Reviews

I got this from Chris when I met him in Tokyo. This cassette is professionally done with a nice color cover and concise band listing with all their contact addresses. I know that if you were/are interested in those Underground series on MSNP then you really are going to need this to complete that great idea with the cool sounds on this cassette.
Wit at wit@dadafast.net.au
This begins very atmospheric and a bit ambient with high pitches in the foreground while at the same time a bit nerve racking, because you have no idea when that throbbing front noise is going to quit... not bad...
With Exposed Nerve at agit8@hotmail.com
Opening with a barrage of various noises blending together creating a nice sensation of chaos. This punches over and over again in the loops and shrilling electronics that remind me of an asteroid shower, spacey with some harsh elements... another nice track...
Miles Brown at m1le5@hotmail.com
Experimental with lots random sounds at first with a light and fuzzy background that flares up with volume, but not much in the field of harshness, though at times is very grating and uses the full range of the speakers well. Plus the way in which the odd sound sample here and there is added to the mix, creates a feeling of confusion and distress in the most positive of meanings. Cool, but not for me... still would be a good show to see...
Chrysalis at cipherproductions.cjb.net/
Whoa! Now here is some really cool Power Electronic type stuff. The background is saturated with a low frequency group of condensed sounds while a vocal sporadically, but briefly whales in a muffy high tone... a bit too short...
Toecutter at www.systemcorrupt.com/frameset.html
Lots of sound clips with a variety of different types of music used... something like HOUSE noise... with murder confessions and alike to entrance the sicko in all of us... not bad, but I prefer a straighter approach to noise.
Near Earth Objects at stampmanalan@aol7.com.au
Echoes with reverb and a pulsating electronic that lasts about one minute, then breaks with some Very minimal noise that is barely audible, but for a long time continues to build with loops and volume... nice for going to sleep...
Rats with Wings at wlemnell@pg.com.au
Yes!!!!!!!!!! Fuck yeah... like waking up to a jet engine firing up as your alarm clock! Harsh and soaring with some quick high beeps this ends perfectly without getting to redundant... Great shit!
Isomer at isomer75@bigpond.com
Very seeming like Power Electronics that use some various sound bites from with the same type of low frequency drone in the background that you would expect to find, but coming after the Rats with Wings track, it just falls flat...
Agit8 & Smallcock at agit8@hotmail.com and abela@dualplover.com
This is not a bad attempt to use almost entirely feedback and make you feel as if you can smell the speaker burning... not much action, but loud, short and to the point.
Mark Harwood & Rodney Cooper at mark@synrecords.com
Experimental noise with lots of strange sounds in the beginning then, just in with two feet and brings the noise with a thick background of static while the experimentation continues in the foreground. There are some sound clips and other seemingly found sounds that melt together... not really for me, but not bad.
Streicher at streicher.sinfree.net/2.html
I like the start, with a blanket noise that grumbles and slowly rolls forward with some almost inaudible voices in the mix... not the harshest track I have ever heard, but not bad... I have a very old cassette of theirs that I am not very placed with... if you are interested in a real good trade, please contact me.
Sokuseki-men at sokusekimen@systemcorrupt.com
Drone like guitar feedback that sometimes sounds like music... but, not quite... fading back and forth from speaker to speaker... this sounds more and more like music that is severely distorted. Pass...
Dis 10 at agit8@hotmail.com
Cool Science Fiction sounding effects that continues with a high laser like pitch and doesn't do much... gets boring quick... sorry, not for me.
Undecisive God at undecisive_god.tripod.com/index2.htm
This is much more varied than the last track, but seemingly similar with beeps and blasts of the same tone. Still this is something that I would listen to more than once... sound bounces around as if your spaceship lost control in a small refined space and ends with an echo.
C-scan at c-scan@iax.com.au This track sounds like a base guitar being played with a distortion pedal... slow and creepy noise with thuds that make you think of Jack in the Bean Stalk. A bit short...
Halo at halo.antisound.net/
Soft laid back sounds that are just as interesting as they are relaxing... very nice indeed... not harsh, but I would like to hear more...
Kunt at kunt.zap.to
This track is looped to idiocy and squeals that blast in and fade leaving a strange muffled sound bite that is smothered in that same loop... very short, but defiantly worth a listen.
Rancid Shitwank at www.shitwank.com/
Anal Cunt meets early Hanatarashi in this noise fuck fest... Not a lot of variation, but blistering in everyway... if you like harsh noise than you will have to visit this site... This is also a long track that seems to uses lots of organ or other shit noise effects... still, one of my favorites."
Joe seems to get a bit confused on who is whom for the second side - the descriptions are clearly out of whack for most of the artists.
Taken from Joe Lombardo

"This lengthy cassette compiles 18 tracks from 18 different experimental artists from Australia. The bulk of the material is in the harsh noise vein, from which few tracks truly stand out, but there are some other pieces (i.e. not harsh noise) that are fairly strong.
Wit opens with "Omdmm(2)". Consisting entirely of eerie feedback, it's a very minimal piece that creates a good mood. With Exposed Nerve's contribution is rather generic, raw harsh noise. It is a bit more atmospheric than most, but I still find it less than interesting. Miles Brown's piece is similar, but much quieter, while Chrysalis throws some piercing vocal shrieks into the mix. Toecutter's "Sea of Lovers" uses numerous quick samples mixed in with stuttered harsh noise and feedback tones, occasionally bringing in sparse programmed beats out of nowhere for some odd reason. I actually like this, but it's a little too disjointed and sort of silly, maybe? I'm just not sure what the goal is here. Near Earth Objects' piece is a bit longer than most of the others, based around throbbing low-end and ethereal ambient textures with slight hints of melody. Rats With Wings' "Weak Little Cunt" is introduced by the sample from which its name comes, and then it collapses into a flurry of dense, rather typical harsh noise where the rawness gets in the way of the details. Isomer kicks off "United Front Disco" using bleak ambient soundscapes with some samples and light distortion in the background, gradually working to the center as heavily treated garbled vocals and samples take over, later fading back to a calmer, smoother set of tones and drones. The ridiculously titled "Ass Biting Midget Power vs. Slappy the Pinhead", by Agit8 and Smallcock, is a rather abrasively minimal venture with some earsplitting treble, and very little low-end to speak of! There's no real layering or anything, and the piece ends quite quickly (thankfully).
Starting off side B are Mark Harwood and Rodney Cooper with definitely one of the most unique pieces - not too harsh, not particularly ambient - the very atypical sounds and textures create a truly unusual composition. I'm not totally into it, but most of the track is definitely different than any experimental noise I've come across before, and that deserves credit. The condensed "Threatcon" is totally raw harsh noise from Australia's most infamous project, Streicher. I always expect more of a power electronics edge from Streicher, but the general style tends towards straightforward harsh electronics, and is honestly rarely as strong as I usually hope for. Sokuseki-Men's "Harsh Australian Son" is typical harsh noise, minimal and rough around the edges. It's got some nice low-end, but nothing really jumps out at me. DLS 10 offers up abrasive distortion with underlying musical notes, fairly dense and monotonous. One of my favorites is certainly "Things Fall Apart" from Undecisive God, eerily layering feedback tones, this definitely stands out from the pack quite a bit, fairly hypnotic in its repetition it's a really nice piece. Lots of delay and shuffling layers of spacious distorted bursts comes courtesy of C-Scan, which is a bit more in your face than many of the other harsh pieces. As a huge Halo fan I'm very pleased to see them participating here, as well as impressed that they would take part in the endeavor with a great untitled piece with tons of resonating string grating and thick percussion. The "song" does end abruptly and all too soon, though I'm talking very brief. Like Streicher, Kunt's track has been edited for time, made up of simple loops and such with lots of midrange distortion. Nothing special. And then we have the interestingly named Rancid Shitwank ending things off with totally biting, piercing distorted shrieks - by far the most insane and aggressive piece, displaying a nice recording for being live (recorded at Haz Music Derby in May of 2002).
The cassette comes fairly professionally packaged in a full color sleeve with full color art on each side of the cassette as well. All of the imagery is dark and consistent, using little color, and repeating shots of strange sculptures that have a decaying sort of industrial skeleton look going on. In addition to the tracklist, contact information for each artist is included, and that's sufficient in my opinion. Not bad. It's a bit long for a cassette, but this is an admirable effort, and I've been introduced to some interesting projects that I had never heard of before, which is always a plus. Running time - 94:00 (approximately), Tracks: 18 [Notable bands: Wit, Near Earth Objects, Isomer, Mark Harwood and Rodney Cooper, Undecisive God, Halo]
Taken from Aversionline

"Finally I come across a decent compilation of Noise/Power-Electronics from the same country I live in. Its conforting to know that its folk music now.
James Smith of W.I.T. gets his minimal mojo working to great ultra-feedback of death effect with his track Omdmm(2), meaning that there is a (1) lurking around out there, waiting to join its sibling in an orgy of eardrum shattering.
In the meantime, With Exposed Nerve's Twitch Of the Death Nerve sends classic electronic poweraging via ultra distorted synths.
Not sure what Miles Brown is doing on Fluoresca unless its taking a tape recorder for a walk and mixing it down with distortion effects later on. For perhaps a weensy bit too long, maybe. Still, a nice way to document a pleasant walk to the shops.
Chrysalis win with one of the best tracks, the grubby, violent and grating Propaganda Due , occasional shrieks hinting at some Whitehouse influences but fortunately none of their lack-lustre histrionics. Great nasty distortion.
Toecutter, however, go for the more traditional approach with their/his/her/its choice of samples from some kind of movie or something relating to murder, corpse violation and all that piffle. Stuff like that was twee and unimaginative back then and its twee and unimaginative now. Didnt care much for the drumbeat bits either. Better when the jams are kicked out and the noise is allowed to rock like it should.
Near Earth Object do the noise-through-the-delay thing, always a pleasure. Except when it goes for this bloody long! Got to be in the right mood for this otherwise its not going to work.
Rats With Wings' Weak Little Cunt is far more palatable, Harsh Noise yall! Sheets of white and pink noise rain down upon the weak and helpless such as myself. I can handle many minutes of this.
Isomer to my ears can do no wrong, the fully-crafted and hell-inflicting loops and sounds wrestle with the deamons within. Less noisey and more sinister, as is his wont. At first. Then he builds up the volume and turns into Folkstorm from the sounds of it. Ive already made one Folkstorm reference in this zine, Im starting to wonder if theres a club or something. Mabey its just the Germanic voice samples. Still, a dark treat.
Agit8 combines with Smallcock, but dont seem to achieve much. Fucked up guitar competing with the abundant tape hiss, with obligatory feedback. Agit8 can at least do better than this.
Over the tape we go to Mark Harwood and Rodney Cooper For Frederick Valentich who I'm sure was that pilot who dissapeared over the Tasman just after reporting a UFO. Scraping and noodling with collaged hiss. All this lo-fi staticy hiss doesnt do much for me, noise-wise. I like it loud. Mind you, this track does seem to gel together after a while; the collaging helps.
Gott in himmel, is Streicher still doing the rounds? Old man Xane cranking out something that sounds suspiciously like someone elses stuff. Im sure Ive heard this before. Mercifully free of the tedious vocals, at least.
Thence comes Sokuseki-Men with the sound of a synthesized dirt-bike motor put through all the effects they have on hand. Or synthesized machine gun fire. Or something. Its harsh and grating, anyway.
DLS 10 play something through eaons of distortion, which they rescue by adding additional distorted-to-Dis sounds that make it sound harsh and dark, happily. This is Lesson One of a series, presumably. Another track related to Agit8, is this all the one person or from a stable of projects?
Clinton said his Undesisive God track Things Fall Apart sounds like lots of sirens gradually winding down. To me it sounds like an alien UFO style space ship hovers in mid-ether over a helpless and expectant Earth, humming and buzzing, biding its time before...
C-Scan save us all with Only Hours To Go, loops of bits of noises and buzzes like an old video game on drugs. Take that, alien invaders! No one invades Earth without the U.S.'s permission.
Halo's contribution is minor, a few minutes of nearly-noise sludgecore. Needs a bigger sound.
Then Brisvegas performers Kunt shoot sparks from their genitals (they bloody do! Look at their website http://kunt.zap.to and see for yourself!) while playing Porky Kyushu Ramen (Edit). Vocal samples and other loops given the treatment. Not as harsh as some of their other stuff, but still good, especially when it all builds up and rocks.
We conclude the sermon with Rancid Shitwank, who need a bit more imagination with the band-naming thing, with some live stuff. Harsh, inciting screams and sounds. Muddy sound, of course. Very Masonna from the sound of it.
This tape is consistant in quality and above-average in sound. Turn it up and keep your neighbours hudddling in fear."
Taken from Taped Crusaders