This thread reminds me that I'm insanely overdue a Prurient revisit.
History of AIDS
Cocaine Death
Arrowhead
probably more but I don't remember right now.
The great thing about this project was that things could really take a different turn from release to release. I mean, sure, these albums are probably the nearest you can get to 'objective' faves in that they had higher runs, longer running lengths and thus seem more like proper albums and therefore stronger statements but conceptually and aesthetically some of smaller tapes and 7"s are so important and amazing as part of the project. I love Whip Enthusiasts from the Bloodlust! series, for example, because it really encompasses that mucky, emotional synth style which - though present on Cocaine Death - works so completely differently in the form of a short, abstract blast on 7"
Prurient is still such an interesting case because you have such an enormous and varied though artistically consistent back catalogue right up until the point we started getting all that garbage EBM which basically (and only IMHO) completely destroyed the project. You often get told that you're a narrow minded, noise conservative and don't like it just because it has beats, or that you miss the point of how varied Prurient has always been when criticising the later output.....but I will never buy into the idea that all the more recent stuff was anything more than a shittily executed tragedy of poor judgement. YET EVEN SO Prurient before all that shit still remains such a vital and exemplary instance of a true noise artist that still bares many years of listening and exploration.