Merzbow - A Taste of Merzbow

Noise stalwart Masami Akita returns with his first release on Austria's prime Mego label. As Merzbow has started laptop noise excursions perhaps it's inevitable that he would end up with a release on Mego. In fact there can't be many labels without some Merzbow fare in their catalogue. It poses the question: is Merzbow becoming more accessible, or have we the hardened listener become more accustomed.

A Taste of Merzbow is a homage to the delicate art of Japanese cuisine and Akita subsequently serves up a rather tasty four courses. It's another powerful jolt from his laptop. Recent Merzbow material has manipulated the sound of free drummers, and material from the likes of Soft Machine. However the skronk and skree on A Taste of Merzbow is much more rhythmical and structured. There are lashings of beats on 'Turban Shell Blues', and the sheer layers of sound add fresh motion as it heads towards the inevitable meltdown. 'Tempurg In Mess' appears to feature some form of liquid filter as it processes reams of data in cyclical fashion.

The sheer force of Merzbow is still unrelenting. If you enjoy the abrasive explosions of Merzbow then you'll find much of interest here others not fully acquainted with Merzbow may still find A Taste of Merzbow an acquired taste. For more information go to www.mego.at