PLAYLIST with COMMENTS/REVIEWS

[k.p.g]

Dead Machines - Live Dead (Maim & Disfigure)
I was jamming a couple of doses of noisecore and black metal just before and find that this particular Dead Machines release was a great transition from that sort of stuff.  Not your typical "zone out" style from this duo, but rather a full-on noisecore/shitnoise spasm of the heaviest degree.  Drums are beating, bass is pounding and the vocals are particularly hellish.  The saxophone does creep up partway through to shriller highs than what is typical of Olson's style of playing.  Wonder if there are more recordings like this one that exist in their catalogue.

[FreakAnimalFinland]

MOSS HARVEST "Redux Amalgam" LP
Total Black
Excellent. I have been listening to this about week now. Over and over again and with exception of somehow abrupt ending of album, it feels really damn good.

CONTAGIOUS ORGASM "Behind Closed Doors" LP
Ant-Zen
Another very good LP! There are very short drum beat moments in otherwise cinematic sound collage type of album. Neat sound quality, good cut, ant-zen going sort of "back to basics" with small edition vinyls and hand made album covers. Can't complain!

[Cranial Blast]

Odal - Nihilistic Dogs (Industrial Recollections)

Orginally released in 1986 on tape by BloedvlagProdukt and now reissued on CD format, thanks to Industrial Recollections. This CD is quite strange in sound and has lots of weird textured static sounds and weird synth parts, or at least they sound like some weirdly manipulated synth parts. At times has some monotone voice parts and other weird honking sounds going on. I'd highly recommend this one to the fanatics of H.Ö.H. I really enjoy production of this album, sounds especially nice with the weird textures and sounds going on. It almost feels like being in some type of monochromatic industrial dream with the change in sounds from one weird path to another, the weird random synth parts make it all the more surreal and strange. It's definitely a relic from early Industrial/noise past. It's the first CD of the reissues that I've popped in for a listen, but definitely excited to hear the others as well.

[becomeanddie]

Death Pact International- The Old Vietnams Dead

First ever release I've heard from DSIP. I loved it, bought it because the cover looked really awesome. I judged a book by its cover, sue me.
This thing opens with a great vocal sample of an interview with a veteran I believe? Same with the 2nd side of the tape. Whole thing is pretty lo fi but still has great stereo image. Constantly moving through rhythm to rhythm, which gives it an old industrial sound but its for sure PE feel from top to bottom. Some of this reminded me of Brume! Or at least the one tape I heard from Brume.
2nd half has crazy melodies in the right ear and left ear, still lots of room for electronic noise to sit on top of tracks. Perfect late night vietnam snack before bed.

[Svartvit]

Odal - Nihilistic Dogs (Industrial Recollections)

Orginally released in 1986 on tape by BloedvlagProdukt and now reissued on CD format, thanks to Industrial Recollections. This CD is quite strange in sound and has lots of weird textured static sounds and weird synth parts, or at least they sound like some weirdly manipulated synth parts. At times has some monotone voice parts and other weird honking sounds going on. I'd highly recommend this one to the fanatics of H.Ö.H. I really enjoy production of this album, sounds especially nice with the weird textures and sounds going on. It almost feels like being in some type of monochromatic industrial dream with the change in sounds from one weird path to another, the weird random synth parts make it all the more surreal and strange. It's definitely a relic from early Industrial/noise past. It's the first CD of the reissues that I've popped in for a listen, but definitely excited to hear the others as well.

Old Odal hits a spot that a lot of current stuff is aiming at in such a satisfying way

[k.p.g]

Incapacitants - Incapacitants (Urashima)
An interesting recording that Urashima put out here, as this is a far cry from what Incapacitants is known for.  However, what they are known for is not what I like at all, and I actually really like this. A-Side is like a volcano boiling.  You can tell there is a greater sound waiting to be unleashed but it never comes through.  The restraint is great.  B-Side demonstrates a noisier approach but recording quality of direct to tape doesn't totally shred the ears.  Instead, this noise sits in a lo-fi and crude realm; almost crosses into "shit noise" territory.  Great stuff.  My case for solo Mikawa being the best Incapacitants continues to be proven right.  Great stuff.

[k.p.g]

Antenna 59/Armenia - Youth Factor (Bizarre Audio Arts)
Totally crude noise assault that would fly under the radar today, given who is involved.  Antenna 59's name never crossed my mind prior to this, and Armenia is not really in the good graces of many after his time period as a member(?) of Macronympha.  That all being said, this is stuff here is the real deal.
Antenna 59 side has a ton of glitched out "space ship" sounding synth clashing with harsh noise feedback.  Feels like this was recorded in a "1, 2, 3 - GO!" manner.  It's electrifying, and just manages to hold your attention with the sheer amount of duration it holds.

"They're still going?  How is that even possible?"
Somehow, it is.  Good stuff on their end.

On the Armenia end, this is a straight journey into pain so far.  The high end is dominating this mix, with some shitnoise mixed in occasionally.  Sounds like a barking dog is used as sound source?  Who knows.  I think that releases like this show that at one point in time, Armenia could make some very good and strange harsh noise.  Along the way, he dropped off and just started putting whatever out under the Macro name.  Pretty unforgivable to many, but do not let it overshadow the fact that early on, he was a ripper in his own right.

[k.p.g]

Sheer Anxiety - Live Performance (Philadelphia, PA)
I am sure there is a live performances thread that was started around here once but I am not really in the mood to venture for it at this time.  I also do not want to start a new one, in fear that the old one might get resurrected as a result.  Still... I want to talk about how great this live set was last night!  While all other performers on the show did a great job, Sheer Anxiety was a standout for me.  The duo consists of Andrea Pensado on electronics and voice and another man whose name I did not catch on percussion.  Could have easily fallen under "sound art/academic noise" territory fairly quick but it managed to stay in the chaotic realm the entire time.  Surprised by how well the snare drum blended into the harsh so well.  No level of pretention present, just a couple of old school experimentalists making a mighty racket in sync.  Will have to see if they have any releases out.

Legless - Untitled (self-released)
Hung out with the man a couple weeks back and had a pleasant evening of jams and grindcore discussion.  At the end of the night, he hands me this tape.  No markings, no track titles, just a tape wrapped in some porno mag; classic, scummy noise.  Finally got to put the tape in this morning, and it stops right away!  Sort of panicked for a minute but ended up getting it to play now.  It's some grimy as hell gutter noise, not that anyone familiar with Legless should expect anything else.  It's cool to see that Danny is back at it in such an adamant way, as this tape is a solid listen.  Plenty of disgusting murk and scrap metal abuse to nod off to!

[k.p.g]

Mallard Theory - Duck Textures/Duck Dreams (Duck's Domain)
A violent and drug-crazed duck rampages through Side A.  This is not a high-flying, dynamic rage but a far more tempered and psychedelic one.  Sound sources have that "oozing" sound to them and rarely move much.  NOT wall noise by any means.  Imagine that mixer you used for feedback finally had enough of your shit and started melting right before your eyes.  You are scared but cannot help but marvel at the abhorrent site before you.
Side B is fitting with the title of "Duck Dreams."  I imagine the little mallard snoozing, having dreams of floating in the most serene pond on a perfect summer day.  But wait - there is something coming upon the horizon as this dream wraps up; a storm!  Yes, nothing can be too dreamy with the work of Mallard Theory for too long.  The urge to rip some of the gnarliest harsh noise is just too strong within him.  LOVE IT.

Must quickly note that I love the artwork that came with this one.  Henry's style of screen printing is totally alien to him; a lone duck playing in this fantastic yard.

[Andrew McIntosh]

Couldn't really explain why but I've been listening to a fair bit of The Gerogerigegege's Noise stuff lately. The 1985 self titled release, "Destructive Crust Treatment (aka The End of the World)", The Gero-P album, "Nothing to Hear, Nothing to" - this is all just stuff that's on YouTube. There could be a bit of a nostalgia thing going on but I appreciate the low fidelity murkiness and lack of themes and "content" (anyone else remember "noise with content"?). Just fucking pointless noise for its own sake.

[k.p.g]

Skin Graft - Final Judgement (White Centipede Noise)
My feelings on this disc are mixed.  I have always found Skin Graft's progression and many sidesteps to be a point of intrigue when discussing his work.  There is a reason that he can hang with both the harsh heads of the rust belt and the psych freaks of the Michigan crew.  He can go from cranking out hellish harsh to some moody synth passages with relative ease.  He's very good at both too!  This disc has moments of both present but ultimately suffers from what I think is too much mixer feedback swallowing everything whole.  It sounds like fire crackling, which can make for a pretty good buildup, but leaves me wanting more when it goes on for close to 10 minutes at a time.  Made a 60 minute disc feel more like 80 minutes.
This is something to be expected though when a discography is as expansive as Skin Graft's is.  Some releases will hit and others will miss.

Pounds of Copper - I'm Not Even Playing but Here's a New CDr (Temple of Samas)
Always love a release with a story, and this one takes the cake for me.  Late last month, I set up a show for PCRV & Viator while they were on tour from North Dakota.  Local support came from Bugger, Relief and Evil Bong.  Having a good joking relationship with Pounds of Copper, I told them there was no way they would sneak in a secret set, join Evil Bong on vocals, etc.  Their response?  Make a release for a show they are not even playing and sell it.  Brilliant. 
And what makes this disc all the better is that as far as sound goes, it is so good.  To witness the evolution of Scronch's noise mastery up close the last few years has been nothing short of a pleasure.  I would not say they are hitting their stride fully but it's getting close.  And as far as their label curation goes, Temple of Samas appears to be heading into a fine avenue of shitnoise/American Tapes style with very crafty packages in short editions.  Always a welcome addition to a scene in my book.
Rock on.

[k.p.g]

Chris Reierson - Air Tractor (Gracious Host)
Beautifully assembled tape soup work.  Not really harsh at all but still very abstract and noisy.  Tape flows along like water in a steady current.  Nothing feels very out of place or jarring.  A+, look forward to finding more work from the artist.  Any suggestions appreciated

K2 - Dritte Atombombe Auf Japan (Chocolate Monk)
Just last week, K2 played Summer Scum in New York.  I opted to take a short weekend trip out of state with my dad instead, as there was a lot of personal happenings in life where going to a fest would have felt impossible to endure.  Despite it being such a great time, I did have thoughts of "I wonder if I am going to miss much?  Who knows if K2 will ever return to the states."
If this recent disc from Chocolate Monk is any indication, I think I was fine to miss.  It is not bad by any means... but it sits very much in the realm of "elder statesmen throws his hat into the modular game."  It is not really captivating as the works of K2 that made him a favorite of many.  Even when there are some weird samples a la In the Monotonous Flowers, they are not explored for long, as a see of beeps and delay washes them away.  Eh, he's more than made his mark to warrant doing whatever the fuck he wants with his art.  If this is it, then so be it.  Just not my thing.

[Fistfuck Masonanie]

Various - Hell and Back (Purveyors)
Another volume in the phenomenal Purveyors comp series, I think... While technically featuring tracks by 5 artists or groups, I'm not sure if it's an official comp or just a document of a live show in NJ from...?

Last Day With My Garbage starts things off with weirdo vocal manipulations and schizophrenic laughter, which makes you feel like you are in the funny house. It devolves into a harsher carnival house of mirrors. You realize it's live as the crowd cheers and then Last Day kicks back in, or maybe it's an encore, and they get harsher! They reach the end of their set and the crowd cheers again with an amazing shout of "I hate music" from an audience member.

Share The Wealth up next. Low volume humming and low volume feedback building into a pleasant web of frequencies. Buried in the distance is a rhythmic loop of some kind of industrial pump? This is really well paced, dynamic, and thoughtful crude noise. One of those situations where I immediately looked the artist up to find other releases.

Confounder: Much shorter than the first two sets/tracks, but more abrasive and to the point. Confounder attacks with what I think is mostly junk metal abuse. Feels rusty and there is a lot of scraping of metal.

Ozymandias & Joe Roemer: Interesting group! Ozymandias is Max Eastman, Luke Henderiks, and Roemer, of course. This is by far the loudest group on the tape to this point. A lot more high-end feedback, gritty distortion, and high volumes. I bet this was a killer set live, but it comes across a little muddy on the tape. However, the energy was there and you can tell the crowd was into it by the enthusiastic response.

Dead Door Unit: This one is a RIPPAH! Comes in hot. Hotter than any of the other artists so far and gave me that kind of headbanging or fist-pumping vibes. If this was the last set of the night, well played and well done. It ends beautifully with a de-escalating piano sample section.

A great compilation / live document. Purveyors do it again!

[Stipsi]

Merzbow live at 20000v 30 sept 95.

My favourite live noise album ever.

Got the vinyl and ripped the mp3 from youtube to listen basically when i want.

[hoodphantom]

Various - Hell and Back (Purveyors)
Another volume in the phenomenal Purveyors comp series, I think... While technically featuring tracks by 5 artists or groups, I'm not sure if it's an official comp or just a document of a live show in NJ from...?

Last Day With My Garbage starts things off with weirdo vocal manipulations and schizophrenic laughter, which makes you feel like you are in the funny house. It devolves into a harsher carnival house of mirrors. You realize it's live as the crowd cheers and then Last Day kicks back in, or maybe it's an encore, and they get harsher! They reach the end of their set and the crowd cheers again with an amazing shout of "I hate music" from an audience member.

Share The Wealth up next. Low volume humming and low volume feedback building into a pleasant web of frequencies. Buried in the distance is a rhythmic loop of some kind of industrial pump? This is really well paced, dynamic, and thoughtful crude noise. One of those situations where I immediately looked the artist up to find other releases.

Confounder: Much shorter than the first two sets/tracks, but more abrasive and to the point. Confounder attacks with what I think is mostly junk metal abuse. Feels rusty and there is a lot of scraping of metal.

Ozymandias & Joe Roemer: Interesting group! Ozymandias is Max Eastman, Luke Henderiks, and Roemer, of course. This is by far the loudest group on the tape to this point. A lot more high-end feedback, gritty distortion, and high volumes. I bet this was a killer set live, but it comes across a little muddy on the tape. However, the energy was there and you can tell the crowd was into it by the enthusiastic response.

Dead Door Unit: This one is a RIPPAH! Comes in hot. Hotter than any of the other artists so far and gave me that kind of headbanging or fist-pumping vibes. If this was the last set of the night, well played and well done. It ends beautifully with a de-escalating piano sample section.

A great compilation / live document. Purveyors do it again!

This compilation is a live document of the "Inferno" and "Blue Hell Fest 2" events from last year at the Clownhouse (RIP) in New Brunswick, New Jersey. I recorded each of these sets direct to C60 tape on a Sony Walkman as a spur-of-the moment decision to capture some of my favorite artists that were set to perform.

The Last Day with My Garbage and Ozymandias & Joe Roemer sets occured at "Inferno", the first day of the two-day weekend, which is why they open each side of the tape. Garbage did indeed have the most exciting and energetic performance of the evening, and they really set a high bar for subsequent performances being that this was their live debut. Ozymandias is actually a duo of Max Eastman & Luk Henderiks, and since Joe Roemer was present to play a Viper set the following night, he assisted during their live set with the addition of porn samples and other recordings run directly from his phone through a large amp that he had brought with him. The set didn't sound much better in the room, as everything was quite loud and the individual elements that each performer brought were ultimately lost in the mix.

The remaining sets were performed the following day at Blue Hell Fest 2, and were the only ones I could fit on the rest of the C60 that was graciously given to me by Alex, one half of Share The Wealth. This would have been one of their most early live sets together, possibly their second or third. Luk builds the atmosphere with synths and oscillators, whereas Alex brings the harsh with contact mics and junk metal. They've really locked in their style, and have quite a few releases under their belt that I haven't seen many people discussing. Confounder's set unfortunately got cut short on the recording as there was not enough tape left to capture the entire performance. His performance was pretty straightforward and consisted of several source tapes and loops completely blown up with a Radioshack mixer in signature Confounder fashion. I've seen Ken perform DDU sets several times now, and the one word that I recall him using to describe this particular one was "tragic".

For whatever reason, there is additional unrelated material that closes out each side of the tape. This was something that Max decided to do after providing him with the recordings and isn't something I really care for or would've done. The REAL tape ends with Pearl Jam and Justin Timberlake ;)