Merzbow – Animal Liberation – Until Every Cage Is Empty

Merzbow – Animal Liberation – Until Every Cage Is Empty – CD/Download – Cild Spring Records - CSR314CD – 2022.

https://coldspring.bandcamp.com/album/animal-liberation-until-every-cage-is-empty-csr314cd

https://coldspring.co.uk/

         1.   No Cages Part 1.

         2.   No Cages Part 2.

         3.   No Cages Part 3.

         4.   No Cages Part 4.

         5.   Baby Bird.

"There is a theory that Covid-19 broke out from the poor conditioned wet markets where live animals are sold. If there were no poultry farms, there would be no mass destruction of chickens due to the spread of bird flu. Human beings' cruelty to animals, animal abuse and species discrimination are all adding up to a disaster for mankind and the whole planet. The pandemic is an opportunity to reflect on the relationship between animals and humans. Veganism is the future for humanity" (Masami Akita, 2021).

The theme of this album, coupled with the Anarcho Punk style artwork takes be back to my days of discovering bands like Conflict, Doom, Cress, Napalm Death, A.P.P.L.E. and Crass and exposure to their take on the world, particularly the issue of animal rights. I remember around that time of discovery regularly going to the Coventry Airport Veal export protests in the 1990s, Jill Phipps died there, it had a massive impact and I remember becoming a Vegan not long after that.

The intensity of No Cages Part 1 is immediate, starting with a pulsating distortion, it throbs at speed before high pitched, screaming noise asserts itself over this. The high-pitched wailing is like a horrified screaming in protest. Frequent rapid shifts jolt the overall sound in other directions until it returns to something resembling what it once was once the screaming noise returns. There is a constant struggle of claustrophobic tension and anger as if imagining what it is like to be stuck in a cage where you cannot really move, cannot see the sun, cannot escape your own filth, cannot really live. The power of the backstory has a massive impact on the work.

Savage pulsating forms the base of No Cages Part 2, rapid, repetitive and relentless. That’s nothing compared to the wailing frequencies that overlay it. I am sure I can hear field recordings of caged birds in there as if in a battery farm for chickens. So far, the delivery on this album is particularly savage, or is it how I am receiving it? The shifts are more subtle here, things do not move too far from the initial group of noises that started off after the pulsations of deep noise. Constant screaming noise is prominent throughout this album. Metal abuse, repeated battering kicks into the proceedings to overlap the pulsating. The busyness of the noise drops off to allow rumbling bass to dominate the sound and create a bigger sonic landscape that allows a deeper depth of sound to engage the listener – this is a simple, yet effective shift to the work. This chapter of the album goes into hyperdrive as it accelerates towards its’ own death.

Industrial, repetitive grinding sounds coupled with sharper noise (metal sheeting, hit repetitively) forms No Cages Part 3. Digital pulsations do kick into the sound occasionally to allow a higher build up of noise to occur. This is the shortest No Cages and the most sonically violent, it feels like an act of slaughter.

The looped metallic clanging and throb of No Cages Part 4 is imposing and serves as a base for the noise to go off. Noise levels and busyness drop off quickly to allow the high-pitched screaming noises to interact and converse with more clarity, offering a bold contrast to the massacre that was No Cages Part 3. In parts the sound seems to malfunction and gasp for air as the base sounds take prominence for the noise to then go off around it.

Baby Bird begins with the base noise and its’ repetitive rhythm, but manic, conversing noise then takes the centre stage. Parts of it seem to mimic the noises a young bird makes, coupled with Industrial machine-like noise, it doesn’t look good for the bird. The noise becomes particularly violent on this track, seeming to emphasise the shitness of life applied to all ages of animal and bird in the food industry. The sounds break down and seem to splutter and become very unstable as everything melts down to an end.

Animal Liberation is a powerful album, which makes a powerful statement. All proceeds will benefit animal rights charities.

Nothing and Nobody 2022.

Relevant sites.

https://animalliberationfrontline.com/

https://www.vegansociety.com/

https://merzbow.net/release/

https://www.peta.org/international/

Merzbow - Dead Lotus.

Album: Dead Lotus

Artist: Merzbow

Label: No Funeral Records

Catalogue  no: nf-009

Tracklist:

       1.      Dead Lotus pt 1

       2.      Dead Lotus pt 2

       3.      Dead Lotus pt 3

       4.      Spirulina Blue

I have pondered, many times in fact, how long it would take for someone to listen to the entirety of Merzbow’s recorded output – his productivity would surely make that a lifetime’s work. You’d get to the end of the last one you bought only to find that in the meantime he’s released 600 further albums.

Before I go any further, I am not denigrating either the man or the music – I find his work endlessly fascinating and texturally multi-layered. I have more than a few of his releases and each one has something new to offer, and something new to say. On top of that, even at his fiercest and rawest, his collages of blasting jet engine noise and swirling chaos more often than not send me into blissful states of reverie.

This strictly limited edition cassette release for the tiny No Funeral Records label out of Cambridge, Canada is no exception – three shortish slabs of lush carpets of chaotic static and pure noise, interspersed with recognisable almost rhythmic bass ‘beats’ and shrieking high-pitched whines, feedback, squeaks, and machine noises on side one (which form a themed whole) and a longer, layered, and shimmering assemblage that is, dare I say it, almost tuneful. ‘Spirulina Blue’ is what I would call ‘classic’ industrial music, the kind I particularly gravitated to in the late eighties/early nineties. This one still has the Merzbow trademark nuclear granulation but also includes a keening ‘melody’ weaving its way through the noise. I’m even tempted to categorise this as dark noise ambient – labels are mostly useless when it comes to this Japanese artist but in this case it fits nicely.

This, as I said above, is a strictly limited release on cassette so if my description tickles your earbuds then you can purchase from either:

https://nofuneralsound.bandcamp.com/album/dead-lotus?fbclid=IwAR2BHpLtj_cHAdXcJw116BK0vnRN9Q5XDUKKCZh31Q3HZ-K6Q5Dkav6Xpxk

or

https://nofuneral.storenvy.com/products/27085800-merzbow-dead-lotus-tape

Psymon Marshall 2019

Merzbow + Opening Performance Orchestra

Merzbow + Opening Performance Orchestra ‎– Merzopo - Sub Rosa

Sub Rosa – 2 x cd – 2018 – SR472CD.

OpeningPerformance Orchestra Website

Merzbow Website

1-1       –Merzbow       Futaomote Part 1       

1-2       –Merzbow       Futaomote Part 2       

1-3       –Merzbow       Yasugibushi Part 1    

1-4       –Merzbow       Yasugibushi Part 2    

2-1       –Opening Performance Orchestra     Fraction Elements      

2-2       –Opening Performance Orchestra     Fraction Music XII

Having been active since 1979 with a massive history of hundreds of releases makes Merzbow one of the most important historical figures in the history of modern Noise. Opening Performance Orchestra are a Czech noise group dating back to 2006; this is their 16^th album. Merzopo is the recent split album featuring both artists. The artwork is a kind of huge abstract painted penis by Jaroslav Buzek which spreads across two panels of the digipack.

The Merzbow CD begins steadily with low noise and increases to a massive overall sound, this very quickly becomes intense and overpowering. There are extreme contrasts of wall like distortion and sharp high-pitched sound. Sounds do override beyond breaking point; other noises frequently enter the composition. The sound is a big, over powering mass; this frequently breaks down to allow some respite for newer structures of noise to be built. The Futaomote tracks are Harsh, it’s difficult to comment if this is Merzbow’s best work, my criticism of the first two pieces is that they get too busy to a point where the drops in overall noise are essential to make it work again. I think the pieces are huge but could have been way more effective if stripped back continuously, allowing more clarity of individual or combinations of elements as there is often too much in the equation.

In the later ‘Yasugibushi’ tracks the sound does strip back more and this is a lot more interesting as quirkier, playful elements to the sound begin to show themselves. The wider, ambitious sound then glows through a lot more effectively. I feel the Yasugibushi tracks are the stronger Merzbow tracks of the album. The long die-off of Yasugibushi Part 2 is impressive as the work becomes increasingly minimal and dramatic whilst reaching its’ end.

Fraction Elements sees Opening Performance Orchestra Begin with ambient, ominous gloom that rumbles and scrapes itself to life. As things begin to increasingly crash and rumble, feedback and electronic noise begin to really rise. The growth from slight sounds to massive noise is long and impressive. Their work builds to assaultive, distorted walls, spikes of sharp sounds and much sonic overdrive. In photos there appear to be four members but Discogs lists seven; I don’t know if it’s due the number of group members, but the control over such a loud mass of sound is excellent. The number of individual noise components is quite small, but it builds to a massive cacophony of noise that’s controlled in every aspect. Fraction Elements gradually builds to a wall like assault. I later learned both their tracks were played and recorded live, impressive.

In contrast, Fraction Music XII is a lot faster to build, it starts with pulsating drones, it utilises sharper sounds more as well as walls of distortion and metallic scraping. Odd drones to resonate through the noise periodically. Again, this is a massive sound that exercises complete control and precision. There is aggressive use of storms of distorted noise that are well pinned down by sharp noise and drones, so they have a static hurricane like assault due to this. The pointed focus of the sharper sounds that later overlay the distortion is sheer accuracy.

The artists at a brief listen appear similar. The Merzbow work is huge, but does take time to gain real focus, once it does the magic happens. The Opening Performance Orchestra work is simply a group in total control and at the peak of their sonic powers.

Choppy Noodles 2019.