Merzbow’s “Tauromachine” is a masterpiece of harsh noise
Masami Akita has been releasing Merzbow records at a breakneck pace since 1979 and unless you do a deep dive of research it can be daunting to know where to start. Trying to collect Merzbow material pre-YouTube/Spotify would make you go broke so my favorites (Batzoutai/Loop Panic Limited—a collage cut-up work from the 80s—and the 2005 John Wiese collab Multiplication which is a straight harsh noise assault) were largely based on the few records I’d bought.
Thanks to Greh Holger and Mike Connelly’s Noisextra (formerly the Merzcast) I decided to investigate the 90s releases that I’ve heard of but hadn’t heard. Tauromachine was the last solo Merzbow album on Release — a sub-label of metal imprint Relapse founded to release noise, drone and ambient music. Despite that aim Masami said that he took the opportunity “to make pure noise music released from a metal label that could work as metal, since I thought noise could be considered “grind core in faster tempo” by metal listeners”*.
That concept comes through fully on Tauromachine—its 50 minutes of rhythmic electronic noise that might get your head bobbing but is just hard. A thick bass pulse often acts as the foundation as Masami goes in with layers of static, choppy loops, and a constant sense of transformation. My favorite chunk of this is the 3-song arc of “Soft Water Rhinoceros”, “Minotaurus” and “Heads of Cloud” (those names!).
If your tastes tend toward the more extreme corners of metal, hardcore or free jazz then this speaks a language you’ll understand.
I try to avoid posting full albums but the transitions are so great that this really does reward you for hanging on. There’s a reason that this record was so many people’s introduction to noise—everything about it works. Listening to this at a loud volume in your car is highly recommended.
Stream it on Spotify below or buy it here: Bandcamp | Discogs