Customer Reviews

Burned Mind

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(5)

 

 

This could also be titled "A fresh approach to old school Industrial", but I don't feel the term "old school" is relevent.
The use of tapes, guitar noise, samples, crackling electronics, screaming synth noises and factory-machine rhythms brings to mind SPK, Throbbing Gristle, NON, Whitehouse, and even the great Merzbow. It's not "music" in a traditional way, although there are pleanty of mechanical rhythms buried underneath the noise. This is sonic Da Da. It's more likely to piss off the average listener or frighten them away, than it is to be played at the average pseudo gothic club. This isn't EBM or whatever else that gets the "Industrial" label slapped on it in other words. I wouldn't exactly call it Noise-Rock in the vein of early Swans either. This is more like what Throbbing Gristle was up to in the late 70's. Oh by the way, I discovered this band purely by accident. I was browsing through the "experimental" section (which contains everything from Krautrock to Industrial) at a record store and I just happened to dig the cover, a wonderfully macabre pen and ink drawing, and bought the album without ever having heard of the band before. I'm very pleased that I discoverd Wolf Eyes.

...and this is all you can hear.

Now, to get this out of the way, this is unpleasant music. The band knows this. We as listeners know this. The point of the music is not to be consumer-friendly. You think DOA-era Throbbing Gristle was thinking about mass appeal? Fuggettaboutit.

No, this is a manifesto. This is a sonic map to your darkest fears. This might not frighten you (it should, though), but it should at least make you rethink a few things.

Music by definition is entirely in the eye of the beholder. Some people think that Frequency LSD by Masonna is just as musical as Beethoven. I'm not sure if I completely agree, but the point is music can be anything aural. So, everyone who has beef with this album being "pure noise" or "talentless" or "unlistenable" are missing the point. It's SUPPOSED to be UNLISTENABLE. Whitehouse makes noise because it's noise, not because it requires talent or anything. So does Wolf Eyes.

All the complaints in the world about this CD are all basically about the same concept: it's not music. I don't really know what to tell you all. Your definition of music is different than ours. We accept this not just as music, but more importantly as ART. This does take talent, it does take effort. Trust me (I'm a noise composer myself), this takes plenty of time. It might sound sloppy, and it might sound talentless. But some of the most revolutionary, influential bands were the same way.

Mudhoney (who I believe were among the first true grungers) sounded like absolute garbage when Superfuzz Bigmuff first came out. But it wasn't about the music. It was the MESSAGE: the combination of garage punk and the DIY attitude of the first wave of punk had not been done before to that extent. They (along with Green River and a few others) created a revolution. But their musicianship? Awful. But by that time, it didn't matter.

I realize I may be rambling a bit, but you have to understand where I'm coming from. I try to compose music like this. And I'm nowhere near as good (yes, GOOD) as these guys. It takes effort that you might not immediately see. But it's there.

So, enough bashing. Let's take this for what it really is: a statement. A piece of art. Whether you think it's music or not, it deserves to be noteworthy. That's all that really matters.

To simply say that this is just noise, is absolutely right...get over it and start getting it. I have heard enough to know that this is a fairly easy to digest recording in such a genre. Don't be fooled into thinking that this is DaDa or some form of industrial sound, it simply is not. These members have spent decades destroying sound to static which almost makes this project of Wolf Eyes an almost "pop" band by their own standards. This music represents the improvisational moment, a mood, and just plain chance...and this is what I appreciate - you take a risk and just let it happen. "Music" today is usually 2 things...the bands that rehash the good stuff with a different name and no legitimacy, and people who dig deeper to see what new thing they can find. If you don't care for what Wolf Eyes has found here, that's fine but please respect the fact that these guys are trying to find a unique moment and respect listeners enough not to give you something you already know. Support Hanson Records.

I am very new to Wolf Eyes, having only heard "Burned Mind," but I have to say that I am highly enthusiastic about their music. How is it that a musical group creating such powerful soundscapes of ominous noise has until now escaped me, a long-time enthusiast of all things industrial and noisy?

Wolf Eyes has taken the sound of hardcore punk, violently stripped it down to the bare essentials of throat-wrenching vocals and noisy guitar, and fused it with abrasive electronic soundscapes reminiscent of Faust and Throbbing Gristle and roaring tape noise similar to the work of Merzbow and Whitehouse. What is striking is how utterly EFFECTIVE this amalgamation of sounds is. Forget the accusations that this kind of music is "talentless" and "unmusical," Wolf Eyes are scratching and pounding their way towards a sonic apocalypse, and there are moments of exalted musical chaos here that I have not heard since I first bought Einsturzende Neubauten records. This is a powerful, scary release that is industrial in the original sense, for once, rather than the contemporary sense that tries to pass off a processed drumbeat, some gloomy synths, and dour lyrics as "industrial."

I must, however, dock this a star. As brilliantly constructed as this stuff is, there are few sounds here that can't be traced to past innovators, and sometimes things sound a little too familiar, almost imitative. Half a star off for that. The other half star off is due to the brevity of the disc - time seems to fly REALLY fast when this is playing, and when I listen to pure industrial noise, I want to get swamped in it and linger for a while. But hey, I whole-heartedly recommend this anyways - it's authentic, frightening, uncompromising, and very cool, and it's the kind of thing that could make an excellent entryway for those uninitiated with noise.

"It doesn't matter who you are or how crazy you are--the first time is always the hardest. After a couple of times, you kinda get used to it, and eventually you start to really enjoy it and you wonder how you ever lived without it.
"I like listening to the music of Wolf Eyes. Have you heard of them? They play super-heavy, atmospheric industrial stuff--very noisy. Anyway, I noticed I was listening to their latest album, "Burned Mind" alot when I was out late at night doing these--these things. The music just seemed to help make sense out of this whole nightmare and suddenly, I didn't feel like a faceless victim anymore; instead I felt like a--like a HUNTER.
"I remember one night I was sitting in my living room watching some 'reality' show on TV, drinking cough syrup to muffle the voices. Bugs were crawling under my skin. The voices weren't going away so I played my Wolf Eyes CD and turned it up LOUD. Suddenly, this huge dark THING appeared in the corner. The voices were gone now and instead this thing was yelling at me: 'I am Wolf Eyes! If you want me to set you free, you must GO OUT AND KILL!!'
"Needless to say, I did everything it told me and the rest is history. I won't waste your time telling you the rest--you probably read about it in the paper or saw it on the news.
Wolf Eyes changed my life and it can change yours. Just listen to it--you'll see..."

the beauty of having endless genres to pick from in this explosion of 'easier access to recording music' participants, is that almost nothing is really new. Music anymore is just the combination of other influences changed and re-interpreted just a bit to equal something that usually reaches fewer people but, at the same time, it reaches them more. Personally i like having a wall of noise in my mind. Searing through the crap and making my thoughts bare. It induces visual imagery in the same way that 'swans' music has done for me in the past, only there's less to get lost in because each moment is like a painful jolt back away from relaxation and it gets to the point where you just numb yourself and it becomes this brain-static of sorts that at once entices and deflects appreciation. I however appreciate it, even though it may not dominate my ipod playlists it's still there whenever i need it.

The people who wrote the bad reviews of this were probably expecting the shi(t)ns or fleet foxes..i.e. the REAL bad(fad) music that sub pop is releasing. This is more similiar to Suicide, Throbbing Gristle and even Skinny Puppy at there noisiest. Its not meant to be easily consumed and is not for everyone.

who seriously writes a review on a NOISE band and says "its not music"..

they actuall have a song called 'noise not music'..lol

but yeah the people that like this sort of thing like this sort of thing..

if you dont like noise then dont listen to it...

"Noise is the porn of music" - Merzbow

This doesn't deserve any stars. This is not music and should not pass for music. It's noise. Awful noise. I'm not just saying that - preview the songs on this page if you don't believe me. Actually, don't be bothered. If you can appreciate this, there is nothing else left in the world for you to appreciate, because you've gone through any and all musical tones from every living or abstract thing and have ended up at WOLF EYES. I'd love to meet you if you've bought this album and disagree with me - I'll come visit you in your room with your rubber walls and nice white jacket.

This is a Noise band. One of the more "popular", more known about Noise bands, but still.. I just don't understand people who say "It's not real music". Anything is music. Merzbow is music..Masonna is music..Whitehouse is music. Tastes differ, but those who are looking to buy this CD, i think, don't want to hear this "It's not real music" bullsh*t..

The only downside to this CD is that it's not long enough. It goes for about 42 minutes though. 42 minutes of schizophrenic-sounding, abrasive/harsh Noise with tortured and distorted vocals. It's strangely melodic though, as i find myself almost headbanging to parts of it. If you like Black Dice, Whitehouse, Merzbow or Masonna..pick this up, because you will not be disappointed. This band is awesome. I want to see them Live.