by Martin Walters
More screaming guitar overload from the Tokyo underground godfather of noise, the exquisitely designed table of elements label present his requisite all-black CD in a stunning housing that indicates the depth of darkness the Japanese mystic conjures from his guitar. Within the blitz of feedback and distortion, Keiji Haino's guitar rituals always have a fragile tension on the verge of collapse. Somehow, he keeps pushing the noise floor higher and higher, and when you wonder how much energy can one man and guitar expel, he takes it a step further and creates a blissful crescendo of shimmering feedback and dissolves the performance like a bursting rain cloud. Thundering amp noise and reverb are the minimal backing to his anguished vocal which is chilling as ever, his verbalizing transcends language and becomes an instrument of the subconscious that makes this music seem simultaneously futuristic and ancient.
Disc has laser etched text around edge. Cover art is pure black, comes with obi strip.
Guitar, Vocals – Keiji Haino
Photography By – Bettina Herzner