Fushitsusha ( 不失者 ) - It Was Eternity That Reached Out First (2003)

| Avant-Garde | Noise Rock | Experimental Rock |
| Psychedelic Rock |

This is an archival recording dating from 1978 that, fortunately, finally received a public service release 25 years later in 2003. While it’s nowhere near as dense as classic Fushitsusha of the ’90s, this set finds Keiji Haino and cohorts in a quite scorching free improv mode fairly similar to that contained on their Purple Trap CD, which was part of Keiji Haino’s The Soul’s True Love

box set from 1995. Documenting the very beginning of Fushitsusha, this lo-fi recording is chock-full of heavy tape hiss and amp hum, which only adds to the overall raw flavor of the proceedings. Clocking in at 13:54, track one moves effortlessly from dry, dissonant guitar strums alternating with high-pitched scree–accompanied by Jun Hamano’s plodding bass and Takashima’s simple cymbal and drum smacks–into a completely corroded cumulus cloud of massive, blurry, almost-rock.

What’s a Fushitsusha CD without at least one really long track? The second one on this disc offers up over 35 minutes of all-over-the-map fun for your noise-hungry head. Haino nonchalantly navigates his guitar all the way from dry strums to amp squeal to heavy reverb to scattered free picking to distorted wailing–occasionally nicely melded with some spare drum splack and even a little bass rhythm at one point. A couple of huge crescendos of distortion–accompanied by Haino’s lost ghost vocal wailing–appear near the middle and end of the piece. The second one–a massive, sound flurry-spewing sphere bigger than the sun–rolls into view and completely pummels the life out of the unsuspecting listener. Overall, after listening to this CD, it’s quite obvious that Fushitsusha practiced their unique deconstruction of rock in a fully-realized manner from the get-go. It comes housed in an all-black mini-LP gatefold cover with a black disc and booklet just like all of the previous Fushitsusha CDs on PSF. Just lovely, all around.

Catalog: PSFD-8016 (P.S.F. Records)
Album Overview on Arcane Candy
On Last.fm
Download

Fushitsusha ( 不失者 ) - Allegorical Misunderstanding (1993)

| Avant-Garde | Noise Rock | Experimental Rock |
| Psychedelic Rock |

A surprisingly subdued Fushitsusha move through 10 “movements” of “Magic” on this unusual, dark camping trip—especially notable for the absence of Haino’s massive realms of guitar effects and distortion. Comprised of nothing more than simple guitar, bass, drums and vocals—typical instruments handled in a very atypical manner—Allegorical Misunderstanding still maintains the quintessential air of cyclical intensity of all Fushitsusha efforts.

After a short, stately intro, the band launch into eight-and-a-half minutes worth of repetitive dream-drifting piloted by some very nice trance-strum guitar and spackled drums—all anchored down by a simple, three-note bass line. The last minute or so of this track is awe-inspiring with some very beautiful, high-pitched guitar wailing as the band climaxes to a halt. Tracks two through eight are mostly in a short, quirky mode—including occasional moaning or screeching vocals with forays into a little distortion. “Magic IX” is the centerpiece—a 14-minute web of reverb-drenched, psychedelic guitar swirls backed by another amazingly simple bass line and drum haze that take you on a dizzying journey into the depths of existence.

Catalog: Avan 008 (Avant)
Album Overview on Arcane Candy
On Last.fm
Download

Hijokaidan ( 非常階段 ) - Viva Angel (1984)

| Harsh Noise | Psychedelic |

Viva Angel is one of the earliest records from the Noise King, Hijokaidan. It features 7 tracks, 6 of 2-5min and the full version of Bad Character, But Great Sounds with almost 25min. Not a long record, but the stuff in here is good enough to make it more than worthy.

The album starts with the psychedelic-crazy-shouts Seeds Rock 'N Roll, one of the proofs of how insane this guys can become. The album has very cool harsh-noise tracks, like Viva Angel, Hellthy Girl and Broken Young Bud. There are some other strange psychedelic stuff, like Twilight Guitar, one of the most bizarre stuff I've ever heard from Hijokaidan, and Secret Desire, a strange mix of high-pitched noise and some screams (?). But the highlight here is the last track: 25min of pure sound destruction. After listening to Hijokaidan, the other noise stuff sound like Hannah Montana.

Catalog: ARLP-004 (Alchemy Records)
On Last.fm
Download

The Gerogerigegege - Yellow Trash Bazooka (1993)

| Harsh Noise | Japanese Ultra Shit Band |

Possibly one of the funniest things ever. A 80 song 7'' thats barely 15 minutes long and with the song titles all running through the letter "G" in alphabetic order. We start with "G" and end with "gynecologist" with many different interpretations of the "get ___ ." Following a countoff, a blast of sound ensues, usually lasting about 5 or 6 seconds. Juntaro's count offs start getting rather long winded by the middle of the second side and it just gets funnier and funnier. One can hear the sound of a drum machine somewhere in the mix as well. The cover art contains the same format as the 'endless humiliation' cd, substituting a picture of an old man masturbating. This is a gero 7'' worth tracking down.

Catalog: SOA 11 (SOA Records)
Album overview on Artnotart
On Last.fm
Download

Fushitsusha ( 不失者 ) - I Saw It! That Which Before I Could Only Sense (2000)

| Avant-Garde | Noise Rock | Experimental Rock |
| Psychedelic Rock |

At this point, what is left to say? With almost every release, Fushitsusha further refine and perfect their absolutely one-of-a-kind music. Seemingly incapable of making a stale move, this new set finds the band just totally peaking—it’s got to be their best effort since the glory days of PSF. I Saw It! is yet another 2-CD offering from merely the heaviest band of all time, packed in a double jewel case from the British label Paratactile. A three-panel booklet contains the usual front cover design, three photos of Haino close-up at the mic, plus more lengthy track titles on the rear.

A short intro called “A Reflecting, Reflecting Echo, My Soul Could Perhaps Become” throws out the welcome mat: totally unique, dry guitar tangle with massive reverb and buried vocals. “I Sink Down in Search of Your Breath’s Abode” and “Don’t Be Afraid. Even if Your Nerves Snap, You Can Tie Them to A Fragment Of The Universe” are both likewise surprisingly short–by Fushitsusha standards–and are just so thick with totally non-lame, abstract, electric beauty.

“Staring at a Point in Time, Memorizing. Vowing Never to Return” is a floating array of airy strum beauty and another messy mesmerizer that lopes along so nicely in an almost minstrelsy way. The centerpiece is the title track, which takes up the final half-hour of disc one. It’s full of distant, cavernous quaking and Haino himself seeping over the event horizon into the black abyss, twisting unbelievable dream weave guitar wail through chaotic asteroid belts of non-generic, well-fedback sound-shawls. This is one of those spontaneously- and perfectly-constructed realms of supreme spirit-density that only Fushitsusha is capable of.

The title track shifts gears a bit as it continues onto disc two for some slightly less-filling, overboard graveyard screech. Fascinating, dry-slash-distorted strum interchanges appear later, a spell before the maelstrom simmers down for some destroyed psych lines around the 40-minute mark. The track finally draws to a close at 54 minutes after another brave dive into full storm thickness. Total elapsed time: 84 minutes, making this the longest Fushitsusha track ever by nine minutes—and probably one of the longest pieces of music on CD anywhere–except, you know, La Monte Young’s The Well-Tuned Piano.

A way quiet, muted array of bass, drums and voice called “Hasn’t Something Like This Happened Before?” appropriately closes the set.

Catalog: PLE 1106/07-2 (Paratactile)
Album Overview on Arcane Candy
On Last.fm
Download

Fushitsusha ( 不失者 ) - The Caution Appears (1995)

| Avant-Garde | Noise Rock | Experimental Rock |
| Psychedelic Rock |

This French import is just a little bit louder than French toast. There’s not much subtlety involved here as Keiji Haino and company go straight for your most vital veins. It’s an extremely vicious guitar, bass and drums carnivore with improv tracks ranging in length from 30 seconds to 15 minutes. There’s even a rocker or two thrown in for all of you rollers out there. The last track contains the most soaring, deeply-felt, anguished guitar playing I’ve ever heard in my entire life—even surpassing Loren Mazzacane’s emotion-soaked forays like Hell’s Kitchen Park. Unbelievable.

Catalog: CDSA 54039 (Les Disques Du Soleil Et De L'Acier)
Album Overview on Arcane Candy
On Last.fm
Download

Les Rallizes Dénudés - Wild Trips (2005)

| Avant-Garde | Noise Rock | Psychedelic Rock |
| Experimental Rock |

5xCDs from 1976. more info at discogs. review coming later.

Catalog: UNIVIVE-009 (Univive)
On Last.fm
Download

Fushitsusha ( 不失者 ) - Withdrawe, This Sable Disclosure Ere Devot'd (1998)

| Avant-Garde | Noise Rock | Experimental Rock |
| Psychedelic Rock |

This eight-track, 65-minute CD features a live concert recording from the 14th Annual Festival International de Musique Actuelle de Victoriaville on May 16, 1997. “This Is” is this whirlwind of chaotic, electric soundquake that should increase ear putty sales dramatically. For the first, second, or maybe third time ever, Fushitsusha repeat a track, “Pathétique,” a version of which existed before as track one on PSFD-50. The treatment this time out is quite different, of course—only somewhat recognizable and much more projectile-vomited. “Hazama” and “Precipitate” join together to pair the most spare bass and drum simplicities with another round of feedback mic vocal stylings. On “Small Laugh,” beautifully keening vocals mix with pensive guitar wafts, bass strum and cymbal clouds to delight the sensitive senses.

The centerpiece is a 17-minute affair of way pensive minor note twine called “Vertigo” that could easily bind you up into a cobwebbed pantry for a spell, then toss you out into the backyard for a good soaking by a very threatening weather system. “Just A Piece Of” harkens back to track one, just before the set is closed out with “W 1/7” and yet more thick spontaneity that somehow ends up with no guitar—the fast pounding from the rhythm section inciting Haino to vocally scald your face off for one super intense ending. The crowd approves. This release comes outfitted in a different kind of cover, for once: a very dark color photo of a bed of nails highlighted with an abstractly-shaped sliver of light, plus the band’s name and title in dark, blood red. A stretched photo of Keiji Haino playing live lies inside.

Catalog: VICTO CD 060 (Les Disques Victo)
Album Overview on Arcane Candy
On Last.fm
Download

Fushitsusha ( 不失者 ) - Gold Blood (1998)

| Avant-Garde | Noise Rock | Experimental Rock |
| Psychedelic Rock |

Finally, the first-ever domestic U.S. release from Fushitsusha, recorded live at The Great American Music Hall in San Francisco on November 7, 1996 while the band was en route to Chicago for the Table Of The Elements Festival and, eventually, London to record their first two Tokuma albums. So, it should be no surprise that the material on Gold Blood has been pumped from a similar heart.

From more wailing, feedback-dipped sound cones with crackling burger amp damage and lost ’n’ never found vocals to distant Ouija Board flail slowly coalescing into an intimidating maelstrom eventually ending in colossal sky shudders, this is another little, flat disc that should never become a coaster. The 24-minute spare feedback quirk and spat vocals of “Cipher” turns all angelic on you with the sweetest of voices, only to shift back to some full-on pedal overbore at the end. Filled with 72 minutes of sound spread over five tracks, this CD sports more chapter-like track titles. A nice one: “This Trembling in My Core, With Which of Your Cells Couldn’t it Hold Hands?"

Catalog: CHCD-30 (Charnel Music)
Album Overview on Arcane Candy
On Last.fm
Download

Fushitsusha ( 不失者 ) - The Time Is Nigh (1997)

| Avant-Garde | Noise Rock | Experimental Rock |
| Psychedelic Rock |

Four tracks and 75 minutes of oozing, black lava—headed straight for your house. “Just Before” intros the disc with a feeling of short, slow and quiet. “My Precious Thing” is a 21-minute aurora of white furnace blast—just an incredibly shrill, piercing, unearthly guitar nebula with the most cosmically connected ghost-moaning ever. “Black Cluster,” which is similar but somewhat more down to Earth, is a nearly half-hour tanker you’d be much more likely to take home to mom. Well, okay, you probably wouldn’t. The vocals are much more up front and the pea sound-soup is a little thinner. Some unbelievable forehead eye psych arches appear later, the likes of which haven’t been heard since track three on Pathetique. Damn! “The Time Is Nigh” closes out the disc with a little melody mixed in with the shard carnival.

Catalog: TKCF-77015 (Tokuma Japan Communications)
Album Overview on Arcane Candy
On Last.fm
Download