Rapid Fire Reviews: Lets Get Loud
This weeks rapid fire reviews are a couple of experimental projects that are capable of seriously blowing out speakers. Whether these missed me when they first came out or just dropped at points where I was too busy to review them I wanted to be sure to get my thoughts on them out there.
...And Again Into The Light - Panopticon
Black Crows Cyborg - Merzbow & Prurient
Black Crows Cyborg is the new collaborative record between two titans of noise music Merzbow and Prurient. Between the pair they are some of the most prolific artists in all of music regardless of genre but I was still excited to see how the sounds they have been developing in recent years would work with each other, especially off of them both dropping collaborative projects with other artists that I enjoyed last year. The record is two long tracks that add up to just over half an hour and the first is certainly the more abstract of the two. City Barbarism Melancholy uses a lot of space that gives the impression of a massive abandoned industrial factory into which these sounds are being played. There is a lot of loosely formed and composed passages of backing metal crashing in and out of the mix that is occasionally interrupted by that instantly recognizable wiry Merzbow harsh noise. It gives the sensation of a crawling, creeping submission rather than bashing you over the head with as much noise as possible. The second track Cylinders Raven immediately introduces its own sound which uses a much denser mix to include more layers of noise and unrecognizable fuzz. While this song is more maximal I also see it as a bit less musically consistent and defined. Thankfully I really enjoy the build up and ultimate conclusion it delivers over the last few minutes building up not just to an overwhelming wall of harsh sounds but also one that sounds versatile with sonic elements fading in and out in interesting ways. I don't think this is going to be re-defining the noise genre or bringing either artist any new fans but if you're already an appreciator of Prurient or Merzbow's work this is certainly worth checking out. 6.5/10
Austin Lunn's black metal meets Appalachian folk music project that had a major streak of success in the experimental metal community in the middle of the 2010's. This is the first proper full length record from the project since 2018's The Scars Of Man which was met with less acclaim than the projects previous few records. The opening two songs on the record are well representative of the dichotomy in Lunn's music. The first of which is a folk ballad with minimal instrumentation and clear vocals lasting just a few minutes while the second is a progressive, expansive and experimental fusion of ambient and almost doom metal like sounds lasting well over 10 minutes. As far as genre blending is concerned this record definitely mirrors other Panopticon records as it experiments across many different world of extreme and experimental metal while splashing in moments of more rustic sound. Unfortunately on this record these two worlds feel more separate than usual with tracks here having very clear and often long winded transitional moments. Occasionally on some of the longer tracks this can be very effective but generally speaking the tracklist as a whole does feel a bit disjointed as a result. Thankfully the proficiency at pulling off these different genres effectively persists from previous records and there are highlights delivered in a number of different styles. The longer songs here make for most of those highlights particularly on A Snowless Winter and The Embers At Dawn. While I don't see this record as sounding quite as revolutionary or refreshing as previous Panopticon releases were to the world of alternative metal I still see this record as executing its sound pretty well, at least throughout most of its major tracks. 7/10
G.A.S Get A Star - Undo K From Hot
Undo K From Hot is the new loud and unpredictable project from Death Grips and Hella drummer Zach Hill. The project sort of came out of nowhere with an out of the blue single dropped just a week before the eventual drop of the entire album. While I've absolutely loved so much of what Zach has done this new project isn't necessarily for me. I don't hate it and I think there are some songs and concepts here that are well done, not to mention the unrivaled energy the music brings. But ultimately I think it sufferers more than the usual industrial project from its lo-fi mixing and there aren't that many tracks here that really excite me with somgwriting. While I wouldn't hate seeing this project pursued with a more formulated record featuring a bulkier tracklist I don't see myself spending much time with most of these tracks in the meantime. 5.5/10
