merzbow hybrid noisebloom (cd from vinyl communications)
this is only my second merzbow cd (the other is space metalizer) and i can't believe i didn't mention it in the other review, but the production on these cds is just amazing. the first track, 'plasma birds', features distant reverbed chirping under a bed of more immediate harsh electronics, and the reverbed sounds are completely clear and never fuzz out or get muddy. after listening to the thick sludge of some noise artists releases this is very refreshing. stylistically this is the album i wished that space metalizer would have been, as it uses theremin and synthesizers to nice, occasionally spacey, effect. this album also has more of a compositional feel to it than most harsh noise i've heard, most notably on the track 'mouse of superconcetion', which gives the impression of being a very carefully laid out piece. although it's always pretty harsh, the sounds are all over the place. there's a lot of moog chirping and pulsing going on, chaotic metal percussion and scraping, distorted moans, wailing theremin and various black box harsh sounds (meaning i don't know exactly what made the sound, but it was probably a black box of some sort). probably an excellent starting place for someone who want to get into merzbow, if i had a rating system this one would be pretty high on it.