I don't know about you, 'scopers, but the Great Postpunk Revival left me a bit cold. I felt like William Reid in that interview on Belgian TV: "What's so fucking great about Joy Division?" So why, you might reasonably ask, am I uploading a postpunk album?
These guys. These guys get it. There's the standard chorussed-up guitar and cardboard box drums, but there's also a lot of Amebix in there. There's a lot of proper goth in there. A lot of Killing Joke in there; a lot of anger in there.
Alaric do not sound American - they sound like they're from Leeds, it's the early 80's, the world is falling to bits and all they have to help them in their protest is a knackered amp and four chords. I fucking love this. You will too.
This is by no means a return, simply a forced holiday and if you're anything like me you held on to that corrupted Cold Vein copy you downloaded from Napster a decade ago. I finally acquired a physical copy, you can judge its useness from the battered cover but hey, these are antiques. 320kbps for optimal sustainability. Get it quick before I get car jacked by lawyers,
Posting up stuff from Japan again I got to thinking why I've never posted World up, even though people have been leaving comments, sending emails asking for just THAT. You know, somebody probably already posted something like this, somewhere out there in the blogosphere, but if you haven't seen it, this one's for you. And, well, me. That said, no Thanks should be directed at me, because all these rips were dropped off at the comment section of a post that I can't find for the life of me! Might be a bit of a stretch, but hey, does anyone remember? Already went about looking for a way to search the comments section, unsuccessfuly.
"Both singers ... perform their own songs independent of each other. While Right is singing a song by one name Left is singing a different song with a different name, including different starting and stopping points. So for every World release there are two tracklistings, one for Left and one for Right playing at the same time."
I'll explain: World is a dead noise/grind band from Osaka, Japan! The line up consisted of Hiroshi Zen on noise & vocals, Akira Wakabata on second vocals, and Tadahiko Aono drumming on all of 'em (except for Kaname Ohara who filled the spot on Why Who What, their very first EP). That's right - three demons - two clutching microphones, one behind the kit, which also means that all the noise is produced by Zen's magic microphone. As for why that's such an amazing feat... Son, had you heard any of their songs, you would not be asking such questions. Revered for a reason, this is harsh, harsh noise with fierce drumming exhibitions, from the expected noisy bursts resembling blastbeats, to rhythms more primitive, tribal. I might've (re-)written the phrase too many times in too short a while, but have you heard that the blastbeat is the apotheosis of rhythm?
Why Nobody Understand? 7" (1996)
- tracks from the split w/ yesmeansyes
- download
Space (Grind Osaka) 7" (1998)
- second EP
- excellent
- download
New World 7" (1998)
- tracks from the split w/ Cripple Bastards
- download
Snarl Out (1997) & Osaka War (2000)
- tracks from compilations
- download
Why deprive the world of World??? digipack (200x)
- AKA "18 Minutes and 2 Seconds CD"
- a collected World discography [Space, Why Who What, New World, and...]
- nice sound quality (!)
- download
[is this the correct cover art?]
Also got a track from an alleged split with CSMD of which there is zero info to be found anywhere; judging by the actual sounds, I think somebody got something wrong with that one. That said, Akira Kawabata (I think) now plays as a solo noise act and/or in Osaka grind band Red according to a comment on this here blog on this here post. Perhaps it is Hiroshi Zen who does one of those things, and Kawabata - the other.
"Grindcore is love," I thought, some seventeen years of age. Life was ambivalent, except for when it came to love. Part of it came out with these recordings, initially meant for a split with Twitch Savant. Yet years go by, you know, maybe nothing even happens, but all of a sudden connections disappear, disintegrate in some strange post-natural air of our skyscraper hell. You might even think, for a while, "Hollow pocket, hollow heart - to slave away my body or my nerves..."
Noisy nights. Keep looking. How many blastbeats does it take? Eight lo-fi tracks of some steamy, DxAx worshipping, cyberpunk enthusiastic, scrap metal hybrid, no ten minutes long. It went like this:
zmajevdah v.0
01. Tachikoma
02. Perfect Blue
03. Bullet Ballet
04. Zenislev
05. Megastructure
06. Search
07. Antarctica
08. Ingram [DL 01 - 08] Zmajevdah is a solo project abounding with blastbeats - thanks to everyone who gives it a spin! Glad to be putting it finally up (recorded way back, early 2008 or so / date of e-release: today), "embarassing lyrics" and all (with original [pre-bitcrush] photos of our City, courtesy of Smetnja), as it's been bugging me for quite a while, even though I may have not managed to do what I wanted, especially considering the (sound) quality of the mix. In any case, those who like it may do whatever they want with it.
+ bonus track 09. The Jenova (GridLink) [DL 09] Good or bad, that's probably the first GridLink cover to have happened (Earth, 2010): The Lo-fi Jenova! Twitch Savant (the guy behind [for example:] Blaencathra) doing the drumming, with me on guitars & vocals. It is included separately as I wouldn't want people downloading the whole package on account of a covered song, (especially) as there is no Zmajevdah / Twitch Savant split anymore. That said, I've never done coke, nor have I dived with a parachute, but playing Matsubara's riffs ought to be a fairly similar experience (next cover, Mortalized?!).
A split CD soon to be released on ZugZwang Records: Zmajevdah with Emotion of Loss, a Russian industrial doom project by the man behind the Quagmire label (who released Sete Star Sept's 4th demo).
Have you ever realized how well Realized grinds? That cover art might scream Classic! in both senses, but, erm, never judge a book by its cover. Why not?
Why yes, pal. If you like your engine greased up a notch by a steady feed of blastbeats, rock'n'roll has come to a conclusion with 21st Century Terminal World. Alright, perhaps not - but we can always pretend! And this we certainly do, as if d-beat was ever a good answer to anything. That bass sure is heavy, um... One toke over the line, sweet Jesus. Guzzle that gas like grandpa & let the realization run you over.
Unlike Insect Warfare. Seems like it was shit well worth hearing, though. What insect were they on about, anyway? I could never figure that one out. Judging by the cover art alone, you'd think it was the Mantis religiosa, but its scythes are hardly crucial to a "death to all life" esthetic (killing hornets?). Must've been the bee. If bees go - we go. Unless you put your trust in an automatized future where we'll have our own lil' robots that'll pollinate instead of bees, as well as cook, dance, and play grindcore in our place. Hell, they'll even jerk you off! "Look papa, no hands!" Could you do that a hundred years ago...
Fuck utopia. (Goes without saying? But I am aaalways just sayin'...)
Tracklist: 1. Self Deconstruction 2. The Anger Which I Wait For 3. Delusion, Confusion and... 4. Superficial 5. Present 6. Hypocrite Total playing time 4min 52sec
Self Deconstruction was formed in February, 2010, after Kuzuha "left ... Sete Star Sept" because "many troubles happened in December, 2009." First, he recruited Hiroto for blastbeat duty, and after a while the two of them got Shimano + Kubine as male / female mic assault duo, making for today's line up.
"Our music style is FREE STYLE GRIND."
Well, it sounds cool - and it is! Where Sete Star Sept runs self-destructive Arsedestroying noise through their veins, Self Deconstruction is hyperactive with riffs, blasts & breaks, thrashing on a path more similar to Swarrrm (don't take me wrong! - the bands are very different [all three: 7s7, SxDx, Swarrrm]). It might be worth mentioning (in respect to poopy purists) that I've always found grind bands with clean, low volume interludes ("Superficial") damn SWEET. So when all is said and done, SxDx remains a very crusty thing with a hard-to-pinpoint core, which is by no means a negative notion. For those who are mad on identity, always clutching a shit idol or two - let the rest of us breathe!
Grind is not a contest, pal. Grind is not a job. There is no High Priest of the Blastbeat, no place for flattery, sycophancy. Or at least we thought so - now fast music is for snakes? - until, for example, Magrudergrind established an acceptable prostitution, all by a few alright grind songs (conclusion on account of hypocrisy, nothing else / we're only words here, anyway). Lovely Labels is partly an answer to the question: are we with these guys and their efforts? [Includes "being in it for the music."]
Quagmire is one man in Russia. It's a dirty DIY job. This guy (alias "dirt") keeps releasing raw, obscure sounds from all over the world, endeavoring in limited packages in a mode similar to ZugZwang's (naturally - lucky for us - they communicate & collaborate). Take, for example, Sete Star Sept's fourth demo here, on cassete. [Not to forget!- Regarding your assumed interest in the kickass Quagmire label, you also ought to check out the video teasers that he puts up for upcoming releases, like the one for Horse Latitudes / Loinen.] For those who haven't checked 'em out, SSS is a grind project "formed (in 2008) by Kiyasu (ex. The Endless Blockade) in Tokyo, Japan" and the current line-up consists of Kae (Vocals,Bass) & Kiyasu (Drums). The band is a wonderful flurry of noise, blastbeats and all, strolling by with a rabid snarl. I haven't asked [dirt], but this particular tape is likely to be sold out.
Luckily, I used to be an insomniac bent on spreading Japanese grind, so we're left with the blog here, for all your grindy needs, one click away from fulfillment (y'know, in lack of plastic...). The Sete Star Sept debut full-length - Revision of Noise - was released in 2010 by Fuck Yoga Records in Macedonia and Idoneum Bello Records in Germany; for more info, read Nigel's enthusiastic review on his blog, Hipness as a Second Language. Among other things, another band seems to have "sprouted from" 3S / 7s7, one you might have noticed on Randall's Grindcore Karaoke - Self Deconstruction's freestyle grind, likely to be talked of very soon on Cephalochromoscope.
Cephalochromoscope means grindcore and generally noisy, fast-as-fuck punk, or all that but at the speed of a tectonic plate. Also reviews, interviews, and all that jazz. And actual jazz. Hey, if you like the music and it's still in print thus making it possible for you to do some fine record shopping, feel free to do so. Let me know if you wish to contribute. Submissions are not really welcome or unwelcome, but I can't really promise when / if a post will be made anymore; in any case, use the e-mail address below, be as fast (/as slow) as possible with your music, don't be damn generic, don't expect a "hey this is x from x and they're fucking awesome" post, and try to provide relevant info with cover art instead of continuing the undying, ever-uninspiring contest in global half-assedness. [I do hate to be professional.] For any bands and/or labels with objections, please send your complaints to my e-mail address (otherwise, we might simply reupload!): zmajeee (at) yahoo.com
It is nice if people leave a comment or two every once in a while. Also, by downloading from this blog you automatically acknowledge Discordance Axis as the best band ever. This being the most important rule of attaining blastbeatitude. Just sayin'.
Wishlist (whatever form + NOT interested in trading)
RedRanAmber - Raahula (Japan)
F*G*C (Japan, anything)
Sgt. with Damo Suzuki - Live at Shimokitazawa ERA (2007, Penguin Market Records)
V/A - Snarl Out Vol. 2 (1997, Slightly Fast Records)
The fastest grind band in the world.
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Fuck blogs / bloggers creating a financial profit from the work of other people (as in: bands). The Blastbeat = perpetuum mobile. Blogatorio in grind scrolls patiently until it stops.
