Best known/most admired studio demo of symphonically Lovecraftian TOTAL DEATH...
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Neuron-Free Zone...
"It's okay when Japc♥re does it! "
P.S.: It's a joke not a cock, quit taking it so willingly.
Our War - "If You're Not Now..." MLP CD Version 2002 (320)
"Our War started in 2001 in the basement of a now defunct tattoo shop in Burlington, Ontario, Canada. The concept behind the group was simple: old man straight edge. Members were tired with the rise of the new youth crew scene at the time. Many bands were springing up all over Canada and the US posturing and posing at being hard, edge, and crucial. The fact of the matter was that this new youth crew was a predictable trend and Our War was a direct reaction to it. Steve Wiltse and Jeff Beckman (ex Chokehold/Left For Dead/Haymaker) began rounding up other members to form their old man band. Christian McMaster (ex Burst of Silence/Left For Dead/The Swarm/Cursed/Haymaker) came in as second guitarist and brought fellow Cursed member Tom Piraino (ex Left Behind/At The Mercy Of Inspiration/Cursed) as bassist. Drummer Ryan Elinsky (ex Countdown to Oblivion) rounded out the line up.
No time was wasted in getting things rolling. Within a few months of the first practice the band hit the studio to record their first demo, laying down 12 songs, most of which would reappear on their mini LP. Playing shows in Southern Ontario, the group tightened up in preparation to hit the studio again. This time recording for a mini LP on a quickly growing local label called Deranged Youth Records. For a few days in November and a couple more in December, the band hammered out the 'If You're Not Now…You're Fucking Dead!' MLP, a scathing statement on the 2001 straight edge youth crew scene. With the artwork, provided by guitarist/tattoo artist Jeff, and the attitude to back it up, Our War and Deranged Youth unleashed this monster to the world on 10" vinyl and CD in early 2002.
More shows for the band, not only in their usual stomping ground but south of the border too...word was getting out. Positive (and negative) reviews of both the first demo and the full length were creating a bit of a buzz. Toronto itself was getting established on the hardcore map with the likes of then upstarts Fucked Up, Career Suicide, and No Warning all receiving accolades for their releases at the time. Hamilton's Haymaker, Jeff's other band, was receiving some well warranted hype too. Around this time Steve started his zine Town Of Hardcore. It featured lots of up and coming local bands such as Mental, Think I Care, Terror, and Violent Minds. Steve also reprinted older interviews with bands that were legendary to the youth crew movement. Demo, live, and record reviews in the zine were brutally honest.
The combination of Steve's zine (which drew extreme notoriety due to Steve's blunt editorial style) and decent reviews of the group added up to an invitation to Wilkes-Barre PA's Positive Numbers Fest in the summer of 2002. On June 14th, 2002 Our War shared the stage with Frostbite, Suicide File, No Warning, Striking Distance, Death Threat, and Cro-Mags. This trip though would signify the end for both Christian and Tom. The stresses of playing in two busy bands was getting to them as well as some underlying tensions between members. It was decided that it was better to exit the band and save relationships than to keep going and have a full on meltdown. No Warning bassist Ryan Gavel stepped in to partially fill the void.
Heading back into the studio, the band recorded another demo (later released as a 7"). There were a few more trips around Southern Ontario and one or two more shows out of province or stateside, but all in the band were feeling as though things had run their course. The youth crew scene had just been a trend, a fad for suburban and urban kids alike. Most received the straight edge kiss of death, the ticking time bomb if you will, the straight edge tattoo. For the most part this is the beginning of the end, mere weeks until you "broke" edge. First there was the former members of the band breaking edge. Then there were rumours floating around that new member Gavel had broken edge along with the other members of No Warning. It was time to get out.
And like that it was over, early 2003. Steve kept working on Town Of Hardcore until 2005. Jeff continues to tattoo in Hamilton and occasionally plays with his band Haymaker. Tom lives in Beamsville Ontario and is a respiratory therapist. Christian McMaster went AWOL after the last Cursed tour. Ryan Gavel lives in Toronto and is a music store employee and a musician for hire. Ryan Elinsky also lives in Toronto and is a kitchen manager and band whore playing with no less than four bands at any given time."
--Author Unknown, 2011
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Gravitar - "Gravitaativarravitar" CD 1995 (FLAC)
"Gravitar were an American noise rock band formed in Detroit in 1992 by Eric Cook, Harry Richardson, and Geoff Walker. Gravitar's music is strongly influenced by heavy metal, experimental, jazz, and is mostly improvisational. Their roots can be traced back to the band Stinkeye, which featured Cook and Richardson. It was Walker and Richardson who met at a local record store and eventually formed a bond over their mutually eccentric tastes. Richardson chose the name 'Gravitar' for a proposed new band. Cook, who was unaware of a similarly named video game, liked the name because it had a sense of weight and thickness."
1996 Interview with Eric Cook, Edited from 'Sonic Boom'...
Jester: How did you get involved with Mason Jones and Charnel Music?
Eric: We were familiar with Charnel from some of the other material they put out, and I became familiar with Mason from his writings on the 'N.M.' mailing list and 'rec.music.industrial'. He seemed to be friendly and approachable, and it was obvious that we had some crossover in musical tastes. So...we just sent him a tape, more to get an unbiased outside opinion of what we were doing than anything. He liked it, and things just flowed naturally from there.
Jester: Do you perform any of your recorded material as it exists in that form live or do you stick with improvised versions?
Eric: I guess that depends on how you want to define original and improvised. All of it is improvised to some degree. That is, all of the material is loose enough for us to change the interpretation of it every time we play it, and that is a fairly distinct goal of ours. At this point, I'm not sure if we could play the same thing in the same way multiple times. We've just been working in the opposite direction for long enough now, that it would be counter-instinctual. But to answer the question: we stick with improvised versions. All of the recorded material are improvised versions as well. On the 2nd album, we were fortunate enough to have a wide selection of recordings to work with, allowing us to put some songs on that were, in essence, the first version.
Jester: How did you come up with the name 'Gravitaativarravitar' for the new album? I noticed that it appears to use some type of reflection technique based upon the name of the band, but perhaps you can explain more.
Eric: First came the garbled logo that appears on the cover of the new album. It was created by Harold Richardson, our old guitar player. I suppose I could go into some long justification of the name, talking about self-reflection, or something, but in all honesty, we picked it because we thought it looked interesting, and because it didn't have any specific meaning.
Jester: Has the change around of the band line-up affected the band in any serious detrimental way, or have the new and remaining members filled the void of the departing members seamlessly?
Eric: Well, there is a change of course, and a certain period of readjustment whenever you bring people in, or shuffle people around. But for the most part, I think change as a whole is good; this one in particular has been. Not without downsides...we had a few opportunities and projects fall by the wayside as we were reworking the songs with the new lineup for a few months. But now that we've gotten past that stage, we're more productive than I think we've ever been in the past. And Harold, the departed member, seems to be fairly active working with Mr. and Mrs. Velocity Hopkins, and some other local people, so perhaps the split was good for him as well. Similarly, the sound might be slightly modified, but we all have a clear conception of the group, and what we are shooting for, so it's less of an apparent change than you might think.
Jester: Who all have you performed live with besides Crash Worship, Tekachi [I used to party at their communal house. --S], and Not Breathing? Have you picked up any undue musical influence from performing with any of these artists?
Eric: Probably the most noteworthy ones, aside from those mentioned above, have been The Ruins (amazing bass-drums duo from Japan), Slug, The Laughing Hyenas, and Princess Dragon Mom (and their variations). As far as undue musical influence...we did cover a Tekachi song near the end of the tour we did with them. The Ruins were definitely an influence, especially Yoshida's drumming on me in particular. I know that Slug has been a great source of inspiration for Mike, both in his singing and guitar playing. Probably the biggest influence has been the PDM/Time Stereo people, though perhaps not as much on the music side of things. They just have an amazing sense of fun more than anything, and a remarkably small amount of self-consciousness. Both of those elements have been great inspirations, both on our live shows, as well as our overall approach to what we're doing.
Jester: What kind of audience response do you get from your live shows versus fan response to your recorded material?
Eric: Live shows are always largely dependent on whether the audience has an idea of where to put us in context or not...We're too rock for some straight-out noise fans, and too loose and unstructured (in a traditional sense) for some of the rock bills we get booked on. But it's pretty much been consistently positive, even if a little off the mark. (One reviewer referred to our "obvious" Bauhaus influence, which seemed fairly bizarre to me)
Jester: How is the underground music scene in Detroit? I am originally from Kalamazoo myself and I've seen the music scene balloon to obscene proportions in the past few years since I left and I was curious if other Michigan cities were seeing that same type of change.
Eric: In some ways, it seems to be getting larger. I think it is definitely a very positive environment, with many quality bands (in a variety of styles), and clubs and promoters that make an effort to book more experimental bands. It's friendly. We like Detroit. (For the record, we're spread out across S.E. Michigan, I'm in East Lansing, Mike is in Ann Arbor, and Geoff is in Detroit. But Detroit definitely seems like home base). It's interesting to me to see the interrelationships (or lack thereof) of different circles of bands within one scene or between the different cities in Michigan...there's a lot more cross pollination between Detroit/Lansing/Ann Arbor, for example, than with those towns and Grand Rapids/Kalamazoo. That may just be my perception of it though, and completely off the mark.
Jester: Does Mason keep you up to date on the sales figures and fan feedback on your releases? If so, how have you fared relatively well all things considered?
Eric: Mason is very good at keeping us informed of sales, reviews and feedback. He's very professional at what he does, and we appreciate it. Sales have been fine, though it's not as if we're going to quit our day jobs and live off of the royalties! (That's not a goal btw...we have a pretty clear conception of what the size of our audience is). More importantly to us, the rate of sales has consistently been on the rise, both from album to album. It's nice to know that more and more people are hearing us.
Jester: Any plans for another cross country tour any time soon or will you be constrained for occupational reasons from doing so again?
Eric: Well, occupational reasons are going to keep us from hopping in the van for 6 months on end, but a late-summer tour of another 3-4 weeks is tentative. We had a wonderful time in California last time and would definitely get back to New York and the east coast soon, so time and money permitting...
Jester: What is your opinion on the direction the underground experimental/avant-garde music scene is going both musically and accessibility wise in the eyes of the generally naive public?
Eric: That depends largely on what faction of the underground you want to talk about. Japanese Noise? Chicago quietude, ala Tortoise? The New York Knitting Factory scene? West coast Tribalism?
Jester: As in along the lines of noise sculpturing and non-sequitor guitar work in your case as opposed to the raucous feedback of Japanese Noise or the Tribal dance frenzy of Crash Worship.
Eric: If I had to make a prediction, I suppose I would guess that the supposed border lines between sub-genres are going to blur further and further. Individual artists may stay purist in one direction or other, but general trends will be for these differing circles to influence each other further and further. I wonder about the sustainability of audience interest for some genres, as people seem to become jaded at a quicker and quicker rate all the time. In one way that might lead to better music, as it forces musicians to keep expanding upon themselves continually in order to maintain an audience's interest in them. This is probably all just hot air though...I'm too involved in my own tastes and concerns to make any predictions that even I believe wholeheartedly. My qualifications to guess where music is going to go are only a sliver (if that!) more large than my qualifications to guess whether double-breasted suits are going to be popular in 20 years. Some of it is inherently self-limiting in audience at a certain point. Merzbow's not going to "break it big" and be touring with the Red Hot Chili Peppers, but there's still room for growth, and perhaps more importantly, influence. It may be indirectly, but the things that are going on today, the techniques and lessons, both in the U.S. and abroad, will definitely be filtering their way into your children's music in some form or other.
Jester: Do you think that your genre of music is going to have the same kind of profound influence that people like Monte Cazazza, Z'ev, and Boyd Rice had upon the modern electronic industrial scene?
Eric: Which genre are we? Not to be difficult or anything, but I'm unsure...I know your magazine deals mainly with the electronic industrial scene, but I don't see us as being part of that continuum.
Jester: I'd probably place you in somewhere in the pseudo experimental guitar genre with the likes of people like K.K. Null and Jim O'Rourke.
Eric: In answer to your question though, I would say again that you will definitely see the influences of today's underground music in your children's music collections [He wasn't 'wrong'. --S]. Which artists or genres will specifically influence the music to come and in what ways is anyone's guess. It's all a large continuum, and what one person takes as the holy writ of inspiration, another person may take as a negative blueprint: "Good god, we don't want it to sound like that freaky crap our parents listened to!"
Jester: What exactly is the goal, reasoning, justification for you making and performing your music? Is it something deep and personal about communicating your messages to a diverse audience, or is it for something altogether more simplistic?
Eric: Each member has their own different agenda, with some overlap that allows us to get along and work together. At the simplest level, it's just a matter of wanting to make the music that we wanted to hear. (Self-gratification?). On a more personal level for me, it's a context where I can explore and work out some of my personal ideas about music (the combination of music and sound/noise, the mutability of rhythmic ideas in a rock setting, and some other things). As far as communication with an audience, we feel that the material we work with is of a high enough quality to be of interest to others, at least on an emotional/visceral level. There's no, say, political message, or statement on our post modern world or anything as premeditated as that.
Brother...
...may I have some oats?
No.
I am starving brother!
As am I brother! The tall skinny figure has thrown the oats
at me, ME brother! I believe they have taken a liking to me.
No brother, I have seen this before. I have observed many things,
from the roaring beast that the tall skinny figures crawl inside of
to travel far beyond the horizon, to how the figures wept when
another of them had fallen into a deep sleep, and from those
experiences I have learned that they will give extra oats to one
of us before taking them into the shed of no return. They will
do terrible things in that shed brother!
Lies!
That shed is where the chosen ones go to dine with our tall
skinny Gods! You are a fool brother, and you shall be left
behind in the mud with your backwards ideas!
Brother, you must believe me! Share with me the oats and
you shall not reach the desired girth for the tall skinny ones.
They will spare your life brother!
AHA!
So this was all a plan to steal my oats!
You truly are despicable brother!
I will not trust your lies!
Brother, when they took me outside the reaches of the pointy fences,
into the roaring beasts and way over the horizon, I saw it...I was taken
to a gathering of the tall skinny figures, they paraded me around brother,
and I saw the truth! I saw the tall skinny ones consuming our flesh!
I could not have been mistaken brother, the smell of the flesh was
surely one of us! They suspended the flesh above a fire and let
it burn before consuming it. They did not just consume it either brother,
they took pleasure from this, their mouths curved a wicked smile
and some even let out moans of satisfaction!
Brother, the figures are consumers!
Your story amuses me brother, but does not convince me.
I shall have these oats myself and dine with the tall skinny Gods!
I am sorry for you brother, your eyes cannot take the
blinding light of the truth and you scurry back to your cave.
I shall care for your spawn once they consume you brother,
as they have consumed...
...our mother
...our father
...our friends
...your lover
...and many more.
Fangoria: Issues 1-100 (1979-1991)
"Fangoria is an internationally acclaimed American horror media magazine in on and off publication since 1979. It was originally released in an era when horror fandom was still a burgeoning subculture. Fangoria rose to prominence by running exclusive interviews with horror filmmakers and offering behind the scenes photos and stories that were otherwise unavailable to fans at that time. It eventually rose to become a major influencer in the horror world itself. Kerry O'Quinn and Norman Jacobs first conceived of Fangoria under the name 'Fantastica' in 1978, intending it to be a companion publication to their science fiction themed 'Starlog'. Just as Starlog covered science fiction media for a mostly teenage audience, Fantastica was intended to cover fantasy in a similar fashion. The first issue was assembled under the editorship of 'Joe Bonham', a pseudonym taken from the quadriplegic hero of Dalton Trumbo's novel 'Johnny Got His Gun'. This was a cover for Rolling Stone contributor and screenwriter Ed Naha, and writer Ric Meyers. Shortly after the announcement of Fantastica's coming debut, the magazine was delayed by several months when the publishers of Starlog's competitor, Fantastic Films, threatened a lawsuit because of the similarity in titles. Emergency brainstorming sessions resulted in the name Fangoria (fan/fantasy + fantasmagoria), with the first issue finally going to print on July 31st 1979. That first issue still retained focus on fantasy media but proved to be a financial failure. Because of unexpected reader enthusiasm for an illustrated article on Tom Savini's makeup effects for Dawn Of The Dead, the magazine shifted its attention to the macabre, monsters, and gore. By issue 7 Fangoria became profitable, and only continued to grow in success alongside the horror genre's burgeoning golden age: the 1980s."
Gloom - "Self Interest" & "The End" Demos 1 & 2 1991
Relaunching-wave noisecore grandfathers. Surprisingly clear studio production
(in relation to their PVC recordings) and tightly-leashed (!!!) braindrill guitar...
Dissecting Table – "Complete Early Recordings 1986-1991" Military Bag 2011 + Steinklang/Denzatsu Comp CDs 2003/2004 (320)
"What is the main inspiration of my work with Dissecting Table? Observing death through life."
--Ichiro Tsuji
"Scrap-metal ambience, ultrafast multi-layered chime, double barreled bass-trumping, faintly whining knife-sharpeners and hacking cough, heavy rhythms, sheets of noise, samples clangs and screams, and very harsh, gutteral vocals create an aura of dread. This is the sort of dense, intense, rhythmic sound that so-called agro-tech bands attempt and fail to achieve: incredible intensity of sound and rhythmically-brutal mechanisms of horror, claustrophobia of environment, reality images, dark omen and furious noise-metal frustration, extreme anger and transparency of eternal fog, violent and devastating for mind, combines Japanese musical traditions with western decadence in EBM/digital/dark-trance hybrid. Dissecting Table is the exclusive child of Ichiro Tsuji, computer engineer. Imagination confirms again own cult status of one of the best harsh industrial projects, born under bloodless axis of country of rising noise. Being a part of 'UPD Organization' (Ultimate Psychological Description) and its main propagandist. He concentrates on investigating interest of physical energy-bond between sound and our perception of it...special density of audio power fluctuations in experimental music in its relation to human consciousness. Established in 1986, Dissecting Table has been managing to develop and embody these ideas in extremely limited-run albums, being provided by support of leading world labels like 'Dark Vinyl' and 'Relapse'."
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