FACIALMESS

[FreakAnimalFinland]

FACIALMESS / HERMIT split tape
Recalcitrant Noise
Fuck how great Facialmess is on this tape! Listening some of his later works where cut up & funny bits never get really brutal has made me wonder what were the actually best Facialmess recordings out there. And I can vote for this. Almost flawless performance of fast, brutal, ripping and highly vivid movement. Never gets boring during 30 mins of duration. Hermit is also good here, but his work is so much more toned down industrial type noise that after being electrocuted by Facialmess, it doesn't feel equally exciting. Probably projects would have both benefited from solo C-30 releases?!

Facialmess/Gestorte Nachbarn C-20 and a s/t C-20, both on Bloated Corpse (I believe), from that same time of 1996-1997 are similar.  I don't believe either are listed at Discogs, but I can't remember what the s/t cover looks like to double-check right now.  There are probably more tapes of this style and high quality from that period and also on Bloated Corpse (his label).  Would love to see a box set of that period and his label.

Listening FACIALMESS "The Madcap Barely Smiles" tape. Spite tape, ltd 50. Fucking brilliant tape. There is a extensive Masonna abuse on this tape, what can't be missed by those who have heard Masonna. There is probably also few other elements, but it is most of all Facialmess doing his thing. At these days, 1997, really on top of the game.
Not sure why he is repeating the same odd guitar slide of Masonna over and over and over again on this tape, when he could pull out absolutely killer harshness by himself too.

Any Facialmess favorites from other people? Listening to old stuff of his, makes me think this would really demand to be reissued.

[a_2_g_2]

The 90s and some early 2000s works definitely need a re-release. I saw him live a few years back at his first US show. It was a top notch performance as I expected. I also picked up the Pig Hydraulics cdr with the extra CD split with Sickness (Which is actually the "In the face of certain odds" released a few months before the actual tape came out.

Pig Hydraulics is some of the best dynamic cut-up harsh noise I've every heard. I think this was one of the last releases where he used this style before going into the ambient/"post-noise" kind of sound.

[scumwalski]

FACIALMESS is absolutely one of the most essential cut-up harsh noise artists out there, but I am also really glad that he moved on to explore the genre further with his new act LIKE WEEDS, which I personally find even more engrossing and interesting overall. I grew up listening to his fine cut-up harsh noise works but they eventually grew pretty stale on me...

[PedestrianOrgans]

FACIALMESS is absolutely one of the most essential cut-up harsh noise artists out there, but I am also really glad that he moved on to explore the genre further with his new act LIKE WEEDS, which I personally find even more engrossing and interesting overall. I grew up listening to his fine cut-up harsh noise works but they eventually grew pretty stale on me...

This sums up Sanderson's evolution pretty well, especially how I feel about it.

[Bloated Slutbag]

Any Facialmess favorites from other people? Listening to old stuff of his, makes me think this would really demand to be reissued.

How bout the split with Grunt? I assume there'd be some interest there...

Two that seemed like distinct steps up at the time-

Kick My Prog Rock
3 New Songs

The first hits so hard from the start and just sustains that all-out intensity till the finish. And it's a long fucker too. The second worthy of reissue for the title alone...

[Decrepitude]

I only have the split with Distant Relative which is fairly recent. Any key releases I should look into? Preferably something that's obtainable.

Wasn't wholly won over by the Like Weeds tape on Total Black but I'm still interested in hearing what it grows into.

[FreakAnimalFinland]

Any Facialmess favorites from other people? Listening to old stuff of his, makes me think this would really demand to be reissued.

How bout the split with Grunt? I assume there'd be some interest there...

There doesn't exists master tapes for it. If going through archives, I might find the original 4-track tapes of it, but the one and only master was sent to pressing plant at the time. Same for Macronympha split and most of early vinyl. This has been considered, though.

[THE RITA HN]

Same for Macronympha split

I still play that album OFTEN.

[Thor]

Any Facialmess favorites from other people? Listening to old stuff of his, makes me think this would really demand to be reissued.

How bout the split with Grunt? I assume there'd be some interest there...

There doesn't exists master tapes for it. If going through archives, I might find the original 4-track tapes of it, but the one and only master was sent to pressing plant at the time. Same for Macronympha split and most of early vinyl. This has been considered, though.

This reminded me that I had not played that lp for a while. Just put it on and the Facialmess side is savage!  Insanely good harsh noise

[CMSFoundation]

"The Madcap Barely Smiles" was one of my favorite harsh noise tapes of all time for a long time. I still like it a lot, but a few others have ascended the throne since then. My other favorite is his split with Timisoara (on Xerxes). I think it was either J. Soddy or Chris Groves, possibly on this board or the old Troniks board, who recommended it. As he/they said at the time, the Facialmess material on that split is a perfect example of how to keep your noise continually intensifying without feeling like it's endlessly returning to the same ideas over and over again.

[Bloated Slutbag]

My other favorite is his split with Timisoara (on Xerxes). I think it was either J. Soddy or Chris Groves, possibly on this board or the old Troniks board, who recommended it. As he/they said at the time, the Facialmess material on that split is a perfect example of how to keep your noise continually intensifying without feeling like it's endlessly returning to the same ideas over and over again.

Love the tape. Love the supreme contrast of visions. I've often ticked the Timisoara side as repping the cream of the project... but there are those who have begged to differ. The begging ends when the Mess begins. Just such a total ripper, in the purest sense. The Timi is like full-bodied hole massage, begging for generous application of the volume knob. Then the flip and the ice-knives, rust-crusted, shredded, nailed straight on through. And no, relent is not in the cards.

[Fistfuck Masonanie]

Facialmess / Like Weeds appreciation

As we all know, it's almost impossible to keep up with all noise artists new or old. I'm trying to rectify this with Kenny Sanderson who I've been ignorant to for quite some time. Closer At Hand Than God was one of my favorite releases of 2020 so I'm currently working my way through his work.

I'm just now diving into past Facialmess and Like Weeds releases thanks to what's hosted on Bandcamp, which is paying huge dividends. One of those face palming moments where you are pissed you missed out for so long but happy you can indulge and finally appreciate the artist and the body of work. There is so much to say about each project and their differences, but I'm going to start with a somewhat newer release since some past releases are covered here already:

Like Weeds - Plague Dub Mix Tapes:
It looks like this is a digital only release for the time being. Tracks were recorded right after the Closer At Hand Than God sessions during lockdown. This is some really good shit. I love the DEEP bass thuds which have been present on past releases, but there is something new since that album. It's obvious from the start of the first track that Kenny finely tuned and re-focused a particular element in the project's sound. The presence of metal percussion hits and scraping ambient sounds become more prevalent in these particular works. I hate to call this rhythmic noise because that carries so many negative implications, but it is one of the main factors that truly sets this project apart. Industrial? Yes... but still very much noise focused and straddles that line in an intriguing way. An incredible attention to mixing and a much more full sound stage than many other projects. A true professional who deserves everyone's attention.

https://likeweedsnoise.bandcamp.com/music - many great releases available and at the name your price option.

[Zeno Marx]

I see that he pulled the early works down from his bandcamp.  Maybe an early works box set is coming?  I hope they return in some form, be it bandcamp or a physical release.

[Greg]

I see that he pulled the early works down from his bandcamp.  Maybe an early works box set is coming?  I hope they return in some form, be it bandcamp or a physical release.

Would be awesome. And hopefully he gets paid big $$$ for the rights! Think I still have a bunch of mp3's off of mp3.com from back in the day. Plenty of his early stuff I'm still missing, so if someone is paying up to Kenny and putting out a comprehensive retrospective I'll gladly fork over the benji's for it. Been looking for the Recalcitrant tape for years!

[Zeno Marx]

Anyone know what tape has "Cunts on Strings (Part 2)" on it?