IreviewMerzbow

I don't take nearly as much of an issue with the inconsistent audio quality on this one as others seem to, because at this point, it doesn't much matter. This album is standard fare formless noise, apparently mostly live, and pretty colossal once it gets bassy. As sound it's a satisfying presence, but possesses little in the way of texture or pull beyond its immediate aural qualities— perhaps a bit hypnotizing. The first track is the weakest of the bunch because it's ... read more

FOUND! We know that this one was recorded live as most other Merzbow Null, and being a collaboration with Nord I should assume both Japanese noise bands were playing with each other, though the "semi" in the title is a bit of a mystery. As for the recording itself, it's mostly more superfluous junk noise that was typical of this era of Merzbow with a slight Industrial tinge but not recorded well enough nor filled with enough dynamics to amount to much interesting atmosphere here. ... read more

FOUND! Another live one with Null, fairly similar to the redundant Das and the conflicting Deus irae but done a bit better. The first track here is 29 minutes of the same loose but careful, intense, slow drumbeat played beneath a barrage of loud whirring wailing noise which quickly fade into time in what is effectively a drone. Sometimes live instrumentation is apparent, and we also get some live wails from Masami from time to time too, but for the most part this thing is a fairly consistent ... read more

The last archival tape of this series, and it's a fine listen. The opener is the same May 891 Mix off of Travelling as I mentioned prior, so the other 2 tracks are the only new material here, and they're about equally alright. Certainly a bit less harsh, but other than a few novel sputtering radio & jazz samples on the shortest track & closer, pretty nondesript for this era. Still, they're nice to listen to and have enough cool textures and dynamics to engage, and work as a fine piece ... read more