PLAYLIST with COMMENTS/REVIEWS

[moozz]

Merzbow . Duenn . Nyantora - 3RENSA (Slowdown Records)

This one is not in the recent huge batches of Merzbow material. It's a collaboration(?) from 2017. Both Duenn and Nyantora are Japanese musicians but I hadn't heard of them before this one came out. The information on the covers is pretty minimal (first track mixed by Masami, second track mixed by Duenn and third one mixed by Nyantora) unless you can read Japanese as it comes with a 4 page booklet. I assume it is a collaboration and each of the artists just do their own interpretation of the material. It is all very non-Merzbow-like. The first track (Masami mix) is a 19 minute drone piece with some squeaky/shimmering sounds. The second track (Duenn mix) is 18 minutes of slowly moving ambient (sometimes dark, sometimes "happier"). The third one (Nyantora mix) is over 20 minutes of low frequency hum with some Pan Sonic-ish crackling/distortion bursts. None of this is bad at all but for some reason I don't think I will ever have a feeling that I need to listen to THIS.

[Bacteriafield]

SELETED KILLING - Secret Tombstone 3"... this is the best power electronics i've heard in so long. the tracks are short and to the point. the Lyrics are violent and i appreciate them being written out in packaging. crazy full effort tracks that don't last too long or bore but hit hard in the face. rude and crude. Production is clean and loud. i listened in my car so i payed high attention to every detail and i felt it deserved a second listen right after it finished. Also must mention my love for the cover which comes from crackwhoreconfessions.com.... great website.  I find it hard to care about anything new recently but this one really gets me excited. i  really hope i can hear more from this project...  full support for selected killing from bacteria field.

[FEAR_GOD]

Merzbow- Venereology, Relapse Records LP

This release as all of you should know is incredible. King shit. the more industrialish tracks on this LP are hard and crude. Plotkin did the LP mastering the proper justice considering how punishing the mastering job was on the CD. I've listened to it several times since I got it and it always seems to bully its way back to the top of the pile. This reissue along with Merzcast podcast has definitely shined a light on one of those easily overlooked gateway gods such as Masami Akita.  You know the drill.

Agonal Lust- Hideous Salvation, CS

I'm gonna go ahead and say it. Nobody is touching this shit. Its hard as fuck. Its brooding. Its balanced. It isn't too much of one particular vibe. That is needed in Power Electronics. All too often its just boring ass walls of sound with someone screaming over or some moody anticlimactic bull shit. This is premier stuff.  Perfect length. Great and audible vocal delivery, Synth work and noise expertly layered setting the tone of the best release of 2019. 

Body Carve- Autoamputation, New Forces CS
As with Agonal Lust the same could be said for Body Carve in Harsh Noise. With the exception of the Worth 3inch on FA and the tape on Wonderland Media this shit is the tops. Hard and unrelenting. I've listened to it way more than I fucked with the Magazine reissue, thats just facts.  There is a scathing aura about this tape and some really disgusting tones. Played for a few homies the other night and everyone agreed this is a banger and we are looking forward to what this project has in store for us next.

[bitewerksMTB]

CONCRETE MASCARA "Worms of corrosion" tape plus the tape on Unrest Prod.- excellent work. Probably my fave U.S. project. Abrasive, destructive, minimal. Highly recommended!

Agree on Body Carve "Autoamputation". His work gets better with each release. S1 sets you up for agony then S2 chops it off. Nice slipcover on the art ed. as a  bonus.

[Duncan]

Agonal Lust- Hideous Salvation, CS
I'm gonna go ahead and say it. Nobody is touching this shit. Its hard as fuck. Its brooding. Its balanced. It isn't too much of one particular vibe. That is needed in Power Electronics. All too often its just boring ass walls of sound with someone screaming over or some moody anticlimactic bull shit. This is premier stuff.  Perfect length. Great and audible vocal delivery, Synth work and noise expertly layered setting the tone of the best release of 2019.  

Interesting to hear this take because everything I've heard from the project has been the usual underwhelming trope fest. Maybe context is everything because from miles over the ocean and disengaged from the crowd it comes from, Agonal Lust has so far just come across like another case of a project getting hyped up by it's mates while delivering nothing especially challenging but I'd genuinely love to hear this one and find out that it's not true.

[sterilization]

Agonal Lust- Hideous Salvation, CS
I'm gonna go ahead and say it. Nobody is touching this shit. Its hard as fuck. Its brooding. Its balanced. It isn't too much of one particular vibe. That is needed in Power Electronics. All too often its just boring ass walls of sound with someone screaming over or some moody anticlimactic bull shit. This is premier stuff.  Perfect length. Great and audible vocal delivery, Synth work and noise expertly layered setting the tone of the best release of 2019.  

Interesting to hear this take because everything I've heard from the project has been the usual underwhelming trope fest. Maybe context is everything because from miles over the ocean and disengaged from the crowd it comes from, Agonal Lust has so far just come across like another case of a project getting hyped up by it's mates while delivering nothing especially challenging but I'd genuinely love to hear this one and find out that it's not true.

Out of curiosity, what releases do you have?

[Duncan]

I've spent the most time w/ Modern Atrocities and Body of Death.  Could well be I've just not heard the best stuff yet?

[CLUBSCUM]

MONDE BRUITS - P.M.O.W.

[bitewerksMTB]

I've spent the most time w/ Modern Atrocities and Body of Death.  Could well be I've just not heard the best stuff yet?

I just received the final release by Agonal Lust but haven't played it yet and the two tracks on the split tape with Mania are good but I was a little underwhelmed on my first listen early this morning but I felt that way about my side, too (I was too conservative with my mixing levels. This was one of the first all-digital rec'ings for me). The second AL track has some great static-rumbling but I kept wanting vocals or something voice-related to creep into the mix.

"Hideous Salvation" is a nice package. I like the weird artwork (cover image reminds me of They Call Her One-Eye) & awful color photo. Without listening yet, based just on the looks, this should have been a glossy digipak cd (like Sadio's most recent). I had a sampling of the audio months n' months ago so I know it's not going to stink the place up...

Also, over the last week I've listened to "Entry and Removal" and "Flesh Renewed"(Maniacal Hatred) tapes by Gnawed, Heretic Grail "The Hole of Treason"(Black Psychosis), and Phocomelus "Jail Bait Freak Show" (Angst).

Agonal Lust "Hideous Salvation" was played twice in a row last night & it's their best, for sure, but if the previous recordings didn't do much for you then this probably will not, either. This material has a rather 'doomed' nature to the sounds. The vocals are the same as always but there are loops/samples that are not 'traditional' PE-type sounds.

[Peterson]

Agonal Lust gets my vote. Not crazy about everything I've heard and I haven't heard everything, but definitely agree that the dark and despairing atmosphere exceeds a lot of current PE. Not saying they reinvent the wheel, but I doubt that's their goal. Good stuff, nice guy(s), IMHO. Probably not for anyone but those who wanted what they were offering in the first place.

Currently enjoying repeat spins of:

Worth "Black Medicine" CS (Wonderland Media, 2019)
Worth "Blood Possessed" CS (Prose Nagge, 2018)
Publication Ban "Doubts About the Value of Prison" CS (self-released, 2019)
Death Squad "Intent" performance video - Yes, that video.

+ various exclusive tracks for upcoming Force Neurotic compilation and other really good stuff I'm forgetting.

[moozz]

Merzbow - Batztoutai Mix (Slowdown Records)

Recorded and mixed in 1984-85, released in 2019. This one contains two different mixes of Batztoutai - The Nightingale's Song that can be found on Batztoutai With Memorial/Material Gadgets. Both mixes are about 23 minutes in length (which is several minutes more than the original) and quite similar to the original. Loads of sounds/samples appearing and disappearing, never getting too harsh (nothing much did in 1985). It is all highly entertaining, like a crazy circus fever dream. If you like Batztoutai With Material (or Memorial) Gadgets this should be right up your alley.

[CLUBSCUM]

THO-SO-AA - ENRIELLE

[bitewerksMTB]

Umpio ‎– Acquired Tastes - Lost Tapes 2008-2011 (Freak Animal)- highly recommended collection of heavy duty harsh noise! Seriously, get this set now!

[vomitgore]

Umpio ‎– Acquired Tastes - Lost Tapes 2008-2011 (Freak Animal)- highly recommended collection of heavy duty harsh noise! Seriously, get this set now!

I played this yesterday and thought exactly the same. Heavy and brutal, always refined and well crafted. Extraordinarly cool HN

[CLUBSCUM]

TAINT - PERVERSE