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10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
This one scared me away for years, July 27, 2003
This was my first Haino Keiji album and it seemed so intense, so profoundly OTHER, so (in a dark compelling beautiful way, you understand) EVIL that I sold it within a week and avoided Haino Keiji for a long time: he was scary, or maybe I merely wasn't ready and knew it. Even living near Tokyo for a few years, I only ever got out to see him once, feeling really apprehensive about it, largely because of this disc; had the ritual slaughter of baby animals occured on stage, say, I somehow woulda felt that I shoulda expected it. (In all of Tokyo less than 40 people made it to that show, which may or may not say something about the relative obscurity of this music, tho' it may be more of a comment on how OFTEN Haino plays over there). My first point, then, I guess, is that one oughta choose where one starts with Haino; because Tzadik is relatively more AVAILABLE than Haino's PSF stuff, too many people will start here, like I did, which is a bad idea for a bunch of other reasons, too, like how it's all percussion and vocals when most of Haino's other work features him on guitar, some of which is really rock oriented and like almost kinda (I think so, anyhow) funky, in a really noisy blistering-sheets-of-pure-terror way... This is an ATYPICAL album; it's almost (but not quite) like starting with one of his Hurdy Gurdy projects (droning but discordant noise that sounds like Tony Conrad re-interpreting METAL MACHINE MUSIC); while there is no "typical" Haino Keiji album, some are, um, more Atypical than others. (Re: good places to start, note that neither are his ALLEGORICAL MISUNDERSTANDING thing or the one with Joey Baron and Greg Cohen, AN UNCLEAR TRIAL). No; start elsewhere, unless say you LIKE dark ambient music that would seem more in place in a ritual than a concert; unless you KNOW the territory well-enough that "too dark" is not in your vocabulary. Ummm... what else? There's something gentle, soothing, and SEXUAL about this music in a slippery purlply androgynous what-do-you-call-THAT-thing kinda way, too; like the weirdest thing you've done, the thing that kinda DISTURBED you, distilled and represented in sound. By the way, I now find this an absolutely compelling, lovely work, and often fall asleep to it, by which I mean to pay it a high compliment, so even if it does scare you, I guess it sinks a hook in... Glad I came back to the fold.
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6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
The only necessary album., March 23, 1999
By A Customer
Ah, Keiji. A sort of ... icon he is. Great is the suffering that leads us to profound insight. This album is a dark, minimal, Zen journey, comprised mostly of gong beats and constipated howls that acknowledge the great vacuum that is -- OUR SOUL! A true gem; I consider it the most important cd in my collection.
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5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
THE VOID., May 10, 2004
I had come across Keiji Haino's name awhile ago because he is apparently a very original guitar player. However, after reading some reviews for his music, this --- an album of mostly just percussion and voice -- became the most intriguing. The samples frightened me a little but I bought it anyway.This is probably at the outer fringe of my music collection in terms of ultra-esoteric stuff. Basically, the whole album is Haino playing trance-like, asymmetrical, non-pulse percussion (hand drums and cymbals) and screaming or chanting. There are some guitars and a few little exotic instruments as well. One probably has a negative reaction to that description, but while extremely odd it is beautiful in a primitive, dark, strange way. On the whole the album is ritualistic and introverted, and honestly it's just really strange. The best description I can think of is atonal Sigur Ros from Limbo (first level of Hell, virtuous non-believers go there). It drones and seems to fade in and out of reality with sharp timbral dynamics, exploring a wealth of sonorities in the strangest environment. Some of the pieces are truly beautiful in a certain way, like tracks 2, 4, 5, and 8. Track 3 kind of sounds like bad caveman music and is a bit of a blemish on the disc, though. But it is short. If you happen to be a metalhead who has explored the deepest depths of the metal underground and think he's heard the most evil music, think again, mwahaha. I'm not really sure about to whom this would appeal but I recommend it anyway, albeit only to the adventurous.
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