NEW EAR CONTROL / 3rd CD / https://www.albumoftheyear.org/user/chtc/album/850793-new-ear-control/
Recordings from the same period as Aodron and Eureka Moment. The description didn't lie, those certainly are up-and-down frequency shifts. I don't really have anything to say about these tracks, this is basically average Merz release #2137. The third track features his self-made instruments, so that's cool?
NEW EAR CONTROL / 2nd CD / https://www.albumoftheyear.org/user/chtc/album/850793-new-ear-control/
"It is one of the most eccentric of Merzbow's works, and his heaviest listeners will be surprised."
Oh yeah, I would certainly be surprised if I got hit with 40 minutes of fucked up guitar sounds and maybe some other instruments too if I didn't read the description first. My boy Merzbular got access to granular synthesis software. The title Amadare Guitar fits as amadare means ... read more
My least favorite of the trilogy, although that means nothing when it's still amazing! While Arche continues the sound of DUM SPIRO SPERO in some part, it also goes back into the bands past and manages to bring something new at times. There's something dreamy about it. A great starting point for sure.
The band also started slowly getting visual again around this time! Also check out Sukekiyo, it's Kyo's other band and it's amazing! The same year Arche released they ... read more
NEW EAR CONTROL / 1st CD / https://www.albumoftheyear.org/user/chtc/album/850793-new-ear-control/
The last time a disc in a box set had "Nil" in it's title, it was the worst thing I've heard from Merzbow, that's thankfully not the case here, we actually get some decent stuff! This was apparently recorded at the same time as Strange City.
Nil Wave Music is one of those (nearly) 30 minute tracks where Merz throws various different things at you during it's runtime to ... read more
NEW EAR CONTROL | 6 of 6 | 50 | February 6th, 2025 - February 7th, 2025
RIP Merzbow Archive Series 2018-2022
Read also: https://www.albumoftheyear.org/user/chtc/album/856869-35-cd-box/
This is it, the last box of Slowdown Records' Merzbow Archive Series, the end. New Ear Control features recordings from 2016-2017, all are one-shots with no editing or overdubs. Why does it stop here? Because Kaoscitron (released in 2017) was Merzbow's first album on Slowdown, so they decided to ... read more
35 CD BOX / 35th CD / https://www.albumoftheyear.org/user/chtc/album/856869-35-cd-box/
🎉 I HAVE FINALLY FINISHED THIS BOX SET, READ THE REVIEW PLEASE!!! 🎉 ARE YOU GUYS MERZED?
Finally, some normal(ish) track lengths! There's this ominous drone on the first track, with some noise gracing your ears. Actually, there's quite a bit of drones and repetition on every track. Even with these common elements, all these tracks have their own sound!
Also, why does the last track have Radio ... read more
35 CD BOX / 34th CD / https://www.albumoftheyear.org/user/chtc/album/856869-35-cd-box/
Now we enter 2015! The first track has lots of drones and "space lasers", sometimes it's sparse(r), sometimes it's harsh. The second one FOR FUCKS SAKE DOUBLE BEAT SEQUENCER- nah just kidding, yes this does have a synth loop, but the noise is cooler than on the DBS tracks. The third one sounds like Merz was banging on pots and trash cans and stuff at the beginning, though it's ... read more
35 CD BOX / 33rd CD / https://www.albumoftheyear.org/user/chtc/album/856869-35-cd-box/
Seven Sides? But there are only 2 tracks! The first track with all it's wubs and clangings and stuff is just the build-up for the second one, a 28 minute long track where something actually happens?? Bravo Merz! This is a pretty decent release.
Now, I didn't mention this on quite a few discs, but sometimes the description mentions that they've been used as collaboration material, the thing is, ... read more
35 CD BOX / 32nd CD / https://www.albumoftheyear.org/user/chtc/album/856869-35-cd-box/
The description didn't lie, the first track does sound like late 90s Merzbow. Honestly, some of the other tracks also give off this vibe. Now, don't think this random 2022 archival release of recordings from 2014 is gonna have peak Merzbow, no no no, this is just some okay stuff. I guess it's nice to hear some pulsing again after the last few discs.
35 CD BOX / 31st CD / https://www.albumoftheyear.org/user/chtc/album/856869-35-cd-box/
Well, here's a release that actually doesn't have a sequencer. The first track has frequent hammering attacks, I would say it's an okay noise assault. The second track has.... guitar! You know, the thing that's mentioned in the title. Masami even gets a little psychedelic with it, other times the long sustained sound merges with the noise. Although was 36 minutes necessary?
My brain might ... read more
35 CD BOX / 30th CD / https://www.albumoftheyear.org/user/chtc/album/856869-35-cd-box/
After a slight de-tour into the future, we're back in 2014. For a box focused on performances without the use of sequencers, this album certainly has a lot of that, as 3 out of 4 tracks use a sequencer. The second track here opts for a analog kick drum generator instead.
It's a more interesting DBS I guess, I don't know what else I can say about this.
I haven't listened to any recs today and this one is perfect because it's short! Thanks @stupidrob for the rec!
Not necessarily great. There's some humor though, that's nice to see! And lots of cymbals crashing.
![DIR EN GREY - 激しさと、この胸の中で絡み付いた灼熱の闇 [Hageshisa To, Kono Mune No Naka De Karamitsuita Shakunetsu No Yami]](https://cdn2.albumoftheyear.org/100x0/album/1213969--hageshisa-to-kono-mune-no-naka-de-karamitsuita-shakunetsu-no-yami_194222.jpg)
Oh yeah, that title....
The better version of Hageshisa, although I'm not of the same opinion as some that they butchered the song on the album. The B-sides are so good they could've released them standalone. The 残-ZAN- remake on here is heavy greatness, although I miss the laughing from the original. And the one take version of 蝕紅 [Shokubeni]? An already amazing song made even better.
While I breathe, I hope.
DUM SPIRO SPERO is the bigger, heavier, and crazier sibling of UROBOROS. DIR EN GREY's 8th album is the best thing I've heard from them; at one point I was listening to (almost) only it for an entire month.
They get more experimental than on UROBOROS here, yet somehow it's all more consistent in sound even with all its changes in styles.
The bone-chilling 狂骨の鳴り [Kyoukotsu no Nari] and the 7-minute-long doom-like THE BLOSSOMING BEELZEBUB set ... read more
Listen to Vinushka, NOW!!!
UROBOROS is DIR EN GREY's 7th album, and if you know nothing about them and look at their first releases, you might be confused how they went from the V-Kei J-Rock of Gauze to the avant-garde metal of this. The short version: they've been experimenting since the beginning and just getting heavier and heavier.
While I really like THE MARROW OF A BONE, I completely get why some people don't. I also get why people love this one, because it's amazing! ... read more
35 CD BOX / 29th CD / https://www.albumoftheyear.org/user/chtc/album/856869-35-cd-box/
A similar deal to the first one. Effect modulation on the first track, fun with the keyboard on the second one, and dark ambient on the third one, what a nice surprise! Maybe slightly better than 雀色1, idk.
35 CD BOX / 28th CD / https://www.albumoftheyear.org/user/chtc/album/856869-35-cd-box/
Masami decided to control his synths with a MIDI keyboard - basically fucking around with it à la 80s Merzbow. Junk sounds are also here but it's the electronics which are front and center.
This was an alright release, certainly much more interesting than some of the discs in this entire box set.
Almost 2 hours of techno! Not only is Jeff Mills DJing with three turntables here, he's also got a TR-909! Hell yeah! Yes, I know this review is loaded with exclamation marks, but this set is good, impressive, and, most importantly, it makes you wanna dance!
35 CD BOX / 27th CD / https://www.albumoftheyear.org/user/chtc/album/856869-35-cd-box/
Modern day Merzbow doing something similar to Musique concrète, and Frog apparently. I haven't heard that one yet, sorry. Frogs!!! ₍ᐢ=– ̮ –=ᐢ₎
Even though it's far from actually sounding like a bog with animals everywhere or something, this feels like one. The first track features edited samples of instruments, running alongside glitchy noises.
The next two ... read more
35 CD BOX / 26th CD / https://www.albumoftheyear.org/user/chtc/album/856869-35-cd-box/
My goat 80s Merzbow is back ❤️
Three pieces, all completely different in style.
Dada 100 is a collage of pianos, vocal samples, drums and various Merz noises. Why did Masami decide to do something like his old work in the modern day? A Dada 100th anniversary event. This is the studio take of the performance for it. Not great, but it's refreshing to see something like this from modern day Merzy!
The ... read more
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Recent Review Comments
On TheVULover's review of Whitehouse - Bird Seed
"@TheVULover ah of course he has a vid of him talking about it for 20 minutes. i was planning to listen to the noisextra interview(s) but i guess i'll have to watch this too, cheers"
On TheVULover's review of Whitehouse - Bird Seed
"is he really allat for people to still make music with him"
On TheVULover's review of Whitehouse - Bird Seed
"@TheVULover i need to watch/listen to an interview with duncan, need to know if he's as annoying as in those liners"
On TheVULover's review of Whitehouse - Bird Seed
"@TheVULover I mean I like Willy Bennett very much but some critique existing in the back of the head doesn't hurt innit"
On TheVULover's review of Whitehouse - Bird Seed
"@ScottShelby shitty postmortem zappa albums are basically necrophilia"
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"hah, sex number. looks like now i'm fighting with god himself"
On TheVULover's review of Whitehouse - Bird Seed
"He still seems happy to meet corpsefucker Duncan! I don't care if he actually fucked that corpse or not, read the liners for Pleasure Escape, what an annoying twat. Fun how a nice bit of the scene seems to be cool with him!"
On TheVULover's review of Whitehouse - Bird Seed
"The Sotos dissing on Asceticists 2006 cuts for sure, but how seriously can you take it when one half is still on good terms with the person being dissed, and the problem the other half has could be something else than Sotos' "noncery""
On TheVULover's review of Whitehouse - Bird Seed
"In this thread Bennett first posts an excerpt from an interview where they say some kind words about Sotos, he only later talks shit about the guy.
https://susanlawly.proboards.com/thread/668/obvious-sotos-question"
On TheVULover's review of Whitehouse - Bird Seed
"Can you really love Bennett if you hate Sotos? He worked with him since the mid-80s, it's not like he didn't know about the arrest. Even after they kicked him out they still put the collage on this album and played it live. Best still seems to be on good terms with him, released a few books of his too. Bennett either had some kind of enlightment, or they had a personal falling out caused by something else."
On Ꝙ𑢸ᶒͤᥢ 𝜎𐍆 ᗪⱸƞՊдꓤ𐔘's review of Merzbow - Berlin Atonal 2025
"i assume they wanted to have like a sampler on the digital release and make side a and b not playable until you buy them but didn't lol"
On The Gerogerigegege - 新宿に命さびしむ歌多し [Shinjuku ni inochi sabi shimu uta ōshi]
"@hwitehouse thanks!"
On Plookeduah's review of Ground-Zero - Consume Red
"@Plookeduah still straighter than these AOTY TOURIST LIBTARDS ヽ(*・ω・)ﾉ"
On Plookeduah's review of Ground-Zero - Consume Red
"@ScottShelby it's okay scotty, we all make mistakes sometimes (⊃｡•́‿•̀｡)⊃"
On Plookeduah's review of Ground-Zero - Consume Red
"otomo also has this Memory Disorder series, yeah good luck finding all of that"
On Plookeduah's review of Ground-Zero - Consume Red
"@ScottShelby i didn't say they were anything like the night before the death of the sampling virus, just that this is an extension of project (￢_￢;)"
On Plookeduah's review of Ground-Zero - Consume Red
"everyone loving this album is a tourist because they didn't listen to the two remix albums ( ꩜ ᯅ ꩜;) "
On TheVULover's review of The Gerogerigegege - 昭和 [Showa]
"Anyone know a version of the sex tape that sounds a lot like the version on here in the middle? Like, one without 2 minutes of Kimigayo attached at the ends of it?"
On goodUsern8m's review of Obywatel G.C. - Obywatel G.C.
"i need to tap into my own countrys music fr"
On Amenonuvoco - Fafrotskies
"@ScottShelby cheers"
On Scott Shelby's review of The Mothers of Invention - 1968 10 03 - Tivoli Gardens, Copenhagen, Denmark
"@ScottShelby sorry, i thought it was affectionate"
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