PLAYLIST with COMMENTS/REVIEWS

[acsenger]

Black Leather Jesus / Mo*Te - Shared Rooms (4iB Records)

Are any distros in the EU carrying this CD?

[k.p.g]

Hand & Knee - Oppressive Heat (self-released)
Had a discussion last night about these early tapes from Mr. Detachment served as nice displays of "developmental" periods from artists that you do not see as much in modern cycle for creating noise tapes.  There isn't as much "testing the waters" on sounds as there are realized visions put ahead, and I kind of miss that.  This tape may not be the strongest work of Hand & Knee, but it really touches on some areas of his sound that were developed more steadily over time, so it's nice to see them in their infancy here.

Violent Pleasures - Summer Torture 2026 (Discreet Release)
Grabbed this from the crew after their New Jersey stop.  It makes for a very psychedelic wash of aggressive noise jams until... it just doesn't.  There are these moments later on both sides of the tape that take the time to develop these weirder synth passages that I am quite a fan of!  It would be cool to see more of this in the group's forthcoming material. 

Robert Fuchs - Shutters and Anchors (Robert Fuchs)
Here is a just a great collection of ideas from the artist that I guess did not make it into wider release.  Love this kind of thing!  It's all ripping and searing stuff, with some headspace to trip out to.  Acts as a great companion piece to the Usagi disc that came out during the same year, but is also great as a standalone piece.  Something about this particular set of sounds has a very Kites attitude to it.

[Skin Flick]

Ferro Mortem - Live in Chicago

Have been on an endangered species kick the past couple days and this group has always stood out to me. It's beyond difficult to tell what's being said, what the meaning is, what the art is trying to convey etc...and this isn't a bad thing. everything I've heard from these guys just seems wrong, like I really shouldn't be hearing it or looking at it. Their "studio" output is minimal and it seems like the live appearances sparse as well, which is probably the best way to describe this tape. It's minimal, droning and muddy. I can tell there is vocals but as for what's being said? No clue. The quote on this tape might give some insight to the ethos behind it all. "Vision without Action is a daydream. Action without Vision is a nightmare."

Apparently there is a final release coming this year from a label I greatly admire. Don't cry because it's over, smile because you get a new tape on the shelf.

[HateSermon]

Ferro Mortem - Live in Chicago

Have been on an endangered species kick the past couple days and this group has always stood out to me. It's beyond difficult to tell what's being said, what the meaning is, what the art is trying to convey etc...and this isn't a bad thing. everything I've heard from these guys just seems wrong, like I really shouldn't be hearing it or looking at it. Their "studio" output is minimal and it seems like the live appearances sparse as well, which is probably the best way to describe this tape. It's minimal, droning and muddy. I can tell there is vocals but as for what's being said? No clue. The quote on this tape might give some insight to the ethos behind it all. "Vision without Action is a daydream. Action without Vision is a nightmare."

Apparently there is a final release coming this year from a label I greatly admire. Don't cry because it's over, smile because you get a new tape on the shelf.

Good to know there's one more release. I really enjoyed the Underworld tape and have been hoping for a reissue at some point, rather than relying on youtube rips.

[k.p.g]

Shredded Nerve - Change of Heart (Penlight Publications)
The sound of Shredded Nerve has kind of stayed in its own comfort zone for a couple of years now, as the project has come to favor dark psychedelia and slower moving pieces.  While I tend to enjoy the older, more dynamic releases from the project, this release sinks into more intense crawls that I could sink my teeth into. 

Joseph Aurora - Pessimist (Preventative Measutes)
Beyond limited release from what is essential a private release label in Philly.  Keeping up with this guy's releases isn't always easy, but every check-in I have never disappoints.  This one was particularly fantastic, relying on crude synth abuse and what sounds like tape/turntable abuse.  Absolutely dark as hell and deserves to be given a little more attention beyond the usual lowkey promotion this label presents.

[Stipsi]

Merzbow project frequency.
Not famous as other stuff of 90s merz, but really a great one!

[k.p.g]

Kjostad & Magnetic Coroner - Sanctuary Against Shadow (New Forces)
Put this one on as I took an extended hike in New England solitude yesterday, which felt appropriate.  These two have operated in the excellent Form Hunter duo for some time, so seeing them paired as solo monikers had me curious.  Across 3 tracks, each artist takes their turn controlling the pace of the record until coalescing into a short but sweet finale of a 3rd track.  Track 1 is dominated by Kjostad's plodding nature scrape, strong and forceful until the very end.  Track 2 has more of a floating feel to it, which is the sign of Magnetic Coroner's hand pulling the strings here.  It is probably my favorite of everything here.  When it's time for the two to truly split duties though, they explore sound with ease. 
They don't need the backing of Form Hunter's brutality to work well.  I hope future collaborations with solo monikers take place after this.  Excellently paced record, one of my favorites on the year.

[Zeno Marx]

Thorofon - Guilty 2025

I still try to check out what they're doing, and I can't think of any album that doesn't have some great material on it.  I haven't heard that trilogy (the set of albums with all the titles relating to each other), but I've heard most of the others.  You can't quite come at them like you could at their beginning, but if you're patient and open to a different perspective, you'll find some really powerful, and catchy, heavy electronic tracks.  It makes good sense that they're now on Ant Zen, so put that perspective in mind.  A good example of the rewards is "Knochentanz" on this Guilty.  Though there are clear standout tracks, I consistently listen to all of them.

[Fistfuck Masonanie]

Borbetomagus - Snuff Jazz (Agaric, 1990)

Snuff Jazz! Great album title and a hard album cover to match.

Besides Barbed Wire Maggots, I believe this was the second most mentioned Borbetomagus album among the few commentators in the Noise Canon thread. The comments expressed just how harsh this particular album is. This one does immediately go right for the gut and has a wild and feral energy. The album just before Snuff Jazz, Seven Reasons, was more experimental and dynamic, with a wide range of frequencies and sounds. 

This one sounds exactly like what most people think Borbetomagus sounds like. Very harsh, very bright, saxophones way up front. A proper non-stop blowing session for sure! Up there in intensity and harshness and is probably closest to Live in Allentown.

The original LP only had the first and fourth track on it. The CD version has two other tracks that were recorded the same night as track #1. They are really great and not just leftover tracks!

And the last track on the album might be one of the harshest tracks in the Borbetomagus discography I've come across so far. Damn! They hit some absolutely wild high pitch and punishing tones.

Unfortunately Byron Coley didn't do the liner notes on this one. I was getting a laugh at his wild and over the top descriptors. Michael Hanke doesn't disappoint with the egregious metaphors however!

He writes this about the audience attending the ABC No Rio show where the first few tracks were recorded, "The fans drooled, and the unintiated, like the soccer players of Chernobly, stared in awe of this enfolding, life-threatening disaster and grit-crunching ass-kick machine. The dogs were howling this night!"

[k.p.g]

Frown - Wallghost (Stateless Records)
God damn, such an excellent disc!!  New Jersey improv group that committed itself to having a new lineup with each performance, resulting in varied but mostly jammy results.  On this particular disc though, the group went up to play a radio show in Connecticut and the sound guy loved it so much, he decided to join in!  Sounds like a nightmare scenario, I know.  But whatever this guy did paid off.  Disc suddenly goes from band noise to something akin to Skin Graft remixing a Skullflower session.  Pure power that resembles nothing I have heard before.  Fantastic.

[Phenol]

Just got the Crematorius box from Nordvargr a couple of days ago. I've listened to the first 2 CDs so far, and it's good stuff if you (like me) miss the good old early CMI days. Stylewise we're in BDN "Great Death" era territory, so no complains from me!

[k.p.g]

Aube + Cock E.S.P. - Maschinenwerk (Charnel Music)
A collaboration that confounds as much as it delights the senses.  What made the notoriously high-standard Aube want to work with Cock E.S.P.?  One has to wonder that much.  But anyway, it makes for a really entertaining listen from beginning to end.  The slow building of E.S.P. from ambient looping into mechanical assault always makes me wonder where the journey will go next.  Artwork and presentation also does a great job of towing the line between the silly and very serious the two acts have.  It's easily the best material I have heard from Aube, and maybe the second best from Cock E.S.P.

Duncan Harrison - Recycled (RRR)
First listen of my latest Recycled batch that I gripped from RRRon last weekend.  I really enjoy the rougher material that Duncan offers here, as opposed to his more refined studio works.  Side A sounds like a lot of action with guitar is going on, while B could just be considered straight up shitnoise.  Solid tape, happy with the length of tape I got for my copy as well.

Runzelstirn & Gurgelstock - Recycled (RRR)
This period of the project's material just straight up does not appeal to my sensibilities.  The long gaps in silence I can appreciate, certainly, but it is choice of sounds that were not appealing.  Some percussive hits on Side A just fell flat.  Side B has some sort of chiptune saxophone that bothers the shit out of me.  It picks up with some vocal splats, but that doesn't last too long.  It's just back to the bad.  Man...

Zone Nord - Recycled (RRR)
A better note to end things on here.  What I have heard of the project is quite excellent, and this tape continues that tradition.  It sounds like a single synth piercing its way through the mix, slowly morphing shape and disguise.  I thought at points, some sort of tape was being confused and mangled with, but no, still that same synth.  Fascinating stuff.