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50 Days of Merzbow, Day 50: Annihiloscillator

1997

An old evangelist friend of mine used to say that all we needed was a good, cleansing fire. Clearly, Merzbow is down with this. Annihiloscillator is a good place to end this 50 CD mountain. Fuck any scorched earth policy. Why limit it to the ground. Merzbow burns the whole world of sound with his work: the high, the low, and the in-between. Annihilation is a gift, and Merzbow just keeps giving.

We offer our gratitude and we end with a prayer.

TRACK LIST

1. Hair Gun // 13:16
2. Kyoko Hamara Air Clyster // 12:14
3. Black Brain of Piranese // 13:26
4. Soft Parts 1&2 // 17:29
5. Wild Pair // 3:50

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Big ups to the world of sharity that gave me the files to do this. Files here . . .

50 Days of Merzbow, Day 49: Motorond

1997

t's a long way down, but I feel alright
It's a long way down, but I feel alright
And the cops get in, and the crowd gets tight
--Ryan Adams, Starting To Hurt*

Here, Akita shoots his sounds down a narrow hallway. The sonics feel caged up, but that only increases the tension release in the second track when he hits a groove that has the same rocking effect as the deepest space of Coltrane's A Love Supreme. And that's the great illusion of Merzbow. His music might sound dark, but it comes from--and is on its way to--a place of light. Color me blinded.

TRACK LIST

1. Motorond Pt.2 // 31:25
2. Motorond Pt.1 // 27:53

*A sidenote: When the last Sonic Youth album came out the fact that Thurston Moore was influenced by Black Metal made it from the press release into just about every review that was written. You know what I want to see? Somebody to give a shout out to Ryan Adams for his absolutely convincing Black Metal yowl that pops up every once in awhile. Srsly. Ildjarn would have been happy to tap this pain vein.

50 Days of Merzbow, Day 48: Space Mix Travelling Band

1997

Would like to be objective about this recording, but when Merzbow pulls out this Death Ray of his, I am a goner. Also, I did not expect to think of (early) Kitaro here. Yet, I did. Not because of the sounds, BUT the because of their shared ability to return to the same or similar sounds in creating something fresh and good.

TRACK LIST

1. Travelling 1997 // 20:04
2. Floating Manhattan // 14:06
3. Hongkong Suite // 24:52

50 Days of Merzbow, Day 47: Rhinogradentia

1996

If Michael Stipe was an icehead and in charge of a faltering Death Ray machine, this is what it would sound like. Fucking fabulous. Windout.

TRACK LIST

1. Rhinogradentia // 14:52
2. Silver Scintillator // 16:41
3. Narco // 24:02

50 Days of Merzbow, Day 46: Marfan Syndrome

1995

This album is a good example of why people say that all Merzbow albums are the same. It's also a good example of why I don't need to talk to these people about Merzbow. Be in it. Be crushed. Be done.

TRACK LIST

1. Marfan Syndrome for Blue (Remix) // 7:07
2. Oldenbergs Soft Gun // 18:39
3. Spider Nest Castle Pt.1 // 12:26
4. Un Br Che // 11:25
5. Yosef Voice // 2:12

50 Days of Merzbow, Day 45: Red Magnesia Pink

1995

The swirling dervishes of the high end cut sharply through what feels like the Aokigahara of Noise. You know all that friction is going to cause a fire in the dry season. Thankfully, in Merzbow's world there is no dry season, but things will burn anyway.

TRACK LIST

1. Minus Zero // 5:57
2. Etic // 4:08
3. Delta X // 4:33
4. Tremelo Man // 10:27
5. Euclids Pickel // 13:48
6. Chameleon Body // 9:18
7. Little Bang! // 7:38
8. You - Bahn // 5:27