FRATAXIN

Frataxin
Frataxin
2019

(Artist Submission)

Review by Joey

Genre/s: Industrial, Power Electronics
For Fans Of: Deathpile, Grunt, Con-Dom, The Sodality

Power electronics has always been a minefield of boring edgelords, cryptofascist dickheads, pretentious art nerds, and forgettable amateurs, all surrounding the few brilliant lights who bring something interesting to the table, have something worth saying, and which are deserving of merit. New Jersey's self-proclaimed "cripple power electronics" unit Frataxin is part of the latter, and in the past couple of years has really begun to come into their own. This latest tape, released on No Rent Records, is some of the most ferocious material from the project to date, and serves as a sign that things are only getting better (or worse, depending on your point of view) from here on out.

From the first awkward few seconds of plug sounds through the final shutoff, this tape drags the listener helplessly along a desperate, hellish path. Each harsh tone cuts like a knife, forcing anyone within earshot to suffer. Lyrically, the project focuses heavily on disability, but does so from a place of experience, rather than as a conceptual exploration. Musical prowess aside, that fact is a big part of why I think Frataxin should be held in the highest regards -- it's not just some tryhard dork yelling about turn of the century individuals with deformities (or Boyd Rice talking about how he wants to kill those with disabilities), it's a genuine and poignant look at the pain and alienation which able-bodied/neurotypical people not only can't, but also don't even try to grasp. This is truly powerful shit, overflowing with seething hatred and spite, and only the most casual listeners can sit through it and remain unmoved.

The tape is now sold out, but you can still listen to it. Honestly, not much has caught my ear this year, but this is definitely worth a listen.

Tracklisting:
1. Piss Dimple
2. Body Temperature
3. Credo
4. Morning Wound

LISTEN / DOWNLOAD

Billy Bao - Communisation

'Communisation'
Billy Bao
2015

(Band Submission)

Review by Joey

Genre/s: Noise Rock, Industrial, Power Electronics, Noise
For Fans Of: Cosmonauts Hail Satan, Premature Ejactulation, Twin Stumps, Skullflower

Everyone at FBN is a huge Billy Bao fan, I'm talking geek status; so when I saw Mattin sent us an email, giving us a heads up about the new 12" (which I actually knew about, as it was one of my most anticipated and favorite releases of 2015), I practically jumped out of my chair. I actually wanted to post this when it came out in December, but couldn't, because it wasn't up for free download -- but now we've gotten the green light, so here we go.

Those of you who know Billy Bao should have an idea of what to expect; on Communisation, they are doing what they do best. Those who don't, you're in for a ride. Billy Bao is notorious for their ability to create some of the most jarring and uncomfortable noise and noise rock, by not only combining the most abrasive elements of both instrumental and electronic noise; but also by turning those combinations into horrifying sound collages though the use of musique concrète techniques to play around with their mixes. Communisation sees them utilizing this style over the course of two tracks. The first is somewhat in the vein of their May 08 LP; it's 10 minutes of noise rock interspersed with power electronics and occasionally random instrumentation, field recordings, piercing tones, and sounds that make you think maybe something is wrong with your speakers (or headphones or whatever). The second reminds me of their Urban Disease LP; the track is a 20 minute sound collage which focuses on field recordings, tape loops, power electronics, and occasional instrumentation (mostly percussion). Trust me, it doesn't get boring at all, it's fucking terrifying and it's fucking awesome. This LP is a great addition to their already fantastic discography (which I obviously highly recommend).

Here's the short version: if you want noise -- and I mean more than just power electronics or monotonous repetition, I mean shit that is genuinely challenging and out there -- then Billy Bao should be your first stop. Smash that download button and get fucked up.

Tracklisting:
1. Debt: The Crisis To Come
2. Communisation: The Revolution Of Our Times

DOWNLOAD

On a related note, Mattin also sent the Lagos Sessions 2xLP which I'll be reviewing for Cvlt Nation since they don't want the recordings out just yet. So keep a lookout for that.

Sutcliffe Jugend - We Spit On Their Graves (remastered)

We Spit On Their Graves (remastered)
Sutcliffe Jugend
1982

Review by Xander Johnson

Genre/s: Power Electronics, Harsh Noise
For Fans Of: Whitehouse, SPK, City Of Worms, NON

Hi everyone I'm Xander and I'm going to write a few reviews for my favorite blog. Sutcliffe Jugend basically borrowed whitehouse's idea of dedicating songs and whole albums to serial killers and took it to a new extreme. Peter Sutcliffe "The Yorkshire Ripper" killed thirteen women and tortured seven. This tape's first twenty songs are 'dedicated' to the ripper's victims, with Kevin Tomkins (sometimes a member of whitehouse) giving Frankie Teardrop worthy screams over oppressive noise oscillations accompanied with sharpened piano keys, screeches and something like a barbed hissing kazoo.You get the impression that each track on this thing could have easily extended into an hour long piece of wall noise by someone less ambitious like 'music for apathetic people' or maybe 'NON'. I recommend you listen to it while looking at the cover art or just not listening to it at all.     

Tracklisting:
1. Ripper Victims I
2. Ripper Victims II
3. Ripper Victims III
4. Ripper Victims IV
5. Ripper Victims V
6. Ripper Victims VI
7. Ripper Victims VII
8. Ripper Victims VIII
9. Ripper Victims IX
10. Ripper Victims X
11. Ripper Victims XI
12. Ripper Victims XII
13. Ripper Victims XIII
14. Tortures I
15. Tortures II
16. Tortures III
17. Tortures IV
18. Tortures V
19. Tortures VI
20. Tortures VII
21. Necro-Sadism
22. Whores' Endlosung
23.  Menta
24. Human Disregard
25. Sex beast
26. Hammer Death [Ripper Attack]

Download

Prurient - DOUBLE POST

'Unmasking The Insect/Cocaine Daughter'
Prurient
2015

Review by Brayden Bagnall

Genre/s: Harsh Noise, Industrial, Power Electronics
For Fans Of: Prurient doing minimal power electronics/Prurient doing straight up harsh noise

Prurient has given us three releases this year, and this post contains the two that aren't Frozen Niagra Falls. Both releases here show considerable departures from his current style, so if you've come here via FNF you may be in for a bit of a surprise.
Let's start with Unmasking The Insect. Probably the personal favourite of the two for me, these five tracks see Prurient dabbling in minimal, washed out power electronics and droning industrial soundscapes. It recalls some of the disturbing, clinical qualities of Atrax Morgue's output with the lo-fi textures and atmospheres that Posh Iso/Chondritic Sound have been peddling. Really great stuff, and always a pleasure to hear Prurient's more minimal and structured output.
Cocaine Daughter on the other hand is just one big ole slab of dense, metallic noise. Harsh walls of synth, feedback manipulations and swathes of white noise are the name of the game here. Cocaine Daughter isn't too far off from Exploring Jezebel levels of texture and grit, and is utterly uncompromising throughout its run time - which happens to be 80 minutes. Oooft.
Both releases, in nice separate download folders no less, are waiting for you to get yer grubby mitts all over them. I doth implore you to listen to both.

Unmasking The Insect
1. Prosecution Scepter
2. Medicine Crawl
3. Raped By The Dragon (Granite Columns)
4. Private Tombs (Estate Liquidation)
5. Like Reeds In The Wind (Corpus)
Download

Cocaine Daughter
1. BTK Machine Sugar
2. Dayglow Bandage
3. Nylon Fluorescent Insect Bound
5. World Nail
6. Quartz Blood Lens
7. Appearing Townsman
8. Transparent Child
9. White Phosphorus Baths
Download

E.G.KAIDAN

'E.G.Kaidan'
Esplendor Geométrico + Hijokaidan
2015

Review by Joey

Genre/s: Industrial, Power Electronics, Noise
For Fans Of: SPK, Grim, Le Syndicat, The Haters

Okay, so this blog hasn't been living up to its name lately, and it's time to change that. What better way than with a collaboration between two of the most important noise bands of all time? You definitely read correctly, this recording features both Hijokaidan and Esplendor Geométrico; they're both doing what they do best, but at the same time complimenting each other's styles. This thing is going to wreck you.

For those of you who don't know, Hijokaidan (非常階段) is essential first wave noise from Japan. You've probably seen the pictures of them performing/destroying. Musically, Hijokaidan is incredibly abstract, unpredictable, and above all, harsh. They utilize a variety of ways to make their noise, ranging from traditional rock instruments to pedal based power electronics to bloodcurdling screams to random objects to breaking everything. And then we have Esplendor Geométrico. While lesser known than Hijokaidan, Esplendor Geométrico are probably just as important to industrial/noise music. They hail from Spain and create rhythmic, pulsing soundscapes, many times accompanied by samples, distorted vocals, and power electronics. Think SPK but more hypnotic. Honestly, Esplendor Geométrico are everything I love about first wave industrial/noise perfectly packaged together in one band.

With those things in mind, imagine mashing the two together. Structured rhythms collide with pure chaos, resulting in some truly horrifying and perfectly executed industrial.  Despite the fact that these bands have both been around for over 30 years, this material doesn't feel stale or dated; they've managed to keep things on the edge. You can clearly hear them playing with old sounds, but it doesn't feel as though they're just rehashing. Plus, this is a live recording, so both bands are at their most volatile, delivering totally caustic, hostile blasts of noise annihilation. Brace yourself.

Tracklisting:
1. E.G.Kaidan 01
2. E.G.Kaidan 02
3. E.G.Kaidan 03
4. E.G.Kaidan 04
5. E.G.Kaidan 05
6. E.G.Kaidan 06
7. E.G.Kaidan 07
8. E.G.Kaidan 08

DOWNLOAD

Endon - Mama

'Mama'
Endon
2014

Review by Brayden Bagnall

Genre/s: Noise Rock, Harsh Noise, Hardcore, Blackened Noise
For Fans Of: Pastafasta, Marousa, Boris, Gnaw Their Tongues, Me And Him Call It Us

So a bit of backstory on this one: I'd been searching low and high for this ever since a friend had put me onto the videoclip for Parricide Agent Service last year, and despite  my best efforts I couldn't for the life of me dig it up. I did come across plenty of interview and reviews however - all of which suggested that Endon were one of the most intense and chaotic bands to come out of Japan - and this is the country that gave us the likes of Hanatarash, World and The Gerogerigegege. Fast forward to a couple of weeks ago and I finally stumbled across a download on slsk, and....
This is fucked. Absolutely, unashamedly fucked. It's like twenty different bands were hired to soundtrack a day in the life of a paranoid schizophrenic, but they were all made to play at the same time.
Sure enough there's elements of conventional hardcore, grindcore and black metal but for the most part it's buried under layers and layers of chaotic noise - which is not surprising given that Endon have two dedicated noise makers in addition to a vocalist, drummer and guitarist. The furious mish-mash of electronics squeals, blastbeats, screams and guitar noise are broken up on occasion by ambient noise and drone passages, but for the most part this is pure, unsettling chaos. With no traditional song structures to speak of, and an even more unconventional band structure - Endon revel in unpredictable, terrifying audio terrorism.
All I can say is, I hope you know what you're getting yourself into.

TRACKLISTING:
1. Etude For Lynching By family
2. Parricide Agent Service
3. Acme Apathy Amok
4. Pray For Me
5. WIWTWM
6. Just Like Everybody

Download

Limbs Bin/Two Million Tonnes Of Shit - Split

'Split'
Limbs Bin and Two Million Tonnes Of Shit
2015

Review by Brayden Bagnall

Genre/s: Noisecore, Harsh Noise, Power Electronics
For Fans Of: The Gerogerigegege, Nihilist Commando, Slogun, Sete Star Sept

Frequent readers of this blog may recognise Limbs Bin as the brainchild of a Mr. Josh Landes, a man I've both interviewed and reviewed on this very blog before.Two Million Tonnes Of Shit on the other hand features members from the likes of Sump and Gerontophilliac. As you may have already deducted this is a split between both aforementioned parties.
Side A sees Two Million Tonnes Of Shit executing raw, free-form, drum and bass noisecore with a furious maelstrom of lo-fi noise bliss. The improvised and sporadic nature of the recording recalls something akin to a jazz band jamming, but with any semblance of melody or structure removed in favor of blast beats, screaming and copious amounts of feedback.
Side B has Limbs Bin churning out just over 11 minutes of gut wrenching, precision electronic outbursts - eschewing organic instrumentation for synthetic drum blasts and ear piercing shrieks of feedback. Blending the line between traditional noisecore and straight-up power electronics, Limbs Bins winds in and out of jackhammer drum machine 'beats', apocalyptic cascades of noise and pained vocal delivery and even ambient passages. It's as exhilarating as it is terrifying.
It may technically be a split between two projects of the same genre, but this split manages to provide two equally intense and stylistically different interpretations on what is usually an incredibly homogeneous sound.

TRACKLISTING:
1. Two Million Tonnes Of Shit - Cackhanded
2. Limbs Bin - Halloween 2014

Bandcamp

Bloated Subhumans - Vessels

'Vessels'
Bloated Subhumans
2015

Review by Brayden Bagnall

Genre/s: Noise Rock, Harsh Noise, Power Electronics
For Fans Of: Rectal Hygienics, Brainbombs, Twin Stumps, Billy Bao, Rusted Shut

If, like me, you're always itching for the sort of music that sits squarely in the middle of a noise vs actual music Venn diagram, I've totally got something for you.
Bloated Subhumans is a solo project that combines repetitious, crushing noise rock with vicious static walls and shrill arcs of electronic noise. Thick bass lines accompanied by super washed out, mumbled vocals are layed out on top of walls of distortion with programmed drums plodding away in the background, somehow keeping it from collapsing in on itself. The surges of harsh noise are done perfectly, and never overshadow the more 'musical' components of each track, and instead add a whole new level of grime and texture to the mix. Vessels is definitely a case of  'less is more', but it's done tastefully and in a way that lends the three tracks a menacing, apathetic vibe while not losing its appeal after the first few minutes.

TRACKLISTING:
1. Immobile
2. Kill
3. Unending

Bandcamp

Waves Crashing Piano Chords - I Can't Get The Taste Off My Tongue

'I Can't Get The Taste Off My Tongue' 
Waves Crashing Piano Chords
2014

Review by Brayden Bagnall

Genre/s: Harsh Noise, Power Electronics
For Fans Of: Whitehouse, Prurient, Sutcliffe Jugend, Consumer Electronics

Everyone's favourite (and most likely only) Juggalo harsh noise artist is back again with another 7" worth of mic on amp brutality.
Demonstrating again that a gigantic pedal board or expensive synthesizer aren't always necessary or conducive to noise making, Sean Beard (aka Waves Crashing Piano Chords) uses arcs of  pure feedback and his vocals instead to create howling vortexes of sound, even opening this track with heavy breathing - that quickly becomes amplified to point where it's almost percussive.
On I Can't Get The Taste Off My Tongue, WCPC weaves in an out of hostile and ear piecing feedback, and eerie ambient sections, using a manner of grunts, groans, coughs and drawls to convey an unsettling and unpredictable air of malice. In fact this is probably the most apocalyptic piece of 'music' WCPC has produced, largely thanks to the ungodly amounts of reverb mingling with the vocals and feedback, lending the record a MASSIVE cavernous quality that just gets more and more intense throughout the duration of the recording.
Brutally primitive yet incredibly dynamic and fleshed out, I Can't Get The Taste Off My Tongue proves that a man armed with just a microphone can create intriguing and ultimately perverse walls of sound,

TRACKLISTING:
1. I Can't Get The Taste Off My Tongue

Bandcamp

!FUCKED BY NOISE'S BEST OF 2014! - Brayden's Picks (Part 2: LPs)

This is part two of my 2K14 round up and it's all about the LPs. Again I've just been flooded with awesome music, and I guarantee there's stuff I've missed. Otherwise the rest is here -with youtube/bandcamp links to help you catch up on what you've missed. Before I start though I'd like to mention a few albums that might've been on here:

Swans - To Be Kind: Yeah it was good. Yeah it was kinda AOTY. But everyone else has it on their list so shhhh
Endon - Mama: I'm absolutely sure this would've made top 10 - had I been able to find a copy and listen to it
Trap Them - Blissfucker: A very good chance this would've been on the list too - had it not been a huge fucking let down and arguably the most disappointing album of the year
Triac - Full Length: This would've had a guaranteed spot on the list - but it hasn't been released, and doesn't look like it will be for some time. Alas

All that out of the way, here's the stuff that did make the cut:

LPs:

'Prayer For Terrene'
Idylls

Idylls had been one of my favourite Australian bands ever since I first saw them live opening for Punch on their Australian tour. Their debut album, Farewell All Joy was math-y hardcore done right but FUCK after listening to this it can't even hold a candle to this. Prayers For Terrene saw Idylls pushing every element of their sound to the breaking point. The grindcore influence is much more prominent, but so is the noise rock elements. There's more nods to classic Australian punk (see the Venom P. Stinger cover), there's a saxophone and there's just layers upon layers of sound to wade through. Idylls were pretty hard to classify before, but now they've reached dizzying new heights of ambiguity and dissonance. All I can say is that Australia hasn't had a band this intense, loud or crazy before - and I doubt it ever will again. Actual AOTY for sure. Hands down. No competition. Nup. None whatsoever.

'Primitive And Deadly'
Earth

Considering it was an album I wasn't excited about at all, Earth's Primitive And Deadly was probably the most pleasant surprise of 2014. Having barely listened to their previous releases, I was still surprised by the inclusion of vocals and a much more psychedelic rock driven sound. That's not to say that Earth aren't as bone shatteringly loud or heavy as the days of yore - because there's plenty of that too.  Each of the five tracks on this are repetitive, trance inducing journeys into luscious guitar tones and spaced out riffs. In fact I can safely say that 'From The Zodiacal Light' was my favourite track of 2K14, and Rabia Shaheen Qazi's hazy, chilled out vocal delivery has been stuck in my head for a fair portion of this year. They've been around for years, but Primitive And Deadly proves that Earth are still one of stoner/drone metal's biggest players.

'Estuary English'
Consumer Electronics

Estuary English has the distinction of being the most venomous, vile collection of recordings I heard all year. Consumer Electronicss (Phillip Best especially) have only gotten angrier and more focused as they've aged, both musically (term used VERY loosely here) and lyrically. Phillip Best's vocals drip with malice, sarcasm and wit as he forces every last syllable out his foam covered mouth. He spits, sputters and screams every known expletive in the English language over broken synth pulses, drum machine beats and shrill blasts of feedback. All this ferocity is channeled into vulgar attacks at modern culture and politics. It's spoken word meets Throbbing Gristle on amphetamine - and it's super good.

'Celestite'
Wolves In The Throne Room

Go figure, it takes Wolves In The Throne Room to stop playing black metal for me too reeeeeally enjoy them. Like, don't get me wrong - their black metal stuff is great - but Celestite just takes their, uh, celestial soundscapes to brand new highs. How? Well by ditching the metal, the instruments (for the most part) and milking the nicest, spaciest sounds out of synths as possible. Celestite sits somewhere between Sunn's more quiet output and Tangerine Dream - transcendental ambient music that's as lush as it is melodramatic. If you ever wanted to hear a black metal band scoring a sci-fi film without any blast beats, screaming or tremolo riffs this would be your best bet.



'Privacy'
Raspberry Bulbs

 I slept on Raspberry Bulbs previous LP, Deformed Worship in 2013. It promptly became one of my most played albums in 2014.
Then this album was announced.
Unsurprisingly, RB have continued to flesh out their unique combination of post-punk, noise rock and blackened punk - with longer more complex songs and many more ideas present within this album. Privacy has the band moving further away from their 'blackened' influences, and instead sees a much more refined, thought out direction. The inclusion of eerie, weird industrial tracks between every other track on the album is a pleasant surprise too - showing that the band can not only write brilliant punk songs but showcase a diversity of musical styles and their influences.

'Bestial Burden'
Pharmakon

Abandon featured in last year's top 10 list, and unsurprisingly Pharmakons' 2014 LP, Bestial Burden, is in this one.
New York death industrial musician, Margaret Chardiet, used a near death experience and operation as the inspiration to create the six tracks on this album. Utilizing stark synthesizer textures, samples and apocalyptic percussion, Chardiet's lyrics tackle the fragility of the human body and her health issues - in the noisiest way possible. The meticulous structure and presentation of Pharmakon's previous work remains - more so than before - and incorporates a wider range of vocal styles, samples and sounds. Bestial Burden is a much more diverse collection of tracks than Abandon, but still retains the harsh, uncompromising ethos of the project.



'Full Of Hell And Merzbow'
Full Of Hell/Merzbow

Full Of Hell have come along way since the breakdowns and hardcore riffs on Roots Of Earth..., veering almost directly into grindcore territory. From the very start of their collaboration, the potent combination of Masami Akita's volatile harsh noise and Full Of Hell's salvo of blast beats, riffs and savage vocals grip you by the throat and do not let go. The second disc features Merzbow's contributions in much more detail, with Full Of Hell providing wonderfully unhinged instrumental support - akin to one of their live performances - making for one hell of an uncomfortable, yet hypnotising experience.  This is a band who've gone from wearing their influences very heavily on their sleaves to craving their own niche into the genre AND collaborating with arguably the most important contemporary harsh noise artist in the process.

'Mental Hygiene'
Internal Rot

Internal Rot are a three piece grindcore band from Melbourne Australia, consisting of members from Roskopp, Agents Of Abhorrence and Super Fun Happy Slide. Now if that pedigree hasn't got you salivating all over your keyboard, the music will. Imagine shameless Excruciating Terror worship, but played with the speed and intensity of Insect Warfare - but with more groove. It's primitive grind cobbled together with an unhealthy amount of catchy thrashy riffs, more mosh parts than you can shake a fist too and absolutely filthy, raw vocals. Mental Hygiene is the best grind release to come from Australia since Earth.Water.Sun by AoA. Easily.

'Negative Ecstasy'
The Lowest Form

I've sung praises for this band on two occasions on this blog, and I'll be damned if I don't make it three. Negative Ecstasy is rabid, aggressive hardcore taken to its most illogical extreme. This album's a deadly duel between guitar feedback and buzzsaw riffs, with a madman barking over the top and the drums demolishing anything that happens to be in the path. No did it well last year, but the award for UKHC's craziest, gnarliest release definitely goes to The Lowest Form this year.



'Totem'
White Suns

Since 2008, New York band White Suns have been one of the most obtuse hardcore bands - splitting their time between freeform noise rock, sludgy dirges and experimental, avant-garde tracks. On Totem, they seem to be channeling the frantic, desperate energy of Drive Like Jehu coupled with the intensity of Drunkdriver. Wailing guitars are broken up by crackling oscillators and droning feedback, with sporadic drumming and unpredictable twists and turns. It's the most straightforward and accomplished album the band has released thus far,  but it retains the same impact and brunt of previous releases.



Honorable Mentions:
Fejhed - Self Titled
Vomir​/​Poète Maudit - Split
Ben Frost - A U R O R A
Gridlink - Longhena
Six Brew Bantha - Intravenously Commodified 
Rort - Warpath
Perspex Flesh - Self Titled
Mob Rules - Nothing Left
Thou - Heathen
Indian - From All Purity
The Body - I Shall Die Here
Scott Walker + Sunn O))) - Soused
Conan - Blood Eagle
Sesso Violento - Molestador
Arizmenda - Stillborn In The Temple Of Venus
Shellac - Dude Incredible
Ted Danson With Wolves - WWTDWWD

Dishonorable Mentions
Code Orange - I Am Kids King
Code Orange - I Am Kids King

Code Orange - I Am Kids King

Code Orange - I Am Kids King

Code Orange - I Am Kids King

Consumer Electronics - Selected Discography

SELECT DISCOGRAPHY
Consumer Electronics
1982 - 2009

Review by Brayden Bagnall

Genre/s: Power Electronics, Harsh Noise
For Fans Of: Whitehouse, Sutcliffe Jugend, Ramleh, Final Solution, Com Dom

So Consumer Electronic's latest album Estuary English is definitely poised to be one of my favourite albums of the year - Phillip Best is actually getting angrier as he gets older, and the sheer amount of venom on it has been completely and utterly unmatched by anything else this year.
I digress however, as this post covers most of Consumer Electronic's previous material, starting from 1982 and continuing onward until the late 2000s. For those of you who are new to the whole 'power electronics' thing, Consumer Electronics began as a side project for Whitehouse member Phillip Best (aka The Scary One - not counting Peter Sotos). Evolving from the shrill, minimal soundscapes that Whitehouse were utilizing in the mid 80s into what can only be described as hyper aggressive spoken word rants backed by piercing harsh noise and garbled beats, Phillip Best has collaborated with the likes of Masami Akita (which by the way, I've reviewed previously here), Gary Mundy (Skullflower, Ramleh) and Mattin (Billy Bao) and has recently toured with Sleaford Mods - of all things.
Below you'll find the 6 releases I've managed to track down, all of which showcase Consumer Electronic's brilliant power electronics throughout the past three decades.

DISCOGRAPHY:

Public Attack 3 (1982)
1. Fellatio
2. Pricktease
3. Animals
4. Fuck The I.R.A.
5. Rubbersex
6. Vibro
7. Murman
Download

Leathersex (1982)
1. Side A
2. Side B
Download

Teenage Nuremberg (1995)
1. Teenage Nuremburg
2. Sex Deaths
3. Fusing Devices
4. Genesis Of A Child Star
5. Dodd
6. Your Zen Is Shit
Download

Horn Of The Goat w. Merzbow (1995)
1. Horn Of The Goat
2. Dirty Jessie
3. Korean Comfort
4. History Of Child Porno In 70's Rock
5. Goodbye Lesley
Download

Nobody's Ugly (2007)
1. Black Cotton Wool
2. Grubbing
Download

Crowd Pleaser (2009)
1. Hand To Mouth
2. Cockpit
3. Crowd Pleaser
4. Parking Lot
5. Oily Possibilities
Download

Missing Releases:
CE 2 - 1982
Self Titled CS - 1982
Tease - 1983
Sex Pig: Live USA - 2013
Harbinger Sound @ The 100 Club - 2014
Estuary English - 2014

Constrictions - Zero Discrimination

'Zero Discrimination'
Constrictions
2010

Review by Brayden Bagnall

Genre/s: Power Electronics, Harsh Noise
For Fans Of: Deathpile, Sutcliffe Jugend, Koufar, Breathing Problem

Chicago, as we all know, has been doing some really cool things as of late in the noisy/fucked up/harsh side of music. The epicenter of most of these bands and projects would probably have to be the Diseased Audio label, who've been going at it since 2010. One of their earlier releases (np. 2 in fact) was this nasty piece of work from Constrictions.
Constrictions was a three piece power electronics group, consisting of members of Rectal Hygienics, Sea Of Shit, Consent and Socially Retarded. They only released two tapes, one comp track and played 3 shows before moving onto other things, but goddamn what they did do is VERY worth listening too.
Essentially you're about to be subjected to about ten minutes of harsh, crumbling electronics and a dual vocal attack, trading off in rapid fire, cut up succession. Each one of the tracks on Zero Discrimination sits around, so they're just jammed full of noisy, aggressive violence in extremely concise bursts - there's really no time for any of the tracks to become stale or boring.
If you're itching to get your crumbly, static-y power electronics fix, I suggest visiting either of the links below and snagging yourself a copy of this bad boy.

TRACKLISTING:
1. -
2. Zero Discrimination
3. Strength in Numbers
4. Dead Weight
5. -
6. Abscess

Bandcamp
Download

Incapacitants - Ministry Of Foolishness

'Ministry Of Foolishness'
Incapacitants
1995

Review by Brayden Bagnall

Genre/s: Harsh Noise
For Fans Of: MSBR, Macronympha, Bizarre Uproar, Merzbow, Pain Jerk

 Incapacitants are one of my favourite Japanoise acts for several reasons.
a) They look like this
b) They have respectable day jobs as bankers and public servants
c) Their live shows are UTTERLY INSANE
d) and this release here
The formidable duo of Toshiji Mikawa (ex Hijokaidan) and Fumio Kosakai (Hijokaidan and C.C.C.C) present 75 minutes of the most dense, apocalyptic walls of noise ever to be captured and contained within a recording. Each track on Ministry Of Foolishness extends past the twenty minute mark, into some transcendental realm of noise zen where the constant, unrelenting swash of sounds all but melts your brain. There's not one moment on this where the duo lets up at all, only the maelstrom of static, feedback and distorted yelps and screams that comprise the three tracks here.
Yes, you do have to be in a pretty fucking masochistic state of mind to subject yourself to the full running time of Ministry Of Foolishness, but once you muscle past that you'll be rewarded with a classic noise release that gets better and better with each subsequent listen.

TRACKLISTING:
1. Stone River
2. Sky Valley
3. Village Wood

Download

Waves Crashing Piano Chords - Childhood

'Childhood'
Waves Crashing Piano Chords
2014

Review by Brayden Bagnall

Genre/s: Harsh Noise
For Fans Of: Prurient, Whitehouse, Sutcliffe Jugend, Consumer Electronics

We're no strangers to Wave Crashing Piano Chord's brand of musical(??) nihilism on FBN, having interviewed Sean himself and reviewed his stuff previously. If by chance you have not acquainted yourself with WCPC's material, you can usually expect sharp arcs of feedback and coarse, barked vocals detailing deviancy, perversion and violence.
On Childhood, however, such is not the case. Gone are the vocals of previous releases, replaced entirely by piercing microphone feedback and sparse samples. That's not to say it lacks the intensity of the previous releases - if anything it's more unrelenting and dangerously unhinged than WCPC's other material, as Sean's only goal on this is to warp and mold feedback into increasingly frenzied sonic attacks. Much like Dom Fernow's early Prurient work, there's an element of control and progression exhibited over the feedback, tones are held back and then unleashed in an extremely gratifying flurry of aural violence. There's definitely an element of atmosphere and ambience, but it's so loud and piercing it often crosses the pain threshold - right on into 'harsh' territory.
Childhood again showcases WCPC's primitavist ethics and minimalist method in creating noise, but channels it into something that comes off a less brutal, and more clinical and premeditated. An intriguing and welcome change of pace if you ask me.

TRACKLISTING:
1. Childhood
2. Childhood (Concluded)

Purchase
Bandcamp/Download

Dead Boomers - The Pig In The Python

'The Pig In The Python'
Dead Boomers
2012

Review by Brayden Bagnall

Genre/s: Death Industrial, Harsh Noise, Power Electronics
For Fans Of: Pharmakon, IRM, Disgust, Grunt, Deathpile

Hailing from Melbourne, Australia, Dead Boomers are a duo that perform an incredibly dense, atmospheric mixture of death industrial and harsh noise.
The Pig In The Python pairs percussion with pulsating electronic noise, the result of which are apocalyptic industrial dirges punctuated by absolutely gigantic rhythms and heavily distorted vocals. For the most part, Dead Boomers keep their tracks harsh and focus purely on pummeling you senseless with deliciously warped static swells - but on tracks such as Leave Flowers Now present are much more subdued and atmospheric side, albeit sinister as fuck. Each track is deliberated composed (meaning they can be recreated in a live setting) and if there's any improvisation it fits right in with the measured clangs, thumps and feedback screeches.
There's not a great abundance of noise projects in Australia, and certainly none as monolithic as this one - you'd be wise to check it out.

TRACKLISTING:
1. The Pig In The Python
2. Vintage Summa Cum Laude
3. The Hammer
4. Send Flirts and Modify Your Profile
5. A New Altamont
6. Leave Flowers Now
7. The New Scarlet Letter
8. One in Eighty Five
9. Synthetic Entheogen Private Party
10. Sundowning
11. Burden
12. The Golden Boomers

Bandcamp
Download

Swallowing Bile/Magia Nuda - Split C30

'Swallowing Bile/Magia Nuda C30'
Swallowing Bile and Magia Nuda
2014

(Band Submission)

Review by Brayden Bagnall

Genre/s: Harsh Noise, Power Electronics
For Fans Of: The Rita, Deathpile, Macronympha, Slogun,

This nasty piece of work, out via Solar Temple Tapes (check em out HERE), brings prolific New York artist Swallowing Bile and Chicago noiser Magia Nuda together in unholy matrimony. Grimy, static rumble are the name of the game here, and across this C30 you're exposed to all kinds of gnarly low end rumbles and harsh vocal delivery.
Swallowing Bile's side opens the tape with a gradually ascending, treble heavy roar that explodes into harsh static. From there on in, you're treated to rapid fire, venomous vocals layered on top of harsh walls of noise, detailing submission and domination. Gradually it tapers off into quieter atmospheric territory, fading away into a low, industrial hum.
Magia Nuda's side experiments with both static walls and pulsating electronic squeals, tying them together into rudimentary, harsh rhythms. This too is accompanied with severely pissed off, venomous lyrical delivery that plows over the top of the noise for a full on, blunt force sonic assault. While Swallowing Bile's side relies on gradual change, ambiance and a building crescendo - Magia Nuda's side is all about crazed, dynamic bursts of noise. In short, both sides are a different, but entirely satisfying interpretation of violent power electronics.
Both sides of this split are available for download below, and you can head on over to the Solar Temple bandcamp to pick up the tape in physical form.

TRACKLISTING:
1. Swallowing Bile Side
2. Magia Nuda Side

Bandcamp
Swallowing Bile Side
Magia Nuda Side

Disgust - Time Ruins Everything

'Time Ruins Everything'
Disgust
2010

Review by Brayden Bagnall

Genre: Power Electronics, Harsh Noise
For Fans Of: Koufar, Dead Boomers, Breathing Problem, Constrictions

Disgust is one of many projects from Mr. Mackenzie Chami, who you may know from other noise projects such as Koufar, Crown Of Cerberus, Insurgent and Bachir Gemayel. The project features (or featured? There hasn't been a Disgust release since 2011) quite a few different noise peeps on and off, and on 'Time Ruins Everything' (which may I mention was released as a 3" mini CD), Chami is accompanied by a Mr. Thor. J.
Much like Koufar, Disgust features heavily distorted, and extremely harsh vocals, masterfully manipulated with delay and brought to chaotic crescendos - but wrangled in before they collapse in on themselves. These vocals are backed with GIGANTIC, crumbling synth pulses and samples that have all the fancy trappings of
a 'rythym' but preserve the core principles of noise music by being completly and apologetically hostile and atonal. And, as an added bonus there's a pretty good Weekend Nachos cover, which is a vast improvement on the original if you ask me.

TRACKLISTING:
1. Disgust
2. Fueled By Self Hate/If I Could
3. Epiphany
4. God
5. Unforgivable (Weekend Nachos)

Download

Homage To Nothing - First Failure

'First Failure'
Homage To Nothing
2014

Review by Brayden Bagnall

Genre/s: Harsh Noise, Noisecore, Free Improvisation
For Fans Of: Sete Star Sept, Full Of Hell, 7 Minutes Of Nausea, Limbs Bin

Homage To Nothing's bandcamp displays a somewhat accurate description for the sounds contained within: 'FUCKED UP DRUGGED OUT LO-FI SPAZZTIC NOISE AND DRUM CACOPHONIES'
Curiosity not quenched? You're not hovering over that bandcamp link button below already? Okay, allow me to elaborate.
On First Failure, Homage To Nothing combines the spaced out squelches and squeals of a synthesizer (a Korg Monotron by the sounds of things) and pairs them with fevered drum blasts. The duo play in reckless unison, joined on and off again by screams and yelps - to great effect. The spaced out squeaks of the synth and harsh drumming barrages may seem like and odd couple at first, but as the tracks progress, the two intertwine, duck, weave and duel each other until some semblance of balance is achieved.
You could say that this is the result of a noisecore album being recorded in the cockpit of a UFO whizzing through the skies in a 60s sci-fi flick - on that other hand it could be the sounds escaping from the mouth of a junkie passed out in his own vomit. Analogies aside, it is an interesting rendition of a genre that for the most part sounds the same, and you'd do well to ingest copious amounts of drugs and check it out.

TRACKLISTING:
1. MOVER OF MOUNTAINS
2. THAT CROW NEVER STOPS
3. I BURNED ALL OUR BOOKS
4. NO ONE MAKES IT
5. DRIVER NOT BELTED
6. DIRGE

Bandcamp

NOISE MEGAPOST

It's that time again

'The Harsh Weight Of Anxiety' - Eating Scabs For Protein
Certainly an inventive name, and pretty indicative of the raw, primal sounds that are about to be thrown at you. ESFP is self described 'rudimentary power electronics', though on this release it's entirely 'instrumental' noise, comprised of squealing feedback and gigantic static walls fighting for dominance in the background. This is the sort of noise that makes you want to curl up into a ball and chew your fingernails.
Bandcamp

'HATRED' -SBTDOH
Isolation and discontent with the work-centric world we live in are the basis of this release by SBTDOH. HATRED is comprised of two lengthy tracks that share stylistic similarities to HNW, but break the usual monotony with bursts of dynamic noise. It's an interesting combination of styles and sounds and definitely worth checking out.
Bandcamp 

'I Can Never Know You' - Wolf Cartography
I Can Never Know You is the new 42 minute long tape from Massachusetts based noise project, Wolf Cartography. The solo project takes its cues from the likes of artists such as Glenn Branca or Otomo Yoshihide and delivers harsh, improvised guitar based noise. While there's plenty of guitar feedback, you're also assaulted with string scratches, painful string bends and an assortment of distorted wails and chugs.
Bandcamp

'Vessels' - Rui. P Andrade
More guitar oriented noise, but this time from sound artist Rui P. Andrade. Vessels is composed from numerous sources: prepared guitar, synthesizers and field recordings, all of which intertwine to create a slow, haunting build up of ambient noise. The two tracks here are certainly lengthy, but rewarding in their own right - each layer of sound is so meticulously crafted that you have to listen.
Bandcamp

'Machine Death' - Frequency Killer
Coming at you from Florida, USA is this debut from Frequency Killer, Machine Death. 
Over thirty, short, violent tracks you are slammed with seething, bubbling noise via unrestrained feedback and chaotic distortion. Definitely an endurance test for the ears.
Bandcamp

'Bitch Status' - Stricture Divulsor
Traditional instrumentation, noise, sampling and field recording and an interesting interpretation of Tracy Chapman's 'Fast Car' all collide on this debut EP from Stricture Divulsor. Somewhere between musique concrete and avant-garde rock is where I'd place this, but there's elements of traditional noise and electronica as well. An incredibly well put together collage of genres and an intriguing listen for sure.
Bandcamp

Interview with Limbs Bin

Interview by Brayden Bagnall

Josh Landes is the man behind Limbs Bin - a project that fuses the extremes of power electronics and noisecore into extremely potent, violent art form. I spoke to Josh about his project, his numerous influences and confusing hardcore kids.

FBN: Hi there! What's your name and what's the name of your project?

Josh: Hello Brayden! I’m Josh Landes, and my project is called Limbs Bin. The name comes from an actual box of severed arms and legs I encountered in a Tel Aviv University anatomy lab as a teenager.

FBN:  Aside from Limbs Bin, are there any other projects or bands you are involved with?

Josh: I am half of the reclusive Crashing Bores duo with Erik Brown as well as being half of Two Jacks with Dan Cashman, and I’m a founding member of Science Camp, Reaver Space, and Spiner Femmes.

FBN: I saw that top 10 list of bands on your blog that influenced Limbs Bin and it included punk, hardcore and even poetry - as well as noise oriented material. How did you decide to incorporate all these elements into your music - was it an immediate decision or did you ease into it gradually? 

Josh: The beauty and peril of flying solo is that there’s very little filter on what influences the noise. With no one to negotiate with, anything from a science fiction novel to a particularly good sandwich can enter the Limbs Bin lexicon. I grew up in the moldy basements, blown out amps, and violent physicality of hardcore punk, and latched on to the extremes of the music that was mostly treated as a byproduct or a device- mic feedback, the crunching distortion, the wall of sound from a battered crash cymbal. When I discovered a world where those elements were embraced and heightened, it was very exciting, though at first I was seeing a lot of knob twisting that didn’t produce the same thrill as the sweat and bruises of hardcore. Seeing Dan Deacon in his early days was also exciting, blown out electronic music with a fiercely positive physicality had a big impact on me. I was exposed to power electronics on an early tour while still in college- particularly a set by Peter J Woods in 2009- and that blend of human voice and electronic barrage delighted me. It’s hard to not influence me. I saw the poet Hiromi Ito just tear through her work almost foaming at the mouth at a pretty staid academic event, and it made me want to focus even more on writing words that I wanted to rip into like that. Intelligible or not, making sure the text comes from a place of passion is still very important to me. The most recent turn in my interests has been to noisecore and grindcore, and while several of my releases have entirely improvised vocal parts (certainly inspired by one of my favorite bands from Western Mass, where Limbs Bin started and was nurtured by an explosively creative scene, Grey Skull) I think lyrics are important to the band even if the music is even faster and more fucked. Living in Western Massachusetts influenced me, and now living in New York City is driving the music in a totally different direction as I incorporate a drummer and increased improvisation into the set. For every super harsh evil album that drives me, so does the pop I hear on the radio or the Steely Dan records my dad played in our car when I was a kid. Entire tapes have emerged from one bad argument, one walk in the woods, one moment in a book. I’ve even written a love song at this point. So to pirouette back to your question, I am constantly influenced by more than I know, more often than I’d care to admit.

FBN: What does your live setup usually entail?

Josh: The core elements of Limbs Bin are my voice through a distorted mic- a development I learned only after playing live shows and taking the project out of my dorm room- and the drum machine. For a long time, my accompaniment was a backing track from an ipod that I screamed over. On my last tour, I played the drum machine live, and over the last two years I’ve added a noise generator built by Dan Greenwood. I’ve also played the songs as a hardcore band or a sort of improvisatory orchestra of different players, both as Limbs Band. One memorable show captured on the first collection tape features a second vocalist and a saxophone. Some sets have been straight up harsh noise or drum machine explorations. Any set up that lets me feel lost in something and ecstatic I will try.

FBN:  Do you play many non-noise oriented shows? How does your stuff go down with the typical metal/punk/hardcore crowd?

Josh: I used to almost exclusively play hardcore shows given my longer relationship with that world. The wonderful thing about my set is that it’s usually too short and loud to heckle. I’ve definitely played to a lot of blank faces and snickers and accusations of irony or over-artiness. It’s fine. No one has to like it, and I realize that even if I see Limbs Bin as a punk band, I can’t insist anyone else does. I think the ironic thing is that as someone who spent many years voraciously consuming hardcore, I was trying to take everything I loved about the music and condense it into one performance. So it came from a place of trying to take two of my favorite bands who already essentialized and exaggerated hardcore, Napalm Death and Infest, and push it into an even stranger extreme. When I discovered Masonna and the rich world of noisecore, I realized I was hardly the first person to do this, and as a result I continued pushing into different directions.

FBN: You've toured pretty extensively, mostly in the US - but you've also toured Israel. How did your noise go down over there? And what's your best tour experience?

Josh: I travelled to Israel in 2012 ostensibly to see my brother for Passover with my family, and under that guise planned three dates with the help of Tom Sveta, who I had met through his grind band D9. I wanted to take the opportunity to reverse some of the Zionist propaganda I had been raised in by seeing the parts of Israel most concealed by that unapologetically racist, militaristic ideology. I attended a demonstration in the West Bank and met Palestinians on their own soil for the first time in my life. I saw the plight of African refugees left to voicelessly fend for themselves in Southern Tel Aviv, a true urban dystopia. I did this all with the impunity of a white American man who could travel unimpeded and unquestioned through one of the most policed areas in the world. It was an intense ten days, and the shows reflected that. From the Rogatka in Tel Aviv- an anarchist bar/vegan restaurant where I played D9’s last show with the brilliant Frequently Humiliated- to the bagel shop basement space called the Thrash Hole in Jerusalem, I met some amazingly passionate people playing music from grim political crust/grind like D9 to bands that sounded like the Minutemen, to a polished metal band on Relapse and a pornogrind band called Dirk Diggler. The third and final show was at a noise compound in Tel Aviv called the Zimmer Improv Center, where I smoked joints continuously rolled and passed to me by a stoic older man who assured me it was organic while we watched a free improve ensemble play harp, violin, reel to reel, and electric bass for forty-five minutes before Tom and I collaborated on a harsh noise/power electronics set. The activists I met there- mostly from the group Anarchists Against The Wall- were clearly traumatized by their experiences facing down the military state and watching their friends across the wall languish in prison and suffer endlessly. I wish I’d had more time in Palestine, but hopefully I can return someday. I have a long unpublished, amazing interview with Ben Ronen, an eloquent and constantly active voice for justice in a cruel world who I spent time with. It all certainly put my armchair activism to shame. From motorcycle rides around Tel Aviv to long talks about animal rights and Red Dwarf marathons, the experience was something else.

As far as best tour experiences go, playing with Globsters well after midnight in a tiny bar next to an international 8-bit music convention in Kentucky was amazing, as was a recent moment on tour where Sangre Y Tierra and I found ourselves hiking through the gorges of Ithaca in between wonderfully warm, friendly shows in Syracuse, NY and Lancaster, PA.

FBN: Noisecore is notorious for joke-songs and generally not taking itself seriously - but on the other hand it's just as brutal and unforgiving as any other form of noise music. Does Limbs Bin have an elements of humour or self parody, or is it straight-up, sonic assault? 

Josh: I would hate to be involved in anything that doesn’t have a sense of humor about itself. There’s plenty of references, in jokes, winks, and nods in the music that reflect that, and I’m completely aware that it’s impossible to look super cool and be taken seriously all the time when you’re onstage alone losing your mind and sweating violently. I don’t like the idea that artists are sacred beings sharing a gift with the world. I like the idea of artists as public amateurs learning in front of people. Something about the pompousness of people thinking that being in a band or having been published means anything special makes me want to embarrass myself and be defiantly vulnerable on stage. I also can’t stand bands that thrive on straight frivolity. Acts like Crank Sturgeon are my favorite live acts; you’re lead through an improvisation that is as hilarious as it is a revelation. All that being said, this is my chief means of being creative and expressive, so I perform it with the intensity and earnestly Limbs Bin deserves and can be very defensive about it if pushed.

FBN: If you could collaborate with any three noise artists, living or dead, who would they be?  

Josh: Eric Wood, Masonna, and Brian Eno.

FBN: What have you got planned for Limbs Bin for the rest of the year? Shows, splits, other releases? 

Josh: Limbs Bin is playing with Sete Star Sept on August 14th in NYC, and working on a fall tour with Sunken Cheek. I just got my side of a 7” with Shitnoise Bastards mastered, so expect that before the year is out. The “Live In Israel” tape is coming out on Bonescraper Recordings at some point. I’ve got a long list of splits to record for, among them a tape with Gutterpriest and a collaboration 7” with Kusari Gama Kill.

FBN: Finally, and words of encouragement, shout outs or thank yous you wish for the internet to look upon?

Josh: As far as encouragement goes, remember that you always have choices no matter what the situation, and that the longer you do something the more rewarding it gets.

Gowl’s new 7” is fantastic. Gay Kiss, my favorite contemporary hardcore band, has a devastating new LP coming out this year. I salute my fellow members of the Titans Of Noise Trio, Wish For Skin and Permanent Waves. The aforementioned Ben Ronen is in a band called Marmar Streisand. Check out Tom Sveta’s noise project Sinister Sveta. I’m excited for Limbs Bin with Marc Grillo on the drums this year. Hail to Sangre Y Tierra, Pyka, Hunted Down, In Her Rotten Cheek, Japanese Furnace, Building 7, Ya Te Veo, Crazed, Noise Nomads, Demonbrother, Tacomaniacx, Subsist, Violent Gorge, and Generic Death. I have a show on WFMU called Infinite Distortion that you can hear at wfmu.org on Wednesday nights at 8pm Eastern or stream from the archives. You can reach me at followmeintothelasereye@gmail.com - I love trading stuff and meeting other weirdos. Thanks so much for the interview!

Thanks to Josh for that interview! 

Head on over to the Limbs Bin bandcamp HERE to check out the multitude of releases there. Highly recommended.