The act of confining. You're confining yourself in a room. You are isolated. You are lonely.

Claustration's walls give off the feeling of emptiness. They're like a sea of noise; they aren't really abrasive—that's part of why they feel empty—but their lack of change is what really cements that feeling. Five barely moving walls that are similar but different, each one hovering around the one-hour mark. It's nihilistic, but not in a world-hating ... read more

Will this review make people actually like Proanomie? Of course not, but maybe it will make someone think differently of the genre and/or Vomir himself.

When doing really basic research on Vomir, you'll probably come across this quote: "No ideas, no change, no development, no entertainment, no remorse", and think he's pretentious, which isn't true. When you read/watch some interviews, you can easily dismiss that thought. How can it be pretentious when it's ... read more

I really like how this wall "changes": how all the layers pulsate/behave like waves, how they crackle, and whatever else my brain is hearing in this. It's in a way hypnotizing, although I guess most HNW is. Could I use this review on plenty other Vomir releases? Yes, but something about this one speaks more to me than the other ones I've heard (the number of those is small). Only 29 minutes long too.

Hilarious that this is the only The Rita release on streaming besides a split. HNW is stripped to its most minimal form or taken to its extreme here (depending on how you look at it), as it's all just a crackle (sound source: a Gilles Gilbert replica mask). I've certainly gone insane, as I somewhat enjoy this. It's a cool experiment, but it's certainly not for everyone, even noise fans.

Oh wait, I've just heard a different, non-harsh sound near the end of the second ... read more

One of those Merzbow albums with killer drumming on top of harsh, piercing static. The noise itself isn't anything special, but it's good enough to create a decent album when combined together with the drums.

Released the same year as Merzbuddha and on the same label, that certainly isn't going to confuse anyone! Merzbox samples turned into merztechno: repetitive beats washed with noise. For some this is one of Masami's worst albums, but I don't hear that personally; it's quite nice.

Merzbow and Smegma traded their tapes to use as source material and made one of those albums that's supposed to be played on shuffle every time (which was funnily enough messed up on the original release, as they indexed only two tracks). A ton of tracks that are one cohesive entity (well, in this case two entities) when played normally, and a blender of tape manipulation, radio, instruments, and other noise-generating equipment. It's enjoyable both ways, but it's just alright, ... read more

An all-right, short tribute comp to Les Rallizes Dénudés. The best song is certainly the White Awakening cover by Hijokaidan and Hatsune Miku; the rest is decent, ranging from electronic weirdness to a bit more straightforward covers that don't do as much for me as the first one and LRD themselves. They also included an LRD live performance on here (Mizutani got their ass for copyright) from 1976, and guess what, it's the best thing on here (except maybe Hatsune Kaidan).

A December 2013 concert performed as part of Shuji Terayama's 30th death anniversary (and perhaps the creation of Seazer's troupe Ban'yu Inryoku). 2 hours of (avant-)prog/psych/symphonic/rock opera (I hope that encompasses everything on here) goodness ranging from Tenjo Sajiki classics to Ban'yu Inryoku and Revolutionary Girl Utena tracks. The guitars on some of these tracks sound nasty.

Obsession is quite prevalent in The Rita's work. Sharks were one of Sam's earliest obsessions, so it's no surprise he made an album out of videos and personal recordings of great white shark cage diving. The result is an intense and quite dynamic wall. Once in a while some kind of sound cuts through all the rumbling. It's not surprising that Thousands of Dead Gods is one of Sam's most popular works; it's certainly a really good HNW release.

When presented with a ... read more

Really harsh, pretty dense as there's a lot of stuff going on, somewhat psychedelic, but sadly not as captivating as some other Merzbow releases from this era. The best part is certainly the track titles.

A deconstruction of harsh noise, the tracks get progressively less and less dynamic. This ultimately leads to the last track, Obsession, being a pure wall of crunch with nothing else alongside it. The word "obsession" is a great way to describe Sam's work and perhaps even the HNW listener. Great rumbling walls on here!

Thanks to @Echoesanywhere for the rec! Jojo Hiroshige of Hijokaidan, Mineko Itakura of Angel'in Heavy Syrup, and Hiroaki Fujiwara of Subvert Blaze join forces to play covers of Japanese folk musician Doji Morita. I haven't heard the original tracks, but these seem pretty straightforward, with Mineko singing, Hiroaki playing acoustic guitar and violin, and Jojo bringing a bit of noise with his electric guitar here and there. Really beautiful, and the noise is more of a nice addition ... read more

Recorded in December 1977 and originally sold as cassettes at performances, 奴婢訓 [Directions to Servants] is the soundtrack to Shuji Terayama's play of the same name, which premiered in 1978. In it, a man visits a mansion he says he has inherited, finding out that all the servants take turns playing master. Many shenanigans ensue. Who is actually the servant, and who is the master? Nuhikun is quite different from Seazer's other works that I've heard; there's a larger ... read more

I have already reviewed the PERFECT BOX, so I won't really be saying much here; just read that one. Shintokumaru is a 1978 play directed by Shuji Terayama and J.A. Seazer, with Seazer composing the music. Seazer wanted to combine sekkyobushi with rock, and what we got here is avant-prog/traditional Japanese theater rock opera with symphonic elements. The rock sections are fantastic, and the spoken word isn't boring at all due to the actors' inflections. It's great, but you ... read more

If I was that cat I would've been pissed with this score. KITTY!!!

Nothing like two Finnish guys abusing the shit out of various junk. Every track is pretty different too, it doesn't all just sound like a trash can falling down a flight of stairs. Also shout out to Maddie for the rec.

The rare Terayama soundtrack that isn't made by J.A. Seazer (though he did write a few tracks here). It's a slice of the film, a taste of it. While I think it works well enough on its own, I highly recommend watching the film for the full experience. Rebellious heavy psych anthems with choirs, some slower, more moody tracks, and a bit of spoken word from the movie itself. Throw away your records, rally in the streets.

As Loud as Possible isn't the loudest noise album there is, but its title shares a very crucial thing about Incapacitants: their goal.

The album presents you with three noise monoliths—all three tracks are brutal walls built by many layers of sound that change and shift constantly. It's unmoving, yet very dynamic. The track Apoptosis is a build-up for what's about to come on the next two; it's full of slow explosions and isn't extremely dense. Necrosis and Live ... read more

Behold, a Merzbox exclusive disc reissue! Red Magnesia Pink features material from the Magnesia Nova, Red 2 Eyes, and Pinkream sessions, which means we get psychedelic synth harsh noise on here. Two bonus tracks are also included on this issue; they're nice additions. Decent outtakes if you need more Merz; (re)listening to Magnesia Nova is probably the much better idea, though.