PUKEHAMMER

A few months ago, I was put on the spot to explain my love of noise to some friends who were unfamiliar with the wonders of Merzbow. Unfortunately, I was quite stoned at the time and as a result failed miserably. But in the days and weeks that followed, it got me thinking about my path to discovering noise and why I enjoy it. I wasn’t able to properly articulate my fascination with ear destroying sounds while under the influence, but I’ll do my best here and now. I’ve always loved music and I think my interest in noise began as a byproduct of that when I was a teenager in the early/mid nineties. Like many young metalheads I was an aspiring guitarist, but there were many days where I spent as much time hooking up a bunch of effects pedals and seeing what kinds of fucked up racket I could coax out of my Squire Stratocaster as I did learning Metallica riffs (likely much to my mother’s dismay). The less it sounded like a guitar and the more hideous the sounds coming out of my amplifier got...

Ever since forming in 1981, Osaka's Incapacitants have been establishing themselves as legends of Japanese harsh noise.  Indeed, the duo of Toshiji Mikawa and Fumio Kosakai are responsible for many genre touchstones, and one of their most sought after releases is 1995's As Loud as Possible .  Released by cult label Zabriskie Point during what was arguably one of the Japanoise scene's most intensely creative periods, the album has long been out of print.  Thankfully, Germany's Total Black was somehow able to secure the rights to reissue As Loud as Possible on CD, vinyl and digital, making it available once again to depraved noiseheads all over the world. I was lucky enough to grab a CD copy of As Loud as Possible  via American label/distro Cloister Recordings and was immediately struck by the quality of the physical product.  Housed in a sturdy eight panel digipack, I unfortunately cannot say how it compares to the original release, but I can say that this new ve...