description it's Keith.

[Stipsi]

Encephalophonic – Exhuming The Perversion.

Encephalophonic is the Malmsteen of harsh noise.
Enough said.

[k.p.g]

Erik Nystrand - Brain Damaged by Head Meat (Head Meat)
Acquired 3 new tapes from the elusive Head Meat label, and this one had to be my first journey into the new sounds of harsh.  A very stimulating array of sounds to be playing this early in the morning but it has helped me to wake up far more easily than I normally would.  Liner notes say that instruments used here were "Unstringed Eddie Van Halen signature guitar knockoff + fx" and well, I would like to know what Mr. Nystrand's definition of "unstringed" is exactly.  I hear strings!  I hear those divebombs happening.  Side B has got some glorious divebombs!

Yeah, it's a really great tape; all fun, all nonsense.  Shows the might of guitar when you run it through enough crap.  Love it.

[Fistfuck Masonanie]

Agitant Group - Manipulated Feedback for Tape 2025 (Head Meat)

Well the title is true. It's definitely manipulated feedback! Piercing, squeling, and wretched. However, the surprising factor is it's recorded real filthy style. There is actually a lot of mud caked onto that feedback. A heavy saturated low end compliments the feedback well.

This sounds like it was recorded live, and the boys were having some fun! Real good energy here.

Anyone keeping track of how many active projects Charlie is in now?

Erik Nystrand – Brain Damaged By Head Meat (Head Meat)

God damn! Rips your face off from the first second.

First impression is that I can't believe this is guitar noise. To me, the guitar is near unrecognizable.

The Head Meat style is the perfect harsh noise sound. The masters must be getting the MSNP treatment after being sent to the label, because holy hell... it's fucking perfect. Also, the artwork on this one... chef's kiss.

There isn't a second wasted on this tape. It's all perfect brain brain-damaging sounds from start to finish.

I don't say this lightly, but it's one of the most invigorating noise tapes I've heard this year.

Ants In The Afterbirth – Privy To A Great Becoming (Head Meat)

Second release from the anonymous vessel that is Ants!

Absolutely choked out and strangled mayhem. Vocal maniac attack. Adrenaline is running high.

The theme of birth seems prevalent across the two releases now. Perhaps a source of anxiety fueling the project?

Even more than the last release, this feels truly unhinged and a blood-letting of emotions. I kept cranking the volume up further and further...

Absolutely wild and again, unhinged release.

[k.p.g]

Merzbow - Green Wheels (Urashima, reissue)
First listen of the day was this monolith of a 2xLP.  File it under one of the weirder Merzbow LPs of the 90s.  Tons of synth blipping, a little bit of metal scraping, but the part that shines is the vocal work.  I never have really listened to any Merzbow with extensive vocal work.  It's good!  Is there any more like this?  Dead Body Love comes to mind when listening to Masami freak out on the mic.

Bastard Noise - Galactic Sanitarium (Haunted Hotel Records)
It has been years since this one got spun.  It used to be one of my favorites, period!  On this relisten?  It isn't that high up, but still is a high watermark of late period Bastard Noise.  No vocals present, just a great display of Wood's composition for intergalactic synth wars.  Also appreciate that there is some inclusion of scrap metal here, as that can be hard to come across in this discography once the 2010's enter. 

Bastard Noise - Our Earth's Blood Part III (Rhetoric Records)
Went from LPs to 7" Saturday with this one.  I always love a dose of 90s Bastard Noise.  Barnes/Nelson/Wood lineup?  Can't be beaten.  You can always here the struggle to work with what they got, which is essentially just hotwired, circuit bent hunks of shit.  Wood is yelling his head off, but no reverb present to make it truly epic.  It is a truly impactful cry for help.  Yeah, this stuff holds up very well for me.  Totally broken, totally wrong... totally on point.

Slacking - Roundhouse a Bootlicker (Tribe Tapes)
Ended the morning with this churn of slop tape beauty.  While I find myself so wowed by Slacking in the live arena time and time again, I can forget that he is a force on record too!  There are some sounds here that I have become more than familiar with at this point, and side B even features our favorite duck on additional electronics...  Still looks like Tribe has plenty of copies, so why not pick one up?

[k.p.g]

Redneck - Bloodcraving (Reanimted Miscarriage)
An interesting compilation of harsh noise gurgling.  To be honest, this is my first experience with Redneck and I was expecting ... harsher?  I find myself more satisfied with the actual product though.  It has its harsh moments, sure, but mostly sits in this realm of lo-fi wall noise.  I dare to event say it could fit into a shitnoise sort of field.  It might not be as dynamic, but the recording quality and minimalism is there for that type of work.  Really feels more like the sound of a man rummaging in a tool shed than anything involving a DOD Death Metal most of the time.  Lovely work.  Oddly relaxing.

[Balor/SS1535]

Merzbow - Green Wheels (Urashima, reissue)
First listen of the day was this monolith of a 2xLP.  File it under one of the weirder Merzbow LPs of the 90s.  Tons of synth blipping, a little bit of metal scraping, but the part that shines is the vocal work.  I never have really listened to any Merzbow with extensive vocal work.  It's good!  Is there any more like this?  Dead Body Love comes to mind when listening to Masami freak out on the mic.

This sounds interesting, as I don't think I have heard Masami do vocals elsewhere?  I know that Bara does vocals on a variety of albums, though.

[Kaaoskultti]

Vile Vulgar - Private Art (Institute Of Paraphilia Studies)

Anonymous project on the IOPS label. Similar to the old adage, "all women on the internet are men until proven otherwise," I assume all IOPS projects are Mikko until proven otherwise.

The sounds on here are very cavernous and decrepit PE/industrial sans vocals. It's heavy on atmosphere. Metal scraping, barrel bashing, and synths. I remember reading someone guessed this was an anonymous Keith Brewer release.

It's a very good guess, as there is a lot of metal and synth work throughout that's comparable to the last couple of Mania tapes like All Aftermath or Hardly Lethal. Speaking of Hardly Lethal, the inner artwork on Vile Vulgar is suspiciously similar to the color palette and style of the artwork on that release...

For some reason though, this one feels like Mikko to me, however, I could easily be wrong. Contextual clues point to Keith. Either way, if you are a fan of Mania or Grunt, this one fits nicely in between the sounds of the two projects, and you won't be disappointed.

Definitely sounds like Mania. Anyway, what made you think it was a Keith's work? I know as mentioned above, it says in the package it's him, but I'm curious as to what kind of reactions people have from anonymous projects. The low-pitched textures in the beginning of side B are absolutely gorgeous. The handling of low and high-picthed noises throughout the tracks, and how they morph into each other with genius craftmanship is one of the reasons why Keith will always be a legend within the Noise scenario. Then there are some metaljunk elements in the background - a few, but still. Later on, on side B, the distorted white noise which builds upon the low frequencies, oscilating between quieter and louder noises, accompanied by what I like to call "bubble" sounds really adds up to an interesting release. Never boring, always there's something new within the sound palette for us to taste.

[BatteredStatesofEuphoria]

Merzbow - Green Wheels (Urashima, reissue)
First listen of the day was this monolith of a 2xLP.  File it under one of the weirder Merzbow LPs of the 90s.  Tons of synth blipping, a little bit of metal scraping, but the part that shines is the vocal work.  I never have really listened to any Merzbow with extensive vocal work.  It's good!  Is there any more like this?  Dead Body Love comes to mind when listening to Masami freak out on the mic.

This sounds interesting, as I don't think I have heard Masami do vocals elsewhere?  I know that Bara does vocals on a variety of albums, though.

Noisembryo has prominent use of Masami's voice, even more so than Green Wheels. Its atypical for him to utilize it, which is why the exceptions are so notable.