Shakily debuting as a dramatically stripped down (and much sloppier) clone of Naked City's "hardcore" phase, Painkiller rapidly transmuted into an aural odyssey of Middle Eastern dark ambient, industrialized dub, and sludge-jazz coincidentally similar to the Swiss band 16-17. The effect/loop experimentation on the instruments (mostly a dry bass, drums, and sax) is impressive not only for it's atypicality, but for the hallucinatory depth it achieves in each session's ambiance. I don't believe there's been any document of the band's collective mindset or goals, anything Harris or Zorn have ever said of the project were terse references to generic jamming...but the strange uniqueness they concocted refuses to show any hint of age or age-induced cringe. As Mick would have called it: "Proper". P.S.: And goddamn do their layouts still impress me. Stunningly beautiful morbidity! 
Painkiller - "Collected Works '91-'94" 4xCD 1997 & "50/12" CD 2005
Shakily debuting as a dramatically stripped down (and much sloppier) clone of Naked City's "hardcore" phase, Painkiller rapidly transmuted into an aural odyssey of Middle Eastern dark ambient, industrialized dub, and sludge-jazz coincidentally similar to the Swiss band 16-17. The effect/loop experimentation on the instruments (mostly a dry bass, drums, and sax) is impressive not only for it's atypicality, but for the hallucinatory depth it achieves in each session's ambiance. I don't believe there's been any document of the band's collective mindset or goals, anything Harris or Zorn have ever said of the project were terse references to generic jamming...but the strange uniqueness they concocted refuses to show any hint of age or age-induced cringe. As Mick would have called it: "Proper". P.S.: And goddamn do their layouts still impress me. Stunningly beautiful morbidity! 