Full Meat Jacket - Full Meat Jacket

Artist Full Meat Jacket
Label Fag Tapes
Year 2005
Genre(s) Noisecore(?), Harsh Noise

Yet another mysterious tape from Fag Tapes. There is little to no information on this band available. As such it's up to the music to do the talking, a front that this tape will happily back up.

It's hard to classify many of the acts on Fag Tapes but none more so than Full Meat Jacket. Utilising drums, guitar and vocals to make many short, sharp attacks. It's nigh on impossible to pick out individual elements from the wave of sounds on display. Occasionally vocals will raise out of the swell but never in a fashion that would make them understandable. I find it hard to tell if the tape is one long tracks or if the many pauses denote the end of songs. Regardless when taken as a whole the tape unleashes a fury that is seldom seen in the somewhat bland noise scene nowadays.

Where is This - Digital Fire

Artist Where is This
Year 2011
Label Kovorox Sound
Genre(s) Harsh Noise/Industrial

Coming at us from Lea Cumming's label, Kovorox Sound, is a full lengh by Ireland's first son of creepy crawly noise, Where is This. A mixture of digital and analogue sources are deployed to forge the sonic whirlpool served up. Across 35 minutes and 8 tracks a distinct atmosphere is created (Which is no suprise for WiT). This time around, however, there is also a much harsher edge than has reared it's head before.

Tracks such as Big Black Sex Cop are more direct and closer to some of the early originators of the genre than previous WiT work. That by no means replaces the more atmospheric style that I, for one, am so enamoured with. The harsher elements act as an excellent counterpoint to the more atmosphere heavy elements. That's not to say that this is a fantastic release, for certain there are a few areas that don't quite work for me, the third track - Your Pop Career's Gone Down in Flames - feels as if there is a tad too much dead space serving no purpose and causes the track to stumble in its flow.

This release manages to serve up the two sides of the Where is This coin, from the harsh electronic assaults to the calm, almost relaxing soundscapes (Obsolete Robots...) with just the hint of psychedelia creeping in (Phobot). If I were to have one main issue with the release it'd be down to the packaging. I fail to understand the gulf in presentation for some Kovorox releases. Here we have a simple cd-r with the Cat # written on and a two panel cardboard cover in a slipcase. Some other Kovorox releases are treated to on-disc printing/disc labels and given the half DVD case treatment. For all it's a DIY label this just feels sort of, I dunno, lacking?

Where is This - Narcissus at the Gym

Artist Where is This
Year 2011
Label Bored Bear Recordings
Genre(s) Harsh Noise/Industrial

Another release from Ireland's Mark Ward, under his Where is This moniker, Narcissus at the Gym serves up around thirty minutes of tense soundscapes and uneasy listening. Before starting on the actual musical content I just need some time to praise the presentation. Narcissus... is served up with a standard (Though beautifully drawn) J-card that sets the tone and deals with the themes of the release. This is alongside a short booklet with writings also surrounding the themes.

As with previous WiT effort, Elegant Domesticity, the atmosphere is the primary focal point of the release. Heavy electronics serve a specific purpose, bent and twisted into a claustrophobic incantation. The high and low end dance with one another in some insane provocative dance. Whilst each side of the tape is split in to three distinct tracks they flow together and work as a whole. Each side's scant 15 minute duration passes as if it were much shorter. Leading to repeated relistens.

Whilst there are six tracks on this release I feel it would be doing the tape a dis-service by referring to them by themselves. Each side of the tape forms a distinct gestalt, strengthened by the juxtaposition and combination of each of the three tracks. The A Side opens with creeping electronics and soundscapes that call to mind early industrial works, slowly morphing into harsher and more direct assaults. Walls of static being to be erected, adding to the claustrophobia, trapping the listener and forcing them to submit. The industrial styles carry on throughout the release, ending the side with an almost danceable section that calls to mind early EBM. This juxtaposes perfectly with the harsher elements of the music to create even more tense atmospheres.

The B side opens with harsh feedback wailing, subtle changes growing in the background and becoming more apparent. The perfect pace is achieved for the coming tracks, a slow pace allows for the atmosphere to build amidst the tumbling waves of noise. There isn't a minute of wasted space on either side of this tape, both are full, but organically so. Not one single second of this release is misused. Everything slots in to place and makes this release one of the best, so far, of 2011.

I'd also like to take a moment to praise this release for it's thematic concerns. From the art and the booklet there's a very clear theme laid out for the release, a theme which carries over to the noise (Which, and I assume I've done this correctly, makes a perfect soundtrack to reading the mini-book that's included). It's becoming more common for releases to be cobbled together and lack a cohesive narrative or drive, a trap that Where is This has managed to avoid. I really can't recommend this tape enough and I'm fairly certain it's gonna find itself in my best of 2011 list.

Aikichi Kuboyama - Conflict

Artist Aikichi Kuboyama
Label Self Release
Year 2011
Genre(s) Harsh Noise

A two track, just shy of fifteen minute sonic assault is offered up here by Aikichi Kuboyama. Static rumble and crumbling sonic textures swarm across the tracks. The occasional deliberate bass drop out keeps things interesting and provides a sharp shock. This music is certainly on the harsher end of the spectrum. Never letting up, like having bees make a hive in your mouth whilst you suffer from a coma. Crisp walls of static sound build and build. With the exception of some phaser use towards the end of the first track there's not really much that can be complained about here.

The second track offers deeper textures without sacrificing the dynamic, like the sound of a bombing raid. The second track does suffer from being slightly overlong, but it's balanced out nicely by the first.

There's not much I can say about this release seeing as it is so short. I get the feeling there may have been a slight over reliance on Audacity (Or a similar tool) for the post-production side of things but that's easy to overlook given the relative quality of the release. For a first effort (or early effort, I ain't 100%) it shows a lot of promise and I can only expect good things in the future.

Barf Thoth - Peep Roky

Artist Barf Thoth
Label Fag Tapes
Year 2007?
Genre(s) Drone, Experimental Noise

Barf Thoth is yet another project of Fag Tapes label head Heath Moerland (Sick Llama et al.) Focussing on vocal based noise and drone compositions. Peep Roky is described by the label as:

“The elevator lights went out and the only other dude in there w/ me kept complaining about the silence. said at his crib 13 televisions and radios would be on all the time, 25/8, all set to different stations. he busted me this tape.”

It’s easy to dismiss label description in the noise scene, just have a quick gander at any number of hyperbolic love fests applied to Generic Skaters Release #17,054. For once though I can’t help but feel the label description has perfectly captured the essence of the tape I hold in my hands.

Peep Roky serves up two ten minute(ish) cuts of bubbly drone, corrupted speech and hazy atmospheres. Side A invokes oppressive atmospheres as treated speech crackles away, audible en yet completely obscured. Slowly others voices begin to build into the piece, lurking in the background. As the label descriptor points out it feels like a million different news reports, some rolling backwards, some moving too fast, all rolled into one. Like a panic attack in an electronics store when you’ve left your Xanax at home! The most impressive part of the A Side is the minimal use of electronics, the entire track is driven by the vocal samples and gathers most of its atmosphere from them. The electronics are primarily used to set the mood, oppressive, dank and creepy. Side B has a stronger focus on electronically generated noise. Crunchy drones rise beyond the vocal murk, percussive elements become part of the fray. As if every single TV and radio suddenly fell between stations, rough outlines of shows breaking through the static churn.

Apologies for the shit cover scan, I don’t have a working camera/scanner right now and it’s the best quality image available on the web. Let me just assure you that the packaging is indeed fantastic, sprayed tapes and a collaged cover.

Filthy Turd - The Witches Tit the Golden Dung

Artist Filthy Turd
Year 2010
Label Side-A Records
Genre(s) Harsh Noise, Sexy Noise

Filthy Turd is the English Noise/Power Electronics project of 'Filthy' Darren Wyngarde. Active since the early 2000s, with a puddle of releases on varying labels such as Hanson and Turgid Animal. Filthy Turd creates harsh soundscapes for sexual deviants. It's time to don the gimp mask and just into the stagnant waters of The Witches Tit The Golden Dung on Side-A.
Insane mumbling, clattering cymbals and dread inducing drones open the release. A slow build punctuated with the occasional burst of static. Almost like stumbling onto a ritual being held by that "town oddball" when walking home through the town centre. Quite unlike any Filthy Turd I've heard before but still just as menacing. Out of nowhere piercing feedback and distorted vocals cut through, absolutely punishing with occasional chanting carrying on. The vocals are low in the mix, almost to the point of inaudibility hidden as they are behind layered screams and static. When part of a lyrics does cut through the cacophony it creates intrigue. I found myself with my head right up at the speakers trying to decipher the lyrics. It didn't work, I also might have tinnitus. Still nothing ventured...

The releases lurches on, dripping bog water all over your carpet. The use of clean singing and chanting doesn't allow you to be at ease, like a house guest who's finished dinner but started to be incredibly nasty whist playing with his knife a tad too keenly, he could lurch forward and stab you at any moment. So to tension is created by Wyngarde, the alternation between all out sonic attacks and the calmer (but no more peaceful) chanting tracks. Worthy of note is the harmonica (??) that shows up midway through the release, creating a far more musical (yet still lacking melody) proceedings. Given the absurdity of the placement it's somewhat surrealistic and in a way quite funny. It lasts for all of 20 seconds before we're flung back into the audio equivalent of a burst sewage main in a psychoward. The percussion begins to sound as if it were played on burnt out car husks adding to the atmosphere.

Whilst Filthy Turd is primarily Harsh Noise there are definatly some Power Electronics elements to his sound and aesthetic. The use of high end on The Witches Tit... is very close in style to White Heterosexuals. Compared to all out Power Electronics thought, the same hyper-sexualised content is there, it's just conveyed in a far more captivating fashion. I advise everyone to pick this up, pour a glass of vino, close the curtains, look out the kleenex and wank yourself silly.

Now if you'll excuse me, I need a shower.

Artist Timothy C Holehouse/The Reactcore is Splendid
Label None
Year 2010
Genre(s) Ambient, Harsh Noise, Noise Rock

Yet another split tape from the prolific Mr Holehouse, this time a split tape with The Reactcore is Splendid. Holehouse I’m sure is known within the noise scene but TRiS is new to me, a two man (?) project based out of London. Speaking of London it seems to be a heavy influence on the music contained on this pastel yellow cassette, coming as it does, with part of a London calendar affixed to the case.

The Holehouse side of the tape was recorded between London and Bristol (I’m assuming on a train?) via the use of a Dictaphone and then further editing carried out. The track carries a very strange vibe, snippets of conversations (other commuters?) come and go. The sounds of life ebb past and distort. There’s an incredibly sinister atmosphere carried throughout. Running the line from all out haunting ambient to dark stabs of distortion and feedback. As with most Timothy C. Holehouse pieces I find it best taken in whilst lying in a dark room with headphones. Atmospheres that are second to none. The piece calls to mind images of trains, faceless people dragging themselves through endless underground tunnels, dripping water and scurrying rats. Dark, dank and thoroughly unforgettable.

The Reactcore is Splendid serves up Turd Sandwich (AKA Live in Texas) which sounds like a dirty noise rock based recording. Vocals at sub-Albini levels and a whirlwind of guitar noise. I think there are drums somewhere in there too but I couldn’t make a guarantee. Sounding like more of a mixture of rock stylings and straight out noise than the usual ideas that are conveyed with Noise Rock. More noise based than The Cows but more rock based than the likes of Air Conditioning. The recording seems to leave a little to be desired but otherwise the TRiS is good, offering areas of noise, rock, Whitehouse styled power electronics etc. A wide area is covered with the live side and I’d really like to check out some studio works to see how they sound.

Nryy - Bird

Artist Nryy
Label Side-A
Year 2010
Genre(s) Harsh Noise

Side-A-Records is a fairly new label, you can find reviews for all their prior releases (bar one…) slightly down this blog. I’ve found the output, packaging and basically everything pertaining to this label to be nothing if not innovative and compelling. Focussing on a good mix of known and unknown artists and offering a great view of the current noise scene. Brought to us today by the label is Bird by Japan’s Nryy. Nryy come off the back of a series of splits and other releases on his own label Silent Novels (Which also functions as a web-label). Bird serves up three tracks of harsh noise, sculpted to perfection for a total of just over half an hour of torture/pleasure, if not both.

The main issue with Japanese noise is that any newer artists will instantly be compared to the “Japanoise” greats, even breakout artists like Govt. Alpha seem to find it hard to shake the “Like Merzbow but/if/with….” allusions. I can hopefully avoid the “Like [Japanoise artist x], meeting [Japanoise artist y] in [unexpected location] with [American band Z] sensibilities” although I make no promises.

The first thing I notice upon removing this Cd-r from its beautiful packaging is how well the overall aesthetic is carried, packaging like this really makes me hope for the music. To the CD player with it! Budgerigar opens the releases with an almost danceable beat structured bout of noise with a sci-fi edge. It may just be the release title but instantly bird song comes to mind, there’s an almost chip tune element to the noise but it first perfectly with the established nature of the piece. Whilst the noise is harsh it’s not an all-out assault as with certain contemporaries in the genre that will remain nameless. The second track, Lovebird, opens like an inferno, the noise crackling like fire. Scorching the ears and brain, a less structured and much, much more violent outburst. The sheer amount of elements that make up each of these three long tracks can’t possibly be listed, there’s not enough room for that. The tracks flow on with their individual elements, refusing to stay still.

The very nature of this release sets it aside from most current noise works. It’s almost refreshing to be served up a slab of harsh noise in the boring plains (with some exceptions) of wall noise that seem to be in vogue recently. Nryy is defiantly one to keep an eye on, and this release serves much as a statement of intent, worth grabbing. Oh, and because I've earned it, Masonna, Merzbow, Pain Jerk etc etc.... Good to get that off my chest.

Where is This - Elegant Domesticity

Artist Where is This
Label Side-A-Records
Year 2010
Genre(s) Harsh Noise, Power Electronics

Elegant Domesticity is just one of a slew of recordings recently unleashed on the public by Mark Ward, Dublin based head of Bored Bear Recordings. I've not had a chance to hear any of his other output, but on the strength of this CD-r I'm defiantly going to be tracking more down.

The first thing that struck me about Elegant Domesticity was how calm it was, this isn't the average all out assault delivery seen in the noise "scene". Rather Ward favours a slower form of guerrilla warfare. The first track slowly pulses and throbs, an innate creepiness laced throughout. An almost Power Electronics (Whitehouse : Total Sex(ish) era) without cheesy vocals. A sustained creep through bushes to the prey. On headphones in the dark this track will have you checking over your shoulder and I wouldn't plan on sleep afterwords.

The second track opens with slightly more movement, higher pitches echoing within a swirling vortex. Sounding like a dimensional tear between Songs of Praise and an angry machine. This track is much closer to the Wall Noise genre, a strong unflinching top layer of noise and more subtle changes and areas of interest lurking within the mire. About half way into the track it begins to decay and shudder under the sheer wait of feedback, the noise is reshaped without any drop out or pause before descending into a violent harsh outburst towards the end.

The key word to sum up the experience of Where is This would be subtlety, Ward has conjured up two powerhouse tracks borrowing heavily for the culture and style of noise music en yet gnawing out his own niche. The tracks are deeply affecting without being notably so. This is music that you'll find yourself thinking about a few hours down the line.

Zebra Mu - Feeble

Artist Zebra Mu

Label Side-A Records

Year 2010
Genre(s) Harsh Noise

Zebra Mu is a one man project, utilizing various instruments and non-instrumental methods in order to create his noise. On Feeble he serves up 6 tracks and just over 15 minutes of awesome noise. Also worthy of note is that this is the first release by Side-A Records.


The first track, Drill Part, mixes some flat out harsh noise with denser layers, sounding like ruptured beats. Not really falling into the rhythmic noise area but keeping it varied and interesting. Whilst being harsh it showcases a fantastic control over the elements used in construction.


Stamping Down is a harsher affair. Though it has an unfortunately muddy final mix, like a Masonna cassette that you accidentaly put through the wash. It may be the intentional but I don't really think it works that well.


Challenged is a little ditty of rumble and hiss, there's not much variation but the short run time means that it doesn't outstay it's welcome. This is followed instantly by Never Know, imagine a low rent Grindhouse movie about chain fighting (Stick with me here) that you find on VHS. The VHS is mangled but still has certain sections that you can watch. In a nutshell that's Never Know, sleazy, murky and rough around the edges. Just the way it should be. The fractured speech samples add a great oppressive atmosphere to the track.


Lax sets out like the current "in" wave of drone from the US. Murky rumbles and weirdo samples building in intensity. Like watching the chain fighting VHS on slow rewind. A much darker and more introspective track that any that have come before. Juddering along and decaying. A fantastic use of samples once again. Finally we have Into Then, opening with slow drumming echoing around the confines of your head. The darker atmosphere is maintained until sudden blasts of noise rupture the tension. The drumming begins to build, becoming more aggressive. A feeling not unlike some more Industrial based works. Ending upon fading vocals, whispering words twist around each other.


Feeble is a good release. It showcases multiple sides to Zebra Mu, there's the mild falter with Stamping Down, but besides that there's no real faults. The mixture of dark ambient, industrial and noise is well utilized and even in such an oversaturated genre still manages to sound fresh. I'd advise picking this up, as far as I know it's a pretty limited release.

Timothy C Holehouse - Littlecreatures

Artist Timothy C Holehouse
Label Unknown (If any)
Year 2009
Genre(s) Space Noise (?), Drone

Littlecreatures came to me packaged in a large plastic baggie, included were all sorts of police procedural forms (!?), handwritten instructions for various elements of driving lessons and a small insert, listing what appears to be a poem. I was pretty excited by this, to see how the aesthetic presentation sat with the music on tape. That said the music is most important so we'll get to that first.

This release sounds a lot more spacey than other work by Holehouse, sounding like echos from a battle lost lightyears away, now reaching our simple fleshy brains. The last days of the first sentient computer, traversing the universe and caught on tape one starry evening. My attitude towards this is partly covered in the Felony report document where the first track Leucotony is listed as being made via broken wires, therimin frequencies and a charity shop drum machine. Sounds bounce around, aided by the panning decision. Out of nowhere the music suddenly gets darker, the earlier frequencies hinting at screams from a dying planet. Any form of music that seems spacey always makes me think of Kraut Rock, Littlecreaturs is no exception and as per it's a fine piece of music, evolving past the simple beginnings into a true miasma of sound, drones push and pull like currents. There is simply so much going on that it deserves, nay demands, multiple listens (and upon hearing it once you'll want to give it multiple spins). The sound dies away, leaving a slight moment of reflective silence before a harsh, crumbly drone begins to drive the track forward. The interplay between the harsher elements and more dreamy spaced out sounds really managed to separate me from the music, I wasn't just sitting jamming to a tape and writing preliminary notes, I was in the middle of something. All action on my part stopped so as to better experience the music on offer. Littlecreatures manages to transcend the "background listening" experience of some more drone based noise and become a true behemoth, this demands your attention and you'd be right to give it some. As ever Holehouse doesn't stay with one style too long, everything is wrapped into a package, some harsher almost PE elements invade the sonic tapestry but never at the expensive of other parts. This isn't cut-up, it flows freely and simply for an epic journey.

The second track (side) titled Elephantis burns forth on a more harsh note, sounding like early Masonna live recordings, harsh rumble, static and children's nursery rhymes cut-up into an unrelenting assault. Almost acting as a pastiche of the found sound aesthetic. This review is hard to write because I'm dealing with some amazing nostalgia right now. The harsh elements seem harsher due to the juxtaposition between them and TV sound samples and even kids singing. Never sitting in one place and refusing to be categorised. Elephantis really displays the use of good cut n paste styles of found sound within the genre. I'm gonna make a lot of enemies here and say that if James Ferraro is seen as being amazing because he can play old 80s themes through a pedal board then Holehouse shows how actual found sound can be incorporated into noise for the benefit as opposed to some gimmick. The track covers so many moods that it's hard to list, jumping seamlessly from a harsh cut-up nostalgia trip to an unnerving drone. Like the Talkboy I owned at age 8 being swapped into a Merzbow performance. Magical, creeping, screaming.

Nackt Insecten - Double Lunar Halo

Artist Nackt Insecten

Label Beyond Repair

Year 2007

Genre(s) Harsh Noise, Drone

Double Lunar Halo really begins to showcase the more spacey side of the Nackt Insecten sound. Opening with Tunnel Vision, a short piece made up of crackling vocals and swirling synth. This track is still calm but it's not really drone in style. Much closer to harsh noise. After a short while the next track creeps up, powerful drone like thunder caught in a time warp. Dense and dank. Psychedelic high end threatening to come ever forward. As if Spacemen 3 put down the guitars but kept the pedal boards running while they went out to ingest various illicit substances.

A choir made up of children from the Village of the Damned are ready to sing for us, their voices distort as they swirl before our eyes. Stretching and distorting into hideous representations of their former self.

The real meat of this release is the 14 minute title track. A mixture of the more electronic, creepy style of drone that NI first displayed and then relaxed, spacey ritual sound that is currently being used. A real cross section of the development of the project. Somehow comforting and unsettling at the same time. Would have worked as a soundtrack for the fall of British industry.