Chefkirk - Giant Squid

Artist: Chefkrik
Release: Giant Squid
Label: 804noise
Year: 2006
Format: 5" CDr
Tracks: 6
TRT: 47:51

When I got this disc I thought; "Cool, I've heard a lot about this guy and have never heard his material yet." So I put it in the stereo, set at my normal volume for noise, pressed play and nearly jumped out of my skin! It's 6 weeks into 2007 and I think I got my topper of the year so far. The volume on this disc was recorded very loud and I love getting surprises like this.

Chefkrik provides six tracks of harsh ass noise that has some well done production in it. Even though the tracks are untitled thier order is perfect. Track One starts us off with some great blasts of harsh walls mixed a couple higher notes here and there. But the movement is well done. A great short opener to whats coming. Track Two begins slowly with some hisses that play for a minute of less and then the track begins to build and build into a monster hiss and then slowly gives off again with a odd sounding loop that sounds like the end of a vinyl records skipping. In behind it we have some high tonal noise to give your ears some balance. Track Three starts with a slow fade in of a looped wall that builds and builds up speed and interlayered noise begins to come in. Glitchy scrapes and hisses swirl about your room and then the track gets into some awesome delay pedal work and is harsh as hell. Probably my favorite track on this disc. Track Four starts with some more delay works and loops of noise mixed with hisses of harsh blasts. I'm going hate to say this but this release remindes me a lot of Merzbow's early 90's material and that's saying a fucking lot because MA was in his prime then. At 9 minutes long, like the last track, you never feel like you sat through 9 minute because so much is going on and grabbing your attention. And that's what this release did for me right away, grabbed my attention. The ending of the track features some drum loop as well, which surprised me because it's the first time hearing any drum in this release at all. Track Five, is something to give your ears a rest. At 13 minutes long it take a while to develope into something loud. Pretty much takes about 7 minutes before it starts to pick up nicely. Begins with a soft static loop that slowly builds up level by level until the track ends. Lots of hisses. Track Six is a crashing, bashing, drum craze. Sounds like Mr. Smith went drum machine happy and delay crazy. I love it. The disc ends in some great loop paterns and harsh delay play and it's a great way to end this awesome disc.

The artwork in something that surprised me. A simple red and blue cardboard paper sheet with an insert telling me to be Vegan. After looking at the Caustic Castle package I wondered for a second if this came from the same label. I don't hate it but I also think it suits the material on the disc so it's not all that bad. A good buy $5 ppd US!

Caustic Castle - Untitled

Artist: Caustic Castle
Release: Untitled
Label: 804noise
Year: 2006
Format: 3" CDr
Tracks: 3
TRT: 12:05

The lastest EP from Caustic Castle, who is Kenneth Yates of Harm Stryker & Insects with Tits, is a short 12 minute blast of high pitched tones and blistering scrapes. I'm not much of a fan of minimal high pitched tonal noise so I can't really give an objective view to this release 100%. What I will talk about is the production and artistry of this release.

There are three tracks and the first one, Sharp Objects, is nothing more than a few high pitched bleeps and that come one after another. Not much is really mixed together in this track and there's not much flow. However, the tracks in this release get better as they go. Track two, The Peoples Stoker, as more of the high pitched tones but layered with it are low slow moving scrapes and pushes of static. This time there is more direction in the track and it has a lot more replay value than the first one. The third track, Knives And Daggers, features far more noise and layers. Again, there's a lot of high pitches and laser type sounds but there's more and more of it mixed with other happenings that get you more interested in what's going on. I like this track the best and it gets louder and better right to the end.

The artwork for this mini-disc is great. A simple symbol type image on the front and inside features an insert with track/artist info over some old Globe maps. Same as with the artwork on the disc image itself. All packaged in a plastic 3" case. Looks very professional. Overall I'd give this release a 3/5 simply because I like my noise to be a lot more aggressive and a lot of shit moving with layer upon layer. However, I will say this is a good start for Caustic Castle.