v/a "Cum on Feel the Noize Vol. 1" compilation CD
[Brise-Cul]
A noise tribute to 80's metal? Yep. 15 bands naming tracks after various forms of 80's metal bands (glam, thrash, whatever), and sometimes manipulating said bands' material in the course of their work. Much of the material herein is fairly straightforward harsh noise thankfully tending to lean towards shorter and more effective running times, but there are definitely some standouts. DCLXVI chooses Voivod, and after a quick spoken sample delves into some nice harsh noise that creates a solid atmosphere - not too rugged, not too clean, it's short and to the point and definitely makes its mark with a nice, quiet ending. Foutredieu!!! takes Iron Maiden, and after a strange and indecipherable vocal intro the track sweeps back and forth with some eerie ambient tones and hissy high-end amidst a constant flurry of what sounds like some sort of heavily manipulated vocal work. Of course someone had to do Slayer, that's mandatory, so after an excellent, twisted introduction, Noiseman433 lets the raging harsh noise assaults flow for a few minutes, ending strong after a nice stuttered loop. Nice work, the beginning and the end of the piece really make it pop out. The only other dark ambient sort of track is Never Presence Forever's manipulation of Caustic Affliction, which starts out with smooth and flowing bass tones with some fluttering distortion caving in on itself as it gradually starts to fade in and out towards the front - eventually closing with a standalone loop of a thrash riff from the aforementioned band. Human is Filth does Siege, who to me were not a metal band and don't quite fit the rest of the themed choices, but whatever. The 4+ minutes of raw and primal harsh noise is interesting if for no other reason than the feeling it succeeds in creating. Black Sand Desert does Quiet Riot more justice than Quiet Riot ever did with a pristinely recorded track that uses a lot of searing feedback tones that sizzle like you won't believe. I love the texture and the clarity of the mix. It's slightly long for its repetition, but I love the interaction of the feedback tones and all of the hums and buzzes, and the straight harsh distortion is kept in check. The packaging is all in black and white, with lots of photos of 80's metal vinyl all over the place. Inside the sleeve is a xeroxed booklet with a brief statement by each contributor about the band they chose, along with a picture of the 80's metal band (if one could be found). The packaging is a bit more informative than some of Brise-Cul's past releases, and the label's ripoff of the Roadracer logo is hilarious! The images are slightly pixilated and some of the liner notes have some typos, but what can you do? Other contributors and their 80's metal bands of choice are: Spit + Smudge (Nuclear Assault), Clew of Theseus (Lizzy Borden), Rotten Piece (Judas Priest), Pop Culture Rape Victim (Europe), Praying Gods (Anvil), Luasa Raelon (Venom), NxFxTxEx (Carcass), Emesis (Vixen), and Sounds of Horror (Napalm Death) - most of which are pretty straightforward harsh noise. Some are better than others (Rotten Piece and Luasa Raelon are my personal favorites), while others drag on (Pop Culture Rape Victim certainly doesn't require 10+ minutes), but for the most part it's fairly consistent stuff. The only thing I dislike about this is that there's not enough overall variety. Yes, the harsh noise tracks do tend to separate themselves from one another, but there's very little deviation from the general confines of harsh noise aside from the tracks by Foutredieu!!!, Never Presence Forever, and Black Sand Desert (with Sounds of Horror coming closer than most what with the noticeable Napalm Death riffs included). None of the songs are bad, and only a few get mildly boring after awhile, but as a whole I feel that the compilation should have offered up a lot more diversity. (6/10)
Running time - 56:01, Tracks: 15
[Notable tracks: DCLXVI, Foutredieu!!!, Noiseman433, Human is Filth, Black Sand Desert]
Brise-Cul Records - http://www.brise-cul-records.cjb.net

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