Keiji Haino/Merzbow/Balazs Pandi: Become The Discovered, Not The Discoverer

Rating: ★★★

Record and Artist Details

Musicians:

Balazs Pandi (d)
Masami Akita (elec, g)
Keiji Haino (v, g, b, elec)

Label:

RareNoiseRecords

October/2019

Media Format:

CD

Catalogue Number:

RNR0111

RecordDate:

2018

The sonic superglue that bonds together this infernal trio of improvisational noisemakers is the hard-hitting, almost leisurely paced beats of Hungarian drummer Balasz Pandi. When placed alongside the almost Coltrane-esque guitar screes of Keiji Haino and the undulating rumble of shifting electronic architecture that Masami Akita (aka Merzbow) is building here, Pandi's well-measured percussion is the one element that halts the exercise from crashing into total chaos. Unfortunately, the two lengthy sections that make up the title-track do little to further elevate Haino or Akita's mastery of extreme music, with Haino flailing almost aimlessly at his guitar throughout while his accomplice responds through billowing black clouds of electronic feedback. More interesting is the set's accompanying two-parter, ‘I want to learn how to feel everything in each single breath’, where Haino switches to bass guitar and a more subdued and brooding mood is ushered in. Here the constant thundering of the opening piece is exchanged for layers of atmospheric space and shards of icicled improvisation that slowly escalate in pace and cacophony - with the presence of Pandi's playing again acting as a constant metronome.

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