PLAYLIST with COMMENTS/REVIEWS

[k.p.g]

Revived Lazarus - Revived Lazarus (Not on Label)
A pretty serene tape for the afternoon as the snow settles.  A combined effort from members of Munt Cascade & Screwicide, this tape really goes for more of an ambient tone, with some eerie glitch and synth colliding head on with some beautiful guitar work.  Packaging is great too, with the tape coming in this miniature, leather satchel that reminds me of one of the very first wallets I owned.

[MT]

Grunt & Cloama - Nausea of Humanity

Grunt&Cloama CD has been on my "to buy" list for ages. A collab album which consists of several sessions, solo tracks and a live track. Astonishing sound, incredibly powerful, especially the first three tracks from 1999 steal the show. It's interesting to listen shifts in sound between sessions, Cloama solo track is also brilliant. CD ends with an onslaught from London 2004, Gaya delivering the trademark vocals, and track ending with a different kind of onslaught when a (drunken) Finn gets the microphone, a true IN style ending!


Pain Nail - ...End Times

Found ...End Times original CD from Sarvilevyt last weekend. Have listened it couple of times and just liking it more and more. It's no secret I have very sweet spot for old Finnish industrial sound, and even though this was released in 2002, but by the sound I would think most material was recorded in the 90's. Raw and very intense sound, what makes this 90's Finnish PE (the very little that there was) differ from traditional Euro PE sound is this sort of raw and cold, yet strong sound. There's space between elements, everything is not pounding over the top, but more working with precision and elements that matter to make the material work. Instantly became one of my favorites, even though I have listened to this prior, now finally having it in my collection and giving it an "official first listening" I feel I can give an opinion on it.

[k.p.g]

Flamingo Base Jumpers - Psychic Mud Wrestling (Satatuhatta)
A very solid disc from Mr. Forte here that followed up a very solid tape on Satatuhatta.  I like less emphasis on his harsh stylings, more on the tape manipulation.  This CD could offer even more manipulation if I could be real.  He's very good at it.  Best moments on the record where I perked up were when some old yacht rock or percussive rhythms were being broken down, slowed, whatever.  Very nice.  Take the harsh out, and just let me chill!!  Maybe not too much though... it's kind of cold outside.
I would have to assume more is due down the pipe, as Nick has already prove with his other projects that he is pretty fast to churn things out.  I welcome it.

Agitant Group - Manipulated Feedback for Tape 2025 [In Two Movements] (Head Meat)
For all the buzz that the Erik Nystrand & Ants in the Afterbirth tapes from the same drop garnered, you'd think more people would discuss this excellent Agitant Group release.  That is not the case!  Honestly, I think maybe I have seen one person outside of myself discuss it.  Maybe it's because this is the "new project" of the bunch.  But let me tell ya, it is also the "best project" of the bunch.  Tons of wild feedback churning that is then thrown into a THICK layer of tape mud.  End product is luddite noise of the highest order.  Pretty akin to the early Incapacitants, where the shitty recording quality actually amplifies the overall sound.  Excellent stuff; EXCELLENT.  What more would you expect from something that Charlie Mumma is involved in though?

[Minus1]

CD1 (49min) of the 4CD - To Magnetize Money And Catch A Roving Eye - Jim O'Rourke. 2019 / Sonoris.

Sometimes you need a break between Ramirez and Vomir, etc. You gotta come up for air.

This is lovely. I might attempt a review after CD4.

[storage locker suicide]

Macronympha / Government Alpha - Obliteration (Mother Savage/Xerxes)

what a classic release, seriously. i bought a copy of this CD from Joe directly last August at a basement gig we played together. truly a spectacular night - Max Julian Eastman, Dead Door Unit, Viodre, Bob Marinelli [somehow????], A Fail Association, and Viper. i could talk about this gig forever, as it seriously helped me rediscover the foundation of my personal noise. i found Roemer prior to the set and picked up what i thought were necessities in the collection. i can't recall everything, but i remember seeing the special packaging for this disc and immediately throwing some money for it, but this isn't about the STORY of this specific copy.

this album is incredible, both artists compliment eachother so well. i always loved the audible difference in fidelity between the 2 acts, it feels like this overseas call and response. Tracks like GA's "Reduced To Ashes" have these energetic pulses throughout, it really feels like you could visualize the mess on the table and everything shifting about. Macro's "Brute Force" showcases just raw, continuous punches directly at the side of your head. what i love most about this recording is the [almost] lack on continuity. the track "Shatterbrained" has this absolutely unsettling drone whirring for 6 minutes, constantly shifting on pitch but never changing on intensity.

if you don't have this album, i would really consider changing that.

[k.p.g]

Ants in the Afterbirth - Privy to a Great Becoming (Head Meat)
Picking up from my last Head Meat listen.  This guy rips it apart!  One, continuous 30 minute freak-out that delivers the harsh and weird simultaneously.  "Afterbirth" indeed, as so much of this tape just sounds like some disgusting shit that churns through your system.  You try to expel it, but it just keeps flowing out.  GROSS.  To counteract, you got a lot of screechy synth sweeps and labored vocals that make you think "what the fuck is this guy on?  Is he ok?"  Haha.  I dunno, maybe he's just having a lot of fun.  I sure am!

Bastard Noise - The Skull Scriptures (Deathbed Tapes)
I almost forgot - I'm seeing Bastard Noise next week! Lucky me!  Haters be damned, but out of all the projects I discovered in my initial introduction to noise, this is one of those ones that I will never outgrow.  From the early, capital-B, Broken electronics of their early days, to the monolithic Wiese-era, to the present, Wood has kept the spirit going in a damn impressive manner.  While my listening tendencies with BN lean towards the earlier days, there are still worthwhile releases from the modern era of the project.
This tape would be one of them.  As far as I know from our conversations, cassette does not seem to be Wood's preferred format for releasing.  Vinyl and CD is evidently his wave.  So to have a modern release from the guy come out on tape must mean there is some worthwhile content on it; special occasion, right?  I think pacing across both sides is pretty good, as tape gives more time for Wood to ride certain dirges of Trogotronic blasting that vinyl doesn't always offer on a single side.  The addition of Being gives some much needed grit to a gritty format.  Vocals can be a turnoff for many people trying to get into Bastard Noise, but I honestly can rock with a Wood sermon hard if I'm in the mood.  I don't doubt I will raise my fist in fervor come next week once his shrill yells come in.  Hah.  What can I say?  I love that shit.
Only real complaint here would be with the j-card; noticeably bitcrushed and pixelated as hell.  Is that too much of a nitpick?  Maybe?  I'd just think with a label as prolific as Deathbed, they'd have bypassed little aesthetic mistakes like this so deep into their run.  No shade otherwise, dub on the tape is excellent.  Have to give credit to them for even pushing for such a great release on a format that the artist would really never shoot for.

[groesk]

I haven't heard other releases from Mankind's Devastation yet but hopefully will eventually. The couple releases I've got from Sulfuric Cautery are really good too, equally drum-driven but it's noisy goregrind / noisegrind instead of noisecore or gorenoise.

On Mankind's Devastation - the split with Sewer System is very good!  Think it is still streaming on YouTube as well.

On Sulfuric Cautery - yes, they are definitely NOT noise, as every bit of blasting has a layout and structure to it (although you possibly would not be able to tell with how low the guitar is mixed sometimes).  I have had the pleasure to play with them twice now, and both sets were radically different.  It seems like they end up playing whatever batch of new recordings they are tooling with at the time, and then move onto the next thing as soon as they are done in the studio.  Pretty great stuff.

Excellent!

Because I've spent the afternoon deeply enjoying Subsequent Torture Sessions 2019-2021 (which sounds quite Noisy to me, in a Goregrind kind of way) and 2025's Consumate Extirpation (which sounds a lot "cleaner", and is a foray towards BDM, but it still kicks my Noise loving ass.)

I miss my various grindcore blasts! I find, amongst my myriad Noise sessions, that I crave this stuff from time to time.

i got into them with Consumate Extirpation and Killing Spree. the drummer is a beast and reminds me of Last Days of Humanity but on steroids. I've yet to check Torture Sessions but based on what i've heard it should be a good listen.

[Minus1]

Torture Sessions 2019-2021, which of course, is a comp, sounds quite grimey compared to the "well produced" Consumate Extirpation.

And the former is around 37min, which for Goregrind, is really about 5hrs, right? 😂 All 1min ish "songs".

But the latter seems to be a bit of a left turn for them. Well received by fans as far as I can tell.

Naturally, both CDs are coming my way!

[k.p.g]

Emil Beaulieau - Damaged + Destrotyed RRR Anti-Records (Freak Animal Records)
Emil Beaulieau - Moonlight in Vermont (Hospital Productions, reissue)

Saw discussion of Damaged + Destroyed over on Scream & Writhe forum, which made me pull it out for a spin.  Moonlight sits right next to it on my shelf.  Had to grab it as well.  These two just pair very well together.  You start with Damaged, and you are met with perhaps the most painful Emil put to disc.  Like man, this one is such a bitch to get through at points.  RRRon was full in on distortion at this point; so much so that even the buzz of the needle pierces the mix.  I'm over here wincing at that sound.  Oh how awful!  But it's RRRon, I bet he was ecstatic when he heard it!  Now I am too.  How can you not love it, pain and all?  The sound of love is on full display here, and sometimes, love hurts!!  As said over on S&W, RRRon had such a swagger to his noise that very few possess in noise.  This disc shows it.
Moving onto Moonlight, perhaps the darkest Emil.  One time, a very moronic person told me that "Emil Beaulieau was great live, but never had a great record.  And don't say Moonlight in Vermont!!!"  Yeah, whatever man.  Don't know what the gripe was with this one; maybe it was being on a label Thurston Moore ran that meant RRRon had sold out!  Hah, as if.  That little quip always sticks with me when I throw this one on, as the record almost immediately proves that point WRONG.  This one matches the aggression of Damaged + Destroyed, but removes some of the bluntness in favor of more fluid movement across tracks.  Yeah, you got the pummeling crunch, but you are also met with sections of pulsating drone, eerie music concrete and sputtery oscillation.  I wouldn't be surprised if RRRon was using a lot of the locked groove records as source.  Why wouldn't he?  He probably had hundreds of copies lying around at that point.  Might as well put them to good use, which he certainly did!

I finish typing this and stare up at my record shelf.  I realize there's more Emil I haven't checked in on there as well.  Think this listening trend will continue on for today.

[FreakAnimalFinland]

Emil has very special place for me, as it was among first NOISE cd's I got. Tapes, vinyl, but there was moment when it was actually almost absurd that someone puts out noise on CD. Most of all that it is so ugly and primitive noise!

I think there was formerly discussion about the "Damaged.." CD and there is mentioned in discogs that FA original CD is reissue, but it isn't. Of course back then time and infomation traveled on other speed, but it was material sent to FA and artists offered it to be done. I rejected some tracks that didn't feel good enough, 9 songs CD was the official version. While CD takes a bit to manufacture and ship around the world, artist wanted to do CDR that has all the 13 tracks of this session, and that was done. FA CD isn't "reissue", but more like original item while CDR is "artist edition" that came just about same time. I remember Emil told the CD was intentionally as noisy and rough and to-the-point as possible, as it was aimed for FA release. All songs straight forward live-noise (without audience).

Yet I am pretty curious nowadays, what exactly I did decide to leave out? Disc is quite short so even with full 13 tracks it wasnt too long.

[impulse manslaughter]

I listened to that cd a couple of times over the last month and quite enjoyed it. Never got the feeling it is more extreme than his other releases. Moonlight in Vermont is still on my wantlist. Not easy to find a copy these days.

[k.p.g]

there was moment when it was actually almost absurd that someone puts out noise on CD. Most of all that it is so ugly and primitive noise!

And to think it was the format that he really did not want to do at all!

Never got the feeling it is more extreme than his other releases.

I never said it was the most extreme, but rather the most painful.  Extremity is different for everyone.  Releases like Dedicated to Charlie Ward and Has a Relapse are pretty extreme in how off-the-wall the sound choices extend.  As I remember (and I need to listen back after pulling it off my wall yesterday), Charlie Ward has one track that is almost... peaceful?  Hah. Not something I would expect with Emil.
But back to Damaged + Destroyed, it's probably the most extreme if we think of extreme as "the loudest/least subtle" type of release.  Just total gain cranked all the way.  Think he would do that with other releases like P.S. I Love You, but the fidelity of tape turns that gain into more murk than some overwhelming, room-sucking force.

[Minus1]

Emil has very special place for me, as it was among first NOISE cd's I got. Tapes, vinyl, but there was moment when it was actually almost absurd that someone puts out noise on CD. Most of all that it is so ugly and primitive noise!

I think there was formerly discussion about the "Damaged.." CD and there is mentioned in discogs that FA original CD is reissue, but it isn't. Of course back then time and infomation traveled on other speed, but it was material sent to FA and artists offered it to be done. I rejected some tracks that didn't feel good enough, 9 songs CD was the official version. While CD takes a bit to manufacture and ship around the world, artist wanted to do CDR that has all the 13 tracks of this session, and that was done. FA CD isn't "reissue", but more like original item while CDR is "artist edition" that came just about same time. I remember Emil told the CD was intentionally as noisy and rough and to-the-point as possible, as it was aimed for FA release. All songs straight forward live-noise (without audience).

Yet I am pretty curious nowadays, what exactly I did decide to leave out? Disc is quite short so even with full 13 tracks it wasnt too long.

Thank you. You've cleared up some confusion I had with the CD tracklist  (about 28min - 9 tracks) vs a 35min youtube that plays on discogs.

[Balor/SS1535]

Bastard Noise - The Skull Scriptures (Deathbed Tapes)
I almost forgot - I'm seeing Bastard Noise next week! Lucky me!  Haters be damned, but out of all the projects I discovered in my initial introduction to noise, this is one of those ones that I will never outgrow.  From the early, capital-B, Broken electronics of their early days, to the monolithic Wiese-era, to the present, Wood has kept the spirit going in a damn impressive manner.  While my listening tendencies with BN lean towards the earlier days, there are still worthwhile releases from the modern era of the project.
This tape would be one of them.  As far as I know from our conversations, cassette does not seem to be Wood's preferred format for releasing.  Vinyl and CD is evidently his wave.  So to have a modern release from the guy come out on tape must mean there is some worthwhile content on it; special occasion, right?  I think pacing across both sides is pretty good, as tape gives more time for Wood to ride certain dirges of Trogotronic blasting that vinyl doesn't always offer on a single side.  The addition of Being gives some much needed grit to a gritty format.  Vocals can be a turnoff for many people trying to get into Bastard Noise, but I honestly can rock with a Wood sermon hard if I'm in the mood.  I don't doubt I will raise my fist in fervor come next week once his shrill yells come in.  Hah.  What can I say?  I love that shit.
Only real complaint here would be with the j-card; noticeably bitcrushed and pixelated as hell.  Is that too much of a nitpick?  Maybe?  I'd just think with a label as prolific as Deathbed, they'd have bypassed little aesthetic mistakes like this so deep into their run.  No shade otherwise, dub on the tape is excellent.  Have to give credit to them for even pushing for such a great release on a format that the artist would really never shoot for.

I've been thinking about (and listening to) Bastard Noise a lot recently after seeing him perform on Valentine's Day.  (1) You are in for a great show when you see him---I'm assuming with support from the new female vocalist?  I've only seen Eric play in what he would consider "subpar" conditions (sound systems not up to his expectations, sick partners), but everything has sounded amazing to me.

(2) I think Eric's vocals are underappreciated.  I feel like people have the expectation of hardcore-adjacent vocals given the project's history rather than the strange alien screeches that he does, but I think they are much more experimental in the realm of noise that they are given credit for.  That, plus the space-noise, makes for a very unique project overall.  I don't think there is anything else quite like it!

[k.p.g]

(1) You are in for a great show when you see him---I'm assuming with support from the new female vocalist?  I've only seen Eric play in what he would consider "subpar" conditions (sound systems not up to his expectations, sick partners), but everything has sounded amazing to me.

(2) I think Eric's vocals are underappreciated.  I feel like people have the expectation of hardcore-adjacent vocals given the project's history rather than the strange alien screeches that he does, but I think they are much more experimental in the realm of noise that they are given credit for.  That, plus the space-noise, makes for a very unique project overall.  I don't think there is anything else quite like it!

(1) This will be my second time seeing him!  First time was solo, and very great.  It's in NYC, which makes me uncertain of whether the female vocalist will be present.  Doesn't matter though, as long as Eric is manning the Trog.

(2) I think it's hard to say that anyone sounds even remotely close to Wood in the vocal department.  Call it an age thing though, but I feel like the structure of his vocals is slightly more predictable than in the past.  You start with the death growl, followed by some alien screech, and then BAM! rallying battle cry.  Again, very unique, but seems to be formulaic in the current BN era.  Older releases were just fucking all over the place in the best way possible.

This is all to say, I am very excited.