last time i checked the internet was calling us experimental power violence
and not really related to anything but Devo's new CD is streaming here
Thursday, June 10, 2010
I'm going to listen to Grief for about seven hours
last time i checked the internet was calling us experimental power violence
and not really related to anything but Devo's new CD is streaming here
File under "different metal"
I'd forgotten i'd done this one. Some slightly flippant answers, but that's what happens you answer interviews at work i guess.
Original can be found here
Hi guys, how is The Endless Blockade / Bastard Noise doing these days?
The Endless Blockade: We live.
Bastard Noise: Bastard Noise (now The Bastard Noise) is doing very well thank you but of course we always see room for improvement - we have Connell (man is the bastard) back in the drum throne and he has never sounded more progressive/heavy so things are great! We are getting ready to do a full US tour this summer and our brand new full length 12" LP/CD (with bass a.k.a. "four steel girders", drums, electronics and vocals) will be released before we leave in June. It is titled ‘A Culture Of Monsters’. The 12" LP version will be released by Deep Six Records here in California (www.deepsixrecords.com) and the compact disc version will be a "joint" release between the two Minneapolis, Minnesota-based labels Housepig Records (www.housepigrecords.com) and Hear More! (www.hearmorerecords.com) It came out totally sick and heavy!
This interview is going to be part of a Bastard Noise/The Endless Blockade split-interview: do you have anything to say to those guys?
The Endless Blockade: See you in July?
Bastard Noise: The Endless Blockade simply fucking rule both as people and as a band - they are progressive thinkers with a different angle every time they document their sound.
Can you tell me when you first heard Bastard Noise / The Endless Blockade and what your thoughts were?
The Endless Blockade: I first heard Bastard Noise as Man is the Bastard began to change into a different beast. Bastard Noise has several different periods that represent a continuous evolution, perhaps mirroring a desire for the human race to evolve along similar lines (as above so below). They’ve changed from their initial sound of primal yelling over primitive oscillations to incredibly complex and uniquely composed sound work that are always unmistakably their own. With the current and latest change they’ve left life in the ocean long behind, ascended Jacobs Ladder fully and challenged Metatron himself. Bastard Noise to me represents the struggle of the human spirit to overcome its surroundings; Bastard Noise is a survival of the fittest mentality applied to pure sound.
Bastard Noise: Quite a few years back now. I thought: "I need to hear much more!" I started writing Nolan (bass/support vocals) a while back as well and very quickly into that early relationship I he "got it". Carroll is one of my favourite vocalists and truly Ben and Eric fucking slay on guitar and drums!
The split turned out to be something completely different than we are used to from you guys, was this planned just for 'The Red List'?
The Endless Blockade: We write for each record specifically and the parameters shift consistently as we restrict certain ideas at the expense of others. Our primary musical goal of the last few years have been to condense our sound to its most basic building blocks; be as minimal as possible and just utilise as much as we can from the ideas we allow ourselves to use. I’m also keen on performing music that negates the role of the individual in its performance and can only largely be viewed as a whole, less a sum of its components. For example I have absolutely no interest in ever being considered a “good” or “interesting” bass player. If that happens in this band (unlikely) then I’ve failed. Our half of ‘The Red List’ is just the latest stop on this path.
Bastard Noise: No this was a "long term" plan to bring back the "four steel girders" and drums to the forefront of the skulls' expression. This was a permanent decision! We have a lot of music to get out! It has worked out great first with Danny Walker (Phobia / Intronaut / Murder Construct) for ‘The Red List’ sessions and now with Connell (M.I.T.B.) back in the line-up (Walker is extremely busy at this point in his life and need a more "grounded" member for BN which is where Connell came in) things are a real joy to say the least.
Did Bastard Noise / The Endless Blockade influence you in anyway for these recordings?
The Endless Blockade: Any band that claims power violence as one of its primary influences is by necessity influenced by at least one period of Eric Wood’s musical history. Eric Wood’s musical legacy is always intrinsically linked to Eric Wood as a human being (no disrespect to Walker or Nelson) and I see Bastard Noise as another emanation from him. He is a person truly linked to his creations.
Bastard Noise: By simply existing they influenced our writing. I knew these guys would "deliver the goods" big time and back in 2007 when Nolan and I first discussed the possibility of this happening we were fixed on the concept of a full length collaboration. It didn't work out that as we needed our own material to play "live" - one of the reasons it became a split full length instead. We hope to work with them again. T.E.B. are people we want to associate with for the long term.
Did you guys discuss the lyrical concept of the record as well? Do you guys have similar ideas about writing lyrics would you think?
The Endless Blockade: I think we both draw on similar primordial sources of inspiration; Bastard Noise seems simultaneously more misanthropic and more hopeful about the fate of our species. Perhaps we’re just more resigned?
Bastard Noise: I am not sure now if "lightly" discussed the lyrical issues when it was first going to a full length collaboration but by the time we decided (collectively) to have each band have a side( or half a compact disc), we essentially went our "own directions". It doesn't matter though as these guys know what is happening around them. I think this is their best effort to date both in sound and in compositional feel.
What do you think of the Bastard Noise / The Endless Blockade side of the album?
The Endless Blockade: It’s everything I hoped it and knew it would be.
Bastard Noise: It is a beautiful "journey" in sound and lyrical expression. Very powerful without losing sight of their trademark sound yet reaching farther (at least to me) than they ever have in the past.
Will there perhaps be another cooperation in the future?
The Endless Blockade: It’s not impossible to conceive of on going collaborative work in some shape or form between the members of Blockade and the members of Bastard Noise; we’ll see. There’s enough of a mutual respect and understanding between both units to make it a distinct possibility but time is everyone’s master.
Bastard Noise: We would be honoured to do so. Together as separate bands/entities, we have not discussed this yet however.
What are your immediate future plans?
The Endless Blockade: Our immediate plans are to finish mixing our split LP with Unearthly Trance and sneak over the border to do a week of shows with Hatred Surge. I’m starting to put ideas together for our next two records, Antinomian and Salvation. One of which will hopefully come out this year, the other sometime before 2012.
Bastard Noise: Immediate plans include preparing for the release of ‘A Culture Of Monsters’ and rehearsing our asses off for our US summer tour then upon return, negotiating flight costs to get to the UK and Europe with one years time. Also we are developing even newer material for next sound document yet untitled.
When will we be seeing you guys live in The Netherlands?
The Endless Blockade: No plans at present. If someone wants to pay for our airfares upfront we’ll be there much sooner though.
Bastard Noise: Hopefully with any luck by the end of 2010 or the middle 201! "The Skull" is coming!
Original can be found here
Hi guys, how is The Endless Blockade / Bastard Noise doing these days?
The Endless Blockade: We live.
Bastard Noise: Bastard Noise (now The Bastard Noise) is doing very well thank you but of course we always see room for improvement - we have Connell (man is the bastard) back in the drum throne and he has never sounded more progressive/heavy so things are great! We are getting ready to do a full US tour this summer and our brand new full length 12" LP/CD (with bass a.k.a. "four steel girders", drums, electronics and vocals) will be released before we leave in June. It is titled ‘A Culture Of Monsters’. The 12" LP version will be released by Deep Six Records here in California (www.deepsixrecords.com) and the compact disc version will be a "joint" release between the two Minneapolis, Minnesota-based labels Housepig Records (www.housepigrecords.com) and Hear More! (www.hearmorerecords.com) It came out totally sick and heavy!
This interview is going to be part of a Bastard Noise/The Endless Blockade split-interview: do you have anything to say to those guys?
The Endless Blockade: See you in July?
Bastard Noise: The Endless Blockade simply fucking rule both as people and as a band - they are progressive thinkers with a different angle every time they document their sound.
Can you tell me when you first heard Bastard Noise / The Endless Blockade and what your thoughts were?
The Endless Blockade: I first heard Bastard Noise as Man is the Bastard began to change into a different beast. Bastard Noise has several different periods that represent a continuous evolution, perhaps mirroring a desire for the human race to evolve along similar lines (as above so below). They’ve changed from their initial sound of primal yelling over primitive oscillations to incredibly complex and uniquely composed sound work that are always unmistakably their own. With the current and latest change they’ve left life in the ocean long behind, ascended Jacobs Ladder fully and challenged Metatron himself. Bastard Noise to me represents the struggle of the human spirit to overcome its surroundings; Bastard Noise is a survival of the fittest mentality applied to pure sound.
Bastard Noise: Quite a few years back now. I thought: "I need to hear much more!" I started writing Nolan (bass/support vocals) a while back as well and very quickly into that early relationship I he "got it". Carroll is one of my favourite vocalists and truly Ben and Eric fucking slay on guitar and drums!
The split turned out to be something completely different than we are used to from you guys, was this planned just for 'The Red List'?
The Endless Blockade: We write for each record specifically and the parameters shift consistently as we restrict certain ideas at the expense of others. Our primary musical goal of the last few years have been to condense our sound to its most basic building blocks; be as minimal as possible and just utilise as much as we can from the ideas we allow ourselves to use. I’m also keen on performing music that negates the role of the individual in its performance and can only largely be viewed as a whole, less a sum of its components. For example I have absolutely no interest in ever being considered a “good” or “interesting” bass player. If that happens in this band (unlikely) then I’ve failed. Our half of ‘The Red List’ is just the latest stop on this path.
Bastard Noise: No this was a "long term" plan to bring back the "four steel girders" and drums to the forefront of the skulls' expression. This was a permanent decision! We have a lot of music to get out! It has worked out great first with Danny Walker (Phobia / Intronaut / Murder Construct) for ‘The Red List’ sessions and now with Connell (M.I.T.B.) back in the line-up (Walker is extremely busy at this point in his life and need a more "grounded" member for BN which is where Connell came in) things are a real joy to say the least.
Did Bastard Noise / The Endless Blockade influence you in anyway for these recordings?
The Endless Blockade: Any band that claims power violence as one of its primary influences is by necessity influenced by at least one period of Eric Wood’s musical history. Eric Wood’s musical legacy is always intrinsically linked to Eric Wood as a human being (no disrespect to Walker or Nelson) and I see Bastard Noise as another emanation from him. He is a person truly linked to his creations.
Bastard Noise: By simply existing they influenced our writing. I knew these guys would "deliver the goods" big time and back in 2007 when Nolan and I first discussed the possibility of this happening we were fixed on the concept of a full length collaboration. It didn't work out that as we needed our own material to play "live" - one of the reasons it became a split full length instead. We hope to work with them again. T.E.B. are people we want to associate with for the long term.
Did you guys discuss the lyrical concept of the record as well? Do you guys have similar ideas about writing lyrics would you think?
The Endless Blockade: I think we both draw on similar primordial sources of inspiration; Bastard Noise seems simultaneously more misanthropic and more hopeful about the fate of our species. Perhaps we’re just more resigned?
Bastard Noise: I am not sure now if "lightly" discussed the lyrical issues when it was first going to a full length collaboration but by the time we decided (collectively) to have each band have a side( or half a compact disc), we essentially went our "own directions". It doesn't matter though as these guys know what is happening around them. I think this is their best effort to date both in sound and in compositional feel.
What do you think of the Bastard Noise / The Endless Blockade side of the album?
The Endless Blockade: It’s everything I hoped it and knew it would be.
Bastard Noise: It is a beautiful "journey" in sound and lyrical expression. Very powerful without losing sight of their trademark sound yet reaching farther (at least to me) than they ever have in the past.
Will there perhaps be another cooperation in the future?
The Endless Blockade: It’s not impossible to conceive of on going collaborative work in some shape or form between the members of Blockade and the members of Bastard Noise; we’ll see. There’s enough of a mutual respect and understanding between both units to make it a distinct possibility but time is everyone’s master.
Bastard Noise: We would be honoured to do so. Together as separate bands/entities, we have not discussed this yet however.
What are your immediate future plans?
The Endless Blockade: Our immediate plans are to finish mixing our split LP with Unearthly Trance and sneak over the border to do a week of shows with Hatred Surge. I’m starting to put ideas together for our next two records, Antinomian and Salvation. One of which will hopefully come out this year, the other sometime before 2012.
Bastard Noise: Immediate plans include preparing for the release of ‘A Culture Of Monsters’ and rehearsing our asses off for our US summer tour then upon return, negotiating flight costs to get to the UK and Europe with one years time. Also we are developing even newer material for next sound document yet untitled.
When will we be seeing you guys live in The Netherlands?
The Endless Blockade: No plans at present. If someone wants to pay for our airfares upfront we’ll be there much sooner though.
Bastard Noise: Hopefully with any luck by the end of 2010 or the middle 201! "The Skull" is coming!
Monday, June 7, 2010
Human Cargo
New noise release, five tracks from Minneapolis duo Juhyo and four from yours truly, out now on Housepig and Hear More.
Blockade and Juhyo have played together a few times now (twice i think) and each time we've been blown away by their meticulous attention to detail; this is not two dudes randomly turning on and off DOD death metal pedals and skronking the controls on their Behringer mixers as fast as they can.
Juhyo's sound on this release at times sounds like being slowly marched out of your house and into custody. Haunting stuff.
The theme for the release was loosely human trafficking. Juhyo probably get this across better than i managed. Though i did stand outside my local cash-for-handjobs-from-Eastern-Europeans-parlour and recorded the sounds of the night whilst out walking the dog for one track.
My material on the split presents the penultimate release in this style before i had a minor shift. The Inner Light CD that i'm going to go on good faith and hope is either currently at the plant or about to be sent to the plant will be the final release of mine in this style. The soon to be released split tape with Disgust on Small Doses and Between Two Fires C20 on Swim Harder are the first of the new approach (hint, it has vocals and bass on as well as the usual harsh noise and reappropriated enviromental recordings, pretty ground breaking stuff huh?).
Some of my side has me hitting the harsh noise like i'm 21 again and some is an altogether slower listen. I did a lot of field recordings and stealing of other peoples material for this one. Thrill to the sound of Nekrasov's first born, the soundtracks of Friday the 13th and Blade Runner, endless recordings of my dog, the above mentioned "massage" parlour, going to Blockade practice, being at Blockade practice, coming home from Blockade practice etc et fucking cetera.
Housepig just released the new Bastard Noise CD, so if you're going to buy that (and you probably should unless you're buying the LP version), pick this one up as well if it floats yer boat. Also much recommended from Housepig are the following:
Vennt - Vennt
Kelly Churko - The Confusion
Wilt - Scarecrow (in fact, if you're not familiar with Wilt, buy everything you can by them, some of the most interesting sounds of the last decade are coming from those two dudes)
and of the many Bastard Noise releases Bill's done my vote goes to the Brainstorming II collaboration with Christian Renou as being particularly worth investigating.
Hear More also released the excellent Pig Heart Transplant/ Juhyo split 7".
In other news this year i figured out how to go to MDF and not lose my mind. Autopsy and Portal were predictable highlights by a country mile and Watain, who i've always loved everything about except for their music were a revelation as well and the only band really put the Death into MDF.
Playlist:
Bizarre Uproar - Purity
Nominon - Monumentomb (unbelievably good, already my tip for best death metal album of the year)
Infinitum Obscure - Sub Atris Caelis
Mika Vainio - Black Telephone of Matter
Defeatist - Sixth Extinction
Saturday, May 8, 2010
Inverted Forest
another print zine with a Blockade interview. The interview covers anti-intellectualism, the occult, power violence as a genre descriptor and a lot of words on why i reject both atheism and religion
available from this guy: Richard inverted.forest.zine@gmail.com
Loser Life, 16oh and Suffer are also interviewed. I checked out Suffer's myspace page after reading the zine and liked what i heard.
I particularly liked the introduction page and hope Richard writes more personal stuff in future issues, i feel his perspective is well thought out and his interests in the cultural aspects of hardcore are for the 'right' reasons. I guess i just mean i agree with him and we probably have some similar life experiences.
Anyway, support printed zines, blah blah blah. In this day and age of internet and paypals there are few excuses for not buying half decent zines when they come in to being; having to piss about with pre paid envelopes are thankfully a thing of the past.
Other reading:
Terror #1
Special Interests #2
Romio Shrestha - Celestial Gallery
Ivan Brun - No Comment
John O'Kane - Celtic Soccer Crew
David Peace - Occupied City
Joseph Campbell - The Mythic Dimension
available from this guy: Richard inverted.forest.zine@gmail.com
Loser Life, 16oh and Suffer are also interviewed. I checked out Suffer's myspace page after reading the zine and liked what i heard.
I particularly liked the introduction page and hope Richard writes more personal stuff in future issues, i feel his perspective is well thought out and his interests in the cultural aspects of hardcore are for the 'right' reasons. I guess i just mean i agree with him and we probably have some similar life experiences.
Anyway, support printed zines, blah blah blah. In this day and age of internet and paypals there are few excuses for not buying half decent zines when they come in to being; having to piss about with pre paid envelopes are thankfully a thing of the past.
Other reading:
Terror #1
Special Interests #2
Romio Shrestha - Celestial Gallery
Ivan Brun - No Comment
John O'Kane - Celtic Soccer Crew
David Peace - Occupied City
Joseph Campbell - The Mythic Dimension
Tuesday, May 4, 2010
coming soon
My first soundtrack. Only another 58 things i have to finish this year now.
Blood Boars (2010) from Justin Oakey on Vimeo.
Edit: now with trailer
Monday, April 26, 2010
power violence versus Bermuda
I'm not saying anyone should book a flight or anything (we're hardly worth it), but our two shows with Bastard Noise and The Rita in july will be our last for the forseeable future while Ben goes and moves to the richest (and probably smallest) country in the world for an indeterminate period of time.
I can't guarantee Eric won't get swine flu again (like last time we tried to play Montreal) or i won't get stranded in England due to acts of God (as i narrowly missed by a mere luck of the booking draw last week), but if you're within driving distance and want to see us you should probably get out to either Toronto or Montreal.
Whilst we're on hold there are three Blockade recordings still to be unleashed upon the pestilent hordes (i'm trying to get in to the Slaughter Strike mentality here)
In the meantime these Blockade related bands are all active:
Sakhalin
Slaughter Strike
Brutal Knights
Column of Heaven
and this is the (main) noise shit:
Death Agonies
Gack
Black Paintings
Joshua Norton Cabal
Hopefully Ben will get bored and do some kind of one man computer grindcore band about riding scooters on a tropical island with Catherine Zeta Jones on guest vokillz
Playlist:
Strom ec - Divine Legions Beyond the Psyche (one of the most rewarding power electronics CDs of recent years, buy it here)
Bizarre Uproar - Unsafe and Insane LP
Dave Gildan - Texas Chainsaw Dopefiend CS
Mudlark/ Half Gorilla 7"
Vacant Coffin - Sewer Skullpture LP
I can't guarantee Eric won't get swine flu again (like last time we tried to play Montreal) or i won't get stranded in England due to acts of God (as i narrowly missed by a mere luck of the booking draw last week), but if you're within driving distance and want to see us you should probably get out to either Toronto or Montreal.
Whilst we're on hold there are three Blockade recordings still to be unleashed upon the pestilent hordes (i'm trying to get in to the Slaughter Strike mentality here)
In the meantime these Blockade related bands are all active:
Sakhalin
Slaughter Strike
Brutal Knights
Column of Heaven
and this is the (main) noise shit:
Death Agonies
Gack
Black Paintings
Joshua Norton Cabal
Hopefully Ben will get bored and do some kind of one man computer grindcore band about riding scooters on a tropical island with Catherine Zeta Jones on guest vokillz
Playlist:
Strom ec - Divine Legions Beyond the Psyche (one of the most rewarding power electronics CDs of recent years, buy it here)
Bizarre Uproar - Unsafe and Insane LP
Dave Gildan - Texas Chainsaw Dopefiend CS
Mudlark/ Half Gorilla 7"
Vacant Coffin - Sewer Skullpture LP
Tuesday, April 20, 2010
Lee Altomare
A man who was the spirit of a rough old school New Yorker in the body of a wirey grindcore fucker.
Good dude, died way too fucking soon for this to be anything other the universe displaying utter cruelty
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