Noism — ±

When it comes to 'extreme music', the Japanese seem to have cornered the market for years. The emancipation of noisemaking has made it possible to make noise an international sport, but still there's plenty of intense stuff coming from under the rising sun.

Noism consists of two guys from Tokyo, Yoshiro Hamazaki (guitar) and Tomoyuki Akiyama (programming), who set out to make a mix of hyperenergetic breakcore mixed with equally intense complicore. Think Drumcorps meets Suffocation, to get an idea. The endresult is on one hand funny in its over-the-topness, but I feel that especially productionwise ± falls short. Just like many 'extreme' death metal bands get lost in their mixing desk. Or that of the infamous Morrisound studios, which sterilised many a brutal death metal band. With programmed drums of course there will be a synthetic aspect, but machines are regular in breakcore of course. Sterility isn't so much the problem, but I do feel a lack of energy in the instrumental turmoil. To my ears plenty goregrind bands sound equally ridiculous but more intense.

Skills galore though, especially on Hamazaki's part. Being able to play such madness is quite an accomplishment. ±'s mere twenty minutes also have an interesting timestretching effect, because it's so crammed with musical events. Because it goes so totally overboard in cartoonish speed and complexity I think it's primarily funny. Not necessarily good, but definitely a blast, in the sense of being a good laugh.