Sadistic Lingam Cult/ops-psf/Shit-700/Marduk 4-way split CS (Y Records)
Side A: SLC does some very strange and heavy atmospheric occult-ish industrial with touches of black metal-ish PE vocals; I guess this kind of reminds me of Blessed Sacrifist. Not really my thing. Next ops-psf does blown-out, crunchy micronoisecore, Japanese-style – can't really complain. Good shit. Side B: Shit-700 does pretty typical South American noisecore, but is that a bad thing? Fuck no! Actually my favorite part of the split. More "song structure," if you can call it that. Last up is Marduk (not the black metal band, obviously) doing absolutely childlike and primitive noisecore – sounds like some 12 or 13 year olds recorded themselves playing sort of like Napalm Death, then damaged the tapes and processed the results on more manipulated tapes. Crunch, flutter, and very irritating vocals. Still rather hear that than Wadge.
Ops-psf/Limbs Bin/Parasite Social/Penis Geyser 4-way split CS (Smash Music/Laser Eye)
A-side begins with ops-psf doing tape-collage monster movie noisecore; definitely enjoyable once around but not as "brutal" as their other stuff. Next up is Limbs Bin, doing a pretty harsh noise-type tape on noisecore, lots of static and feedback – wasn't sold on the vocals, but will probably check out more from this project. B-side is Parasite Social first, with some absolutely killer rotten noisecore with an eerie reverb effect saturating the whole mix. More noisecore like this, please. Really grim and dead-sounding. Last is Penis Geyser, basically the US' most popular noisecore outfit – they sound better/worse/different every recording, so either you already like it/are curious, or you don't, and you're not. This time around it sounds as if they're a pile of destroyed sound being picked up off the floor.
La Chair & Le Sang "Premieres Humiliations" CS
Interesting noisecore with absurd atmospheric/"industrial" touches. Sort of roaring reverb sound not unlike the Parasite Social tracks mentioned above. I like the flatlining feedback. Not quite as into this as I am PS, though. Some pretty strange backround noises and a bell-toll synth sound at one point – can't dislike that. But not too sure about the congruity of atmosphere and noiscore in principle. Kind of like putting ketchup on ramen.
La Chair & Le Sang/Cryptofascisme split CS
Side A is LC & LS. Seems to be all dismal, futuristic-sounding drone/industrial electronics with what sound like Gregorian chants sampled and pitch-shifted via tape loops. Not exactly sure what I'm listening to, actually, seeing as how this and the above release were dubbed onto the same tape (thanks Remi!).
Side B = Cryptofascisme. I guess Cryptofascisme is the noisecore equivalent to Peenemunde? Obviously inspired by political history and WWII, and somehow having this air-raid, bombed-out sound. Some parts I can tell there were drums in the mix at one point, but others not so much. Sort of a weird layer of high-end synth noise crisp over everything. Not sure about this project – I think I prefer a little more "-core" in my noisecore. But the idea of manipulating live recordings after-the-fact is still excellent – I just wish more of it sounded like the ideas floating around in my head!
Cryptofascisme "Mille Collines." CS (Yes Divulgation)
More pseudo-noisecore – I like this, but can barely understand the context of the subject matter because my French is atrocious. Sort of muddy, grim and depressing sound – this is what I would imagine folks in 3rd-world countries doing if they'd never heard any noise. Not at all a bad thing, though. Just not terribly sure if this is the sort of thing to listen to twice. Favorite highlight was when an unexpected rhythm emerged from the murk and gave off old-M.B. vibes. Recording quality goes from fairly muddy to surprisingly good. I sort of doubt the guy behind the project would appreciate the comparison, but I hear some similarities with obscure deep-buried Filth & Violence one-offs.
Unkologists "Ear Studies" CS (Yes Divulgation)
Synth wanking experiments straight to...I don't know, between one and four tracks, presumably. This isn't really the type of thing you can say is good, bad, utter shit, etc., because it's literally one guy recording experiments. So, not many want something that raw and unfinished, but this recording isn't totally without merit or purpose. For one, it has a youthful experimentation vibe of early Come Org and Iphar stuff; in that it's meant to be played loud, has a sort of demented disposition to it, and would probably make pretty good torture soundtrack music – it ranges from disturbing bleeps and bloops, to noisy PE tones, to painfully loud ear-raping sounds. This kind of thing can be really pleasant or unpleasant depending on a lot of variables, but I guess this has the same plain and sadistic vibes for me as the very first Consumer Electronics tapes and early M.B. – torture music.
