Pig Heart Transplant Party

Why not review all the PHT material I have sitting around? My last trip home brought 3 new 7" releases back with me, why not give them a spin and write what I think.


PHTV 7"

Collaboration 7" on Rescued From Life Records between PHT and Vacuum, red vinyl. Very well executed packaging, nice thicker textured cream stock with red screen printing.

Side A: Opens with a pretty calm sample before diving in with huge bass drum beats and deep screaming- the bass drum beats approaching static, very reverberated. The beats come and go while still being completely massive and sounding like a shotgun blast at point blank. The vocals make their presence known a bit more. A nice use of silence around the vocals. A short track since it runs at 45 rpm. I'm liking this material a bit more than the other more 'traditional band' approach that PHT sometimes showcases.

Side B: Opens with feedback before jumping into what sounds like a faster punk song, the guitars distortion sounding more like static. The second track has some serious HNW tendencies, drenched with more squeal and squawk feedback. The first track really flows nicely into this one. The feedback fades out briefly before coming back in even stronger. This is a pretty awesome wall, very fast paced and agonizing. The wall fades into the same huge blasts from Side A. The vocals come back, even more angry. Some choppy synth fades in and out along with a little ambience before Side B also finishes.

Overall a really great release, a nice mix of a lot of ideas, and very well executed on all accounts. An interesting listen and highly recommended.

5/5



They Eat What We Eat 7"

My copy is apparently one of 52 with black and red screen print on neon orange cardstock. Black labels on black vinyl. This one spins at 33 rpm, although Side A looks like the track is still pretty short considering the slower speed.

Side A: Opens with drumming in a deep hall type reverb. Some droning synth can be heard in the distance and fades in, very slowly. The drums fade and the volume of the droning (and almost looping) synth takes the kit's place. A deep rumbling bass-line and the drums return- the synth hitting two notes synonymous with the beat. Static comes and goes with the beat as well- and vocals can be heard, very burried under everything, but still there. It seems like some guitar comes in to. A slow jam that can get your head nodding. I enjoy the bass' dominance over the track, it sounds powerful and the hook that is repeated is quite rememberable. I'm glad to see this variation on the full band approach.

Side B: Opens up with some higher-pitched droning/ringing, as a deeper synth bathed in reverb pulses in and out. Guitar feedback can be heard in the distance and slowly grows louder. This track is creepy and even slower than side A. There is still a noticeable beat to the track set by the synth pulse. Each layer and instrument becomes entangled in the other, some coming and going, some morphing, some (like the synth beat) staying constant. About mid-way through Side B everything crunches together, the synth pulse turns into a short loop and it seems like the whole mix is going into a distortion pedal before fading out- only for the droning/ringing to return. The loop synth comes back, again still crunchy, a very powerful return. It stays for about 10 seconds before the track abruptly fades to nothing.

Again, it seems to be another well thought out release. The reoccurring elements are a nice touch and show a level of sophistication while still being creepy as hell.

5/5



PHTEB split 7"

Split 7" with Pig Heart Transplant and the final recordings from The Endless Blockade. Black and red screen print on white thick stock, a nice heavy tri-folding insert envelopes the 7" itself. I'm a big fan of the Feeding Collective's artwork on all of the releases.

Side A/PHT: Opens up with eerie ambience and field recording with a soft gloomy synth drone over top before the drums, guitar and bass kick in. Not too dissimilar from Side A of the They Eat What We Eat 7", but with a less rememberable repeated riff. The vocals are less buried in the mix, and it sounds like the dude from Walls handling vocals, or at least is more apparent than the other 7" that it is in-fact him. A more expansive 6 piece lineup for the duration of this side of the 7", which contrasts from the 3 piece lineup on the 'TEWWE' 7". The vocals remain, a deep synth drone and a pulsing beat, the synth fades leaving the beat which has an echo on it- not too dissimilar from a heartbeat. A snare joins the beat, expanding on its pattern and some ambience also rises before everything suddenly fades.

Side B/TEB: The Endless Blockade side opens with deep low rumblings, oscillator bubbling before the track starts. A slower Blockade track, mighty power chords only broken momentarily with short blasts before going to another equally has heavy riff. I can't help but hear a sense of glory in the chord progression, like a last hoo-rah and final bow. Noise creeps its way in over the track, gaining enough volume to compete with the instrumentation. The vocals are mastered well over both the noise and instruments and aren't lost in the mix at all. The track hits some disharmonic progressions towards the end before fading into scrap metal and Nolan's deep grunts. Glitching synth, distorted beats, and metal cut in and out before scraps and rubble are heard being tossed about in a room. I think this side is a nice showcase of each aspect that TEB had to offer during their existence- heavy power violence, tar-pit sludge laden slow parts, and a nice heap of noise on top for good measure. A definitely pleasing way out.

5/5


Pig Heart Transplant/Juhyo Split 7"

This 7" brings together PHT with Juhyo, a Minnesota based harsh-electronics project featuring the owner and operator of HousePig Records. Silver screenprinted Feeding artwork on black stock. Black vinyl with black labels and silver printing, with a black inner sleeve as well.

Side A/PHT: Opens with a drum beat before vocals guitar and bass all pound in at once- huge sounding, with a rhythmic scraping layered on top. Again, not to dissimilar from the other 7", but still unique it is execution, and sounds different enough to keep my interest. Each of these full-band tracks has a certain element that draws my attention to it, this one being the looping/rhythmic scraping more than anything. The track fades to a drone, with the drums becoming sparse (and only seeming like a crash cymbal) and saturated with reverb. The drone pulses, and a distorted synth line fades in. Everything stays for a little while before fading out.

Side B/Juhyo: Opens up with delayed oscillations- sounding like electricity surging at high current through blown TV's and other electronic devices before a ghostly droning ambience (not sounding dissimilar to that of a Buddha Box) makes its way into the limelight, everything seems to be effected by a low pass filter. A delayed sample of a mans voice with a short slap-back delay comes in over the droning and then turns into a different sample, then going back to the mans voice, than again another sample before more oscillations pulse in. A deeper synth drone down at the bottom, everything repeating at a slow pace and building, some textures becoming more apparent than others. Everything then separates into two distinct layers- unaffected oscillations, and echo/low pass effected synth drones. Another sample comes in before turning back into the ghostly ambience and fading.

4/5


More PHT reviews later...

HNW Party

Nervous Corps- Meaning Corrupted (November 2011 tape trade tape)

Initial thoughts: Pummeling.

There are so many good textures on side A. Four tracks in total. I really get a sense of uneasiness and tension on this side, between the shorter track lengths, the textures presented. They almost feel like they are struggling. The first track really pounded me back as I listened to it. I wish that some of the textures had been expanded on, only for my own meditational/zoning purposes, but other than that, side A really hit the spot as far as content in my book. A lot of ground covered.

Side B and put it on. A very violent churning wall, and I see that it spans for 26:00. This side seems just as chaotic and violent, very textural and not grey or flat. 26 minutes still seemed like it was nothing! The wall kept my attention the whole time, unrelenting, crushing.

Packaging looks awesome as well, very pro looking clear cassette with black labels, an insert with black printing on silver metallic paper in a standard jewel case wrapped in semi-metallic silver bubble wrap.

5/5


Sleep/Gluttoness split CS

Sleep opens up side A with a huge, thick, bass heavy wall. So thick it seems like my speakers are trembling, almost bottoming out. This is heavy. On top of the low rattling sounds like skirmishing tv static, moving about in spurts, very lightly on top, making its presence known, but not overstaying. I can't help but think of a very large catapult being pulled across cobblestone or other uneven stone surface- the stone on stone grinding and churning full speed, being toted off to war. The static on top subsides and all that is left is the massive churning on the bottom before the track cuts off.

Gluttoness is a good friend of mine, and a great guy. The HNW Graveyard is a tool for artists such as myself to let people listen to OOP HNW releases and to investigate the sometimes overwhelming amount of HNW that comes from us. Gluttoness' side opens up with a super huge pitch shifted cavernous looping growl, and simmers before a sample and then dives right into some equally as huge wall. The consistency of 'What To Do (How To Do It) is not far off from Sleep's side, but seems to be at a far faster pace. The track fades from wall to another bit of cavernous echoing, before another rise to the surface, another sample, and then plunges back down into the depths. Not too far off in texture than the previous track, but this one seems to churn a little bit more than the other. Another sample before the next track pummels in- this one is even heavier, suffocating, with a bit more contrast. Deep gutteral vocals overtop are something I've never heard in HNW, but yet work well on this track. It suddenly cuts to more cavernous echoes before the track is over. It is very apparent that this was extremely considered and planned before being put on tape.

Both sides of the split are excellent. This tape is for fans of bassier wall, low frequencies, and speakers being shredded.

5/5


Urine Cop/Vomir split CS

Urine Cop is a Canadian noisecore outfit with ties to The Endless Blockade. Their side is filled with sick pitch-shifted vocals (Erin, Last Days of Humanities vocalist), blast beats, and HNW crunch, blasting through a shit ton of tracks, as fast as possible. Everything is a blur, but well executed. Super lo-fi recording only adds to the chaos. Think Insect Warfare's last LP, but taken to the next level as far as intensity, and two steps backwards in recording to the caveman era (in the best way possible). The blast beats subside briefly for some echoing feedback, before a slower beat comes in. It overall lets the vocals and other textures breathe a bit more, as well as build up and not become such a blur. It's a decent contrast to the first half of the tape. The drums pound away at a dirge's speed, static and oscillations only intensify to fill the void where the blastbeats once were. The drums stop, the crunching stops, and everything fades out with a swirling oscillation.

Vomir's side consists of a mid-frequency wall, sounding kind of unstable, a more decaying sound than that of a crawl or blast. A decent amount of static on top, with some bubbling grind on the bottom. It seems like it keeps cutting in and out of stereo, which even if it wasn't intentional sounds pretty awesome and only intensifies the listening.

4/5


Love Katy- The Queen Of Figuring Out CS

Ah, Love Katy. We all do. How can you resist? Very awesomely packaged Tape Trade from the good fellow JK.

Side A is a very searing style wall, very upper mid sounding, less defined 'crunch' and more-so a flow of wall, as if standing under a waterfall and the water constantly pummeling and degrading what lies beneath. The track slowly shifts and the frequencies divide quite nicely into a lower rumble and higher fizzle, making a sort of narrative, rising to the surface to gasp for air. Constantly pounding, never resting. Towards the middle of side A, the rushing water texture turns into an uneasy sizzle, like 1000 ripples forming at the surface of the mass of water, claustrophobic, narrowing. The track reduces to a buzzing with the same static laid over top, a bit more calm, but just as uneasy.

Side B: A far more slow paced and static texture, a real crumble here, as if you were going with Katy to the movies and treating her to some fresh popcorn! About half way through, some extremely low bass rumble kicks in and really creates a dynamic contrast as the popcorn continues to pop.

Excellent consideration into packaging, a white, purple, and pink sock-type enclosure houses a very well laid out J card and bright pink cassette.

3/5

Valentines Listening Party

Death Agonies- Dust In The Lungs Of God CS, Cathartic Process 2011, CP-25

I: Before The Span of One's Life Is Run Out opens up with a blazing wall of fury, that gains intensity, before steadily decreasing into electro-acoustic junk sounds, crying modems, and field recordings laced with feedback as the glue. Rising and falling in notions between violent spastic harsh-noise, quieter 'found' moments, and decaying walls, the listener is whirled through waves of waxing and waining intensity. The track is heavily layered, which lends for great transitions between each movement, subtle textures become the main focus as other sounds rise and fall like wounded soldiers.

II: An Unnecessary Stain begins with an elongated modem loop, that evolves into strong glitches with phased white noise swashing, ultimately the glitching fading to emphasize the phasing. Metal scrap abuse cuts in, what makes it particularly interesting is that it isn't the usual feedback drenched Japanese style, but clean. The atmosphere of the phased white noise meeting the harsh directness of the metal is an interesting juxtaposition. The simple metal object turns into several, and the clanking and scraping continues on before a huge bassy synth line weighs down the entire track into swamp territory, creeping and crawling, and continually glitching, gaining no momentum as the track moves on. Seamlessly the synth fades into the junk, which has only gained more force. It seems that field recordings have been layered transparently over the junk, giving a more detailed texture. All of this fades to subtle feedback and the junk slows down, glitching as each new element is introduced.

Black tape, white text, black and white J-card.

A great tape for those who have short attention spans, or just enjoy variety. A great gapless mix of HNW tendencies on side A, mixed with Japanese-harsh noise spats, electro-acoustic junk ambience, and overall just a great sonic mixture of layers.

5/5




Werewolf Jerusalem- Carnal Violence C10, Robert & Leopold 2011, R&L009

Part One (Hunted By The Night) starts with an unusual grinding with an extremely short slap-echo that gives a cyber, almost space like sound and texture. Not quite white noise, not quite HNW, but something different. Like alien chatter. Dwindling and stewing for about 4 minutes, unchanging in the true HNW sense, before cutting off.

Part Two (Escaping The Killer's Grip) creeps in with a barely audible, ambient crunch, much similar to, but slightly different from side A, gaining a bit more momentum and drive, yet still remaining very quiet.

This tape sees a nice departure for Richard from the stereotypical wall that most are accustomed to today. While each track is very statuesque in their composure, the static that most have come to love in WJ and most of Richard's projects is not present. What could be a large head scratcher to some is actually a present surprise, and shows that even heavyweights in the HNW field are looking elsewhere at what 'wall' really is. Each track's titles, along with the sounds, create a great narrative.

3/5




Ryan Bloomer- Punch Pugs CS, New Forces 2011,

AN INCREDIBLE THING HAPPENED WITH THIS CASSETTE TAPE. Someone applied the control of harsh-noise, with the sounds of HNW. Brillant display over two sides of the cassette, entirely about constraint. Never letting go, never fully releasing the full power of the wall, but only teasing, giving bits and pieces of harsh textures before stopping, like retracting statements from a conversation. Think The Rita's 'Predators' 7", except less minimal, more complex textures, and all around more tense. The force of each burst subsiding into scrapes and scratches really emphasizes the control behind Mr. Bloomer. Bravo, sir.

5/5

BBBlood

Paul Watson aka BBBlood has been a friend of mine for the past few years. We started talking around 2008/2009, and put out a split release together, I under my retired REACHING. moniker. We stayed in light contact throughout the years leading up to the release of 'Destroy, Shatter, Stun, Intoxicate' c20 that I just put out with Void Seance.

BBBlood has always been of interest to me because of Paul's keen sense of texture when creating his tracks. Layers and layers of seemingly different textures are contrasted together to create atmosphere and emotion unlike that of most harsh noise today. A sense of sophistication and obvious well-planning shows that Paul certainly knows what he is doing. Each micro-detail, each new element carefully planned and laid out, as if each track were telling a fucked up story.

RUST c20
SELF RELEASE, December 2010

Side A immediately pummels my speakers with HNW textures and shrill droning feedback that split into deeper bowel moving, blotting rumbles and high-pitched harsh noise scratching and scraping, sounding like contact mics. The feedback comes and goes, the rumbling begins to slap-back echo before churning and thrashing into higher gain territory. What's nice about this track is about how elements and textures come and go- returning full force. The low rumbling ceases, leaving only the scratching and scraping, like 1000 nails on a chalkboard, over and over in what sounds like a circular, almost whirlwind motion. The churning returns briefly before fading once more. The feedback also ceases. A new mid-range swirl is introduced, sounding similar to ocean waves. The scratching turns into a higher pitched static and what sounds to be cymbals or junk metal fade in. At this point the track is stripped bare of all low end, before HNW walls burst through, also bringing back the scraping that was a mentioned earlier. A sense of fried circuitry can only be felt here, the charred black wall surging with swampy lows and electric-shock high crackles. The wall turns into a moster, screaming before cutting out- leaving a looping organic texture before fading.

Side B slowly sneaks out of my speakers, dark-ambient atmospheres gradually building up. A drone starts to take center-stage before fading back into the ambience. Heavy contact mic'ing emerges almost instantly, smashing, hitting, bashing. The atmospheres are no more. Violent Japanese-style bursts, blown out low ends throbbing and pulsating while the scraping continues on. Feedback emerges before everything cuts back into the dark ambience. A certain fuzzed out circuit sound gains momentum and volume over the ambience, going from it's constant volume to dominating the track, before going back to it's regular presence. Crackling flame-spewing starts under the ambience, not quite white noise, not quite hnw, before cutting quickly into contact micing under the same ambience. Feedback flies by, shifting and disappearing in waves. The scraping piles on thickly, only stopping to let feedback make repeated cameos. Again the harsh japanese thrashing starts once more, but way more blown out, extremely blown out. And then cuts off. More violent than the first track, but clearly thought out in the placement of each movement.

This cassette makes me want to listen to it again. And again. The tracks are JUST the right length to get that certain itch that leaves you wanting more.

5/5


I will be reviewing 'Lazar House' momentarily.

BBBLOGSPOT

TEEN ACTION RECORDS

TEEN ACTION RECORDS was nice enough to send a mass of audio for me to review.

AL QUEDA / DEMONOLOGISTS c9

A shiny silver cassette comes in standard jewel case with xeroxed artwork.

AL QUEDA starts their side with a sluggish beat, before all hell breaks loose. Wild guitar, hideous vocals, and the same blown out beat, along with huge amounts of white noise. The track cuts suddenly and another starts. It is soon evident that their side contains several short tracks. The second track begins with a rock riff that slowly is buried under piles of HNW static. It is immediately followed by a looping rumbling noise, a reverberated guitar loop, and metal pulsing and scraping as the third track. The fourth track is cut up screaming, metal chugging and buried drums, metal screeching and looping, whole track seems like one big loop. The last track contains beautiful looping ambience, squirming tadpole glitching laid overtop. The ambience fades and the glitching continues. Each track seems like a preview for something greater. Ideas and thoughts sketched out. It would have been nice to hear the continuation of ONE of these tracks on the cassette that took up the entire 4.5 minute duration, but the schizophrenic noisecore blast quality is nice, especially out of the context of noisecore.

DEMONOLISTS side starts with high pitched pulsating hissing that starts to blur and gain more low end, evolving into a more chunky, HNW style wall. It gains an almost scraping-like high pitched static blast over top of the wall, which now sounds like the pulse from a dying cassette recorder. The wall marches on, grainy, but gains what sounds to be an almost hallow quality to it- a father away feedback sound that isn't as close as the static is in the forefront, that drones away as the wall crunches and burns. The wall gains sub-bass that compresses the sound of the track and creates even more tension. Somehow DEMONOLOGISTS have created a blackened wall of torture that fades into nothing.

5/5, a very interesting listen


ALLEIN LUDDITE Untitled c40

Sweet black latex packaging holds small xeroxed insert and black cassette.

Side A begins with what sounds like the failed inflation of a balloon in a tight chamber. The struggle to blow up the balloon, the squeak of pressed lips, the shrill and frequency of saliva blowing, that begins to crackle as the blowing intensifies. Slowly the sounds seem as if they are coming from both above and below water, the blowing still heard, but the pulse and pop of bubbles from below greatly present. The blowing becomes almost rhythmic, turning from the squeaking of lips to the squeaking of a voice. The bubbles become greater and of more volume, their popping becoming more and more important.

The next track sounds like junk guitar and the tapping of metal. It then turns into a more junk-oriented affair, the scraping sounds like multiple items upon the guitar. It then moves into an almost bow-like sound moving back and forth across the strings, to the point of what sounds like almost breaking. The guitar sounds like it actually gets turned ON and plugged in, the E string down-tuned, being bowed, while more junk is being tossed and thrown and rubbed against the guitar. The guitar drones low and full of bass, the junk calms. The junk stops and the guitar droning gets deeper and more concentrated, it sounds like a fat synthesizer.

The B-Side starts with more junk sounds, piling on top of each other. The tension of strings is heard overtop all of the junk. It continues on and generally sounds like the two previous guitar tracks.

The next track picks up in a similar vein to the first track, but instead of bubbles scraping and screeching. The tense scurrying fades and turns into longer drawn out drones that begin to gradually get more and more choppy. There is a dichotomy between lower bowel drones and high static-driven blown out scraping.

A wide atmosphere and metal on metal taping with long echo trails is found on the following track. This is by far the most moody of the improvisations, a hostile bare environment where every detail is important. The hits die down for a short period, before coming back, closer, with longer reverb trails sending the listener deeper into the abyss. The tapping becomes faster, the droning ceases, and a sort of faux-rhythm is formed with the frequency of the beats, before fading.

I find the cassette to be a little drawn out, and some of the tracks drag on for just long enough to become trite. Some decent concepts float about on the cassette, and the final track on the B side (Metal Sheets) seems to be the most (seemingly) thought out of the pieces.

2/5

BURSTS

BURSTS is a new label out of HOUSTON, TEXAS. The first two offerings of this label reviewed.

burst 01: WEREWOLF JERUSALEM/RESPIRATOR c20:

Minimal packaging consists of a plain black c20 (with no markings designating which artist is on either side) comes in standard cassette shell with xeroxed artwork oh what appears to be two people by a fence.

Side A/Werewolf Jerusalem starts off with a lower pitched, chunky wall that grits and grinds and corrodes and eats away at the speakers like a thousand maggots. A sudden blast of even more highly concentrated static vomit pushes the already thick wall into new territory. The consistency of the wall gets so great in parts that the grit becomes compacted, almost too much before returning back to the already charred state. The wall continues on its mangled, mutilated way twisting, churning. It starts to build even more, the gain increases ever so lightly, only pushing harder until fading into static.

Side B/Respirator is introduced with a ghostly hiss and what sounds to be contact mic'ed sounds of rustling. A low wall of ambience creeps into the background, gaining momentum as the contact mic'd sounds seem to gain a quick echo quality behind them. The sounds scatter and scurry around like bugs or darts, always grounded by the hallow ambience behind. The sounds come and go, gaining and losing momentum before ultimately coming to an end. The ambience goes on, continuing until the end of the track before cutting off suddenly.

4/5


burst 02: STRESS: Bury The Hatchet 3" CDr

This mini-cdr comes in a taped, hand assembled, sprayed sleeve. Inside, a black with white speckle cdr, a torn piece of paper hand stamped with 'stress burry the hatchet' as well as a hand cut, screened stress patch.

The track immediately starts- a blown out, empty wall. It sounds as if the wall was recorded in a cave, at the lowest quality, but at such a high volume that the audio was clipped with whatever device recording it. Around two minutes in, the ghostly wall catches ablaze and a serious sizzle and crackle starts in the wall, all the while still having a cavernous, fuzzed out feel. Like a torch burning in a cave it rages on. Eventually, a new detail starts to emerge- the creaking and squealing of warped wheels turning, possibly that of a cassette deck. This new texture is gradual and eventually dominates the track for a while, before the track becomes deeper, losing a bit of its claustrophobic feel, but gaining more texture. This flaming mess carries us to the end of the track before cutting off.

3/5


Overall this first batch from BURSTS is quite satisfying. Hopefully the label keeps up the good work and continues to put out quality TEXAS noise.


BURSTS BLOGSPOT

Bizarre Uproar: Filthy Communions 2005-2009

TURGID ANIMAL, TA488, 300 copies

Bizarre Uproar's Filthy Communions gathers various live actions from 2005-2009 onto one disc. The disc itself is pro-pressed and comes with self-depreciating, fecal-fetish photos and live shots.

The disc opens with 'Winter 2009 Lepakkomies, Helsinki', amplified arabic chants are joined by and followed by Pasi's long-delay vocals, shouting, and screaming, layered with plenty of hiss and subtle metal abuse. As the chants fade in and out, the metal and junk abuse, along with the vocals, build. Stronger. More intense. Thriving. Disgusting, filthy feedback violence. Pulsing in and out. The chanting finally fades. A steady beat grows, beating itself into the ground. Pasi's screams intensify, the anger, hate, intensity only getting stronger. The vocals subside and only the mechanical pulse is left. Each time it hits it grows stronger, like a thousand kicks to the stomach, only getting worse as time goes on. The pulsing also fades, and a chunky static takes its place. Like sticking a synth in a frying pan, it boils and bubbles and carries on. It glitches before cutting out.

"Winter 2009 Helsinki Bunker" opens with an upbeat old tune with deep male vocals, almost a marching, celebratory song. The old song fades and slap-back vocals and feedback kick in. The shouting turns to screaming, the feedback low-pitched and only reaching higher frequencies before the screaming begins. Eventually a mechanical rhythmic thud begins under the vocals. It chugs along for a bit before gaining a bit of momentum. The pulsing fades and a swirl of concentrated static is joined by distant non-reverberated vocals, which quickly gain distant reverb. The old track makes a second appearance, slowed down like molasses.

"Autumn 2008 Helsinki Bunker" starts off with stuttering heavy electronics and deeply buried vocals. The vocals slowly make their way to the forefront and become more intense. The track chugs along with the vocals coming and going. Eventually around the 7:50 mark the chugging fades and feedback and contact mic abuse take over. The rawness and gritty textures of the contact-mic'ing are a nice touch. The distortion fades as well and only pure amplified contact mic'ed sounds are left. Sound clips of a childs song are briefly heard before powerful shouting starts, all the while over the pure contact mic'ed sounds. The contact mic'ing stops and only the sample of the childrens song is heard before piercing feedback shrieks begin tearing and ripping ear drums. Reverb-drenched talking is followed by deep static, almost HNW rumble. Again feedback joins the rumble, followed by vocals. All of these elements swirling around in a sick disgusting mess of blown out bliss before fading out.

"Autumn 2007 Rio De Janero, Plano B" is a lower quality track, with a constant mic buzz from the recorder overtop of the recording. It starts off with static, junk, and contact mic abuse with vocals disbursed throughout. It continues, cutting in and out randomly. The static cuts off, and what sounds like marching is heard under the vocals. It almost sounds as if the marching is being recorded through a contact mic, and inside a barrel. The forceful static continues to cut in and out. The marching cuts out and harsh vocals and squealing commence. The squealing turns into machine-gun blasts of choppy feedback, 1000 bullets per minute, rapid fire.

"Winter 2006 Helsinki Factory" opens with chains on metal scraping, throwing, violent abuse. Feedback and echoing static begin to slowly form and pulse. Vocals are greeted by low, bass atmospheres and swirling, phased out oscillations. More chain abuse- a nice touch. Definitely the most diverse track of the bunch. Vocals and chains, the grey sound of the oscillators/feedback/static and the crisp juxtaposition of the chains over top.

This disc gives a decent glimpse into the live sound of Bizarre Uproar and the reverse evolution of the act's stage presence. Some of the sets were a bit more diverse than others, but overall the disc was unrelenting. Pure filthy electronics and chain abuse. Great for those searching for current straight up power electronics acts that are still chugging out solid releases.

4/5

V/A: Death Metal 4xCDr

anarchofreaksproduction AFP 015, 2010. 20 copies.

This massive wall box set brings together 4 HNW artists into one massive wall marathon not to be missed.

Concrete Threat offers an hour long slab of unchanging, hissing wall. The track really displays the guttural, ripping qualities that can be achieved with the DOD Death Metal pedal.

White Gimp Mask opens up his disc with a wall that centers around a constant buzzing, almost as if something were to be electrocuted, or grounded incorrectly. The buzzing plants the track firmly- creating a massive base to the track. Surrounding the buzz is a sort of swirling inconsistant hiss that seems to have two parts to it- a high-end scraping and pulling, and a lower-end vortex of circular void, dragging along into nothing. The wall remains unchanging until the final few seconds, when it begins to slowly wind down into a low-end rumble before cutting off into the next track.

The second untitled White Gimp Mask track picks up in a similar sonic vein, a boosted-mids wall, this time without the buzz. Instead, an almost constant bobbling or rattling like sound takes the foreground in the track. It slowly gains a little more high-end within the first two minutes. It then becomes another stagnant, massive slab of thick, unrelenting wall. Around the 21 minute mark some very huge bass rumbles interrupt the otherwise unmoving wall before returning to the same constant static. Within the last few seconds the bass subsides and the track is reduced to nothing.

Dead Body Collection fills his disc with an hour and two minute long cut of blown out-bass style wall. Like White Gimp Mask's disc, there is a nice contrast between low rumbles and high static. The track stays firm throughout the whole hour with very little variation. Towards the 50 minute mark the higher pitched static becomes ever-so-slightly more intense and wild, thrashing and wailing about before abruptly coming to an end. Silence becomes deafening.

Å's disc opens up with 'Rest', a feedback laden wall that consists of a central high-pitched drone, with plenty of static crackle on top. Following suit with the other tracks, it remains constant with little to no variation. It is a different approach to wall, and a challenging listen. The track smoothly transitions into 'In'.

The feedback is cut, and like White Gimp Mask's first track, a constant buzzing takes its place. Mid to low-end rumble joins the scooped-mids buzzing for another 20 minute assault that fades into 'Peace'.

This track has a bit more gain and high end than 'In', but still continues with the same mid to low-end rumble. From time to time the higher end static becomes extremely dense and then fades back to its original form.

The smoothness of the transitions between tracks sounds like they could be strung together as one piece, which, assuming the title "Rest In Piece' was the intent. The intentionality of breaking the mammoth wall into three parts and adding variations into each is a great execution.

The photography on the front is well executed and looks pro. The DOD Death Metal mini instruction manual is a nice touch/nice read while digesting the disc. The pin, a knob from the Death Metal pedal with HNW typeset above is also a nice touch. My only complaint with packaging is that more could have been done with the discs (sprayed, screened, etc) instead of the minimal marking on the white discs. The contrast between the dark cover and the white discs is a bit distracting, but other than that a solid release.

Overall this box set takes some time to digest- 4 hours of DOD Death Metal worshiping, monolithic, lifeless HNW. Slowly it creeps into your head and over the four discs spirals your sanity into nothing. Long live DOD Death Metal. Long live DEATH METAL V/A 4xCDr.

3.5/5

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