HR023 - Thee Stench Of Death — C90 — 1985
Side A
1. International Terrorist Network - Devil's Night Excerpt 2. Mental Anguish - Moan 3. Big Stick - I Look Like Shit 4. Viktimized Karcass - Dog's Life 5. Konstruktivits - Espana Viva Granada 6. Big Stick - Shoot The President 7. International Terrorist Network - You'll Never Forget Heather 8. Cancerous Growth - On The Fritz 9. X-Ray Pop - DS 10. X-Ray Pop - Minimum Naif 11. Neljan Seinan Jumalat - Etainen Kulkue (Remote Escort) 12. Peach Of Immortality - Stepping Stone |
Side B
13. Attrition - Mind Drop 14. Peach Of Immortality - Rec. 28 Jan 86 For REM is Air Supply LP, Not An LP 15. Attrition - Fate Is Smiling 16. Jim Lee - Life Is Just A Mystery 17. Jim Lee - The Shuttle Disaster 18. Jim Lee - Night Fright 19. If, Bwana - Blues Drums Lose 20. If, Bwana - Red Harvest 21. Dance Naked - Dance Naked 22. Dance Naked - Thrust-Excelsior 23. If, Bwana - The Desert March |
REVIEW by Jerry Kranitz
Thee Stench Of Death is yet another excellent and stylistically varied set of global cassette culture artists, including both lesser known contributors and bands that were well known throughout the network.
Side A opens with International Terrorist Network (Columbus, Ohio), which the work of Jeff Central (Chenault), and was later the name of his ITN (International Terrorist Network) label. On ‘Devils Night Excerpt’, an incessant, minimal, radio/static wave lays the foundation for a parade of sci-fi squeals, pulses, drones, echoed scratches, and occasional clatters. A nifty snippet of alien sound experimentation. Jeff chimes in again later with a second contribution, ‘You’ll Never Forget Heather’, which cranks out hyper tribal percussion grooves and soundscape static over which eerily efx’d spectral voice samples pulsate through the music, creating a robotically psychedelic experience.
Harsh Reality label honcho Chris Phinney contributes a track from his Mental Anguish solo project, ‘Moan’. I like the combination of steroidal electro percussion and rock ‘n’ roll wind tunnel of spaced out effects, plus intermittent rant vocals.
We’re also treated to a track from Phinney’s space rock band Viktimized Karcass. ‘Dog's Life’ is a gloriously chaotic, acid mind-fucked, 78rpm instrumental space jam at the Star Wars cantina comedy club.
Yet another Phinney entry is by Cancerous Growth, his duo project with Mike Jackson. ‘On The Fritz’ is a chaotically free-wheeling noise-punk acid jam that is both stoned and whimsical.
Big Stick (Astoria, New York) is a band I’d never heard of and gets two tracks. ‘I Look Like Shit’ is a self-deprecating freakshow punk ‘n’ roll song with oodles of fun effects. A great example of how sheer imagination and effort can turn the bedroom into a dream quality studio. And ‘Shoot The President’ sounds like Bill Nelson circa Red Noise with punk Bowie vocals.
Konstruktivits (UK) contribute ‘Espana Viva Granada’, a robotic video game meets Kraftwerk as electro pop ditties with an Ash Ra Tempel space kosmiche jamming vibe.
The wonderful X-Ray Pop (France) are another international representative and get two songs. Fans of the band will know ‘DS’, which here is a live, spaced out performance of what I consider to be one of homemade music’s truly great pop songs. The trademark X-Ray Pop simplistic synths are present, accompanied by a trippy ambient guitar melody and freaky shooting star synths. ‘Minimum Naif’ is another X-Ray Pop classic, which zips along like a full action Mario Brothers game as sci-fi electro pop.
Neljan Seinan Jumalat (Finland) is another band I’d not heard of before. Their ‘Etainen Kulkue (Remote Escort)’ is a short, free-improv sound exploration that combines plunking strings, rhythmic chain clatter, ambient noise-metal guitar, and voices/talking.
Also new to me are Peach Of Immortality (Washington, DC). ‘Stepping Stone’ is a slab of grinding, aggressive, yet avant rocking noise-metal with an ambient vibe, despite its brain crushing assault. I like the easily discernible instrumentation as opposed to being a dense wall of sound. They pop up later with a second track, which serves up more heaping portions of their brain-on-drugs noise-metal, bringing to mind Henry Cow at their most abstract and having decided to become a Metal band. I’m really diggin’ these guys.
Attrition (UK) were ubiquitous and prolific throughout the 1980s. ‘Mind Drop’ starts off as a haunting gothic doom tune, before launching into an industrial New Wave dance-Pop song. Great recording and production. ‘Fate Is Smiling’ is similar but more purely gothic and includes some really cool and intricate instrumental embellishments. Great vocals and spacey colorings.
Jim Lee (Memphis, TN) contributes three crazy songs. Cheesy synths were put to fantastic use in the homemade music underground. ‘Life Is Just a Mystery’ sounds like it might be at home on the Residents' Commercial Album. For ‘The Shuttle Disaster’ Lee takes newscasts and mission control transmissions and backs them with light static waves, a flute like melody, and ominous percussion. ‘Night Fright’ gets a little more harsh, though it’s all very experimental spaced out, with a jamming vibe amidst a clatter of howls, phased grinds and effects.
If, Bwana (Great Neck, NY) is a solo project of Al Margolis, whose Sound Of Pig label was highly influential throughout the 1980s. ‘Blues Drums Lose’ is a great combination of meditative drift, steadily warbling electro percussion, and cosmic shamanic free-jazz. ‘Red Harvest’ is in a similar spirit, with wah effects and a horn for some disorienting free-jazz drone wailing, against an electronic rhythmic pattern and minimal block percussion. And ‘The Desert March’ is very different, sounding like an experimental chamber ensemble with elements of Philip Glass and dissonant yet melodic electro orchestration.
Dance Naked (UK) are similar to Attrition but less goth influenced. Their self-titled song is solid industrial pop with underlying Residents musical bits. And ‘Thrust-Excelsior’ is similar, with great use of dual vocals.
INTERVIEW with Chris Phinney by Kranitz
JK: I love the title Thee Stench Of Death.
CP: It was a good compilation.
JK: You’ve got a tombstone on the cover. I know you took lots of photos in cemeteries. Was this random or does it fit into a theme? You’ve got this Russell Gregory’s tombstone.
CP: It just stood out. I liked the part about how he was murdered by North Carolina rebels.
JK: I didn’t do a side-by-side compare, but is the Viktimized Karcass ‘Dog's Life’ the same recording that is on the Atrocity Slaughter tape?
CP: Same one.
JK: Who is Jim Lee? That’s a Memphis name I’d not heard before this.
CP: He was this kid that Mike Jackson knew. He dabbled around with Casios and things like that. He got in touch with me through Jackson and submitted a few tracks.
JK: And I see Jeff Central (Chenault) is on here as International Terrorist Network.
CP: Yeah, Jeff’s on there. And Big Stick.
JK: Yeah, Big Stick’s ‘I Look Like Shit’ is a pretty riotous song. I described it as a “self-deprecating freakshow punk ‘n’ roll song with oodles of fun effects.”
CP: They were a cool band. I don’t know if they’re still around or not. They were a good New York band.
JK: You’ve got X-Ray Pop. I love that band. Their music was so simplistic but they sounded like nobody but themselves.
CP: Right. And I’ve got Peach Of Immortality on there as well. Nice and noisy. They were a Washington, DC band.
JK: I had never heard of them before. Were these all people you had been trading with or did they submit tracks specifically for this compilation?
CP: I’d been trading with them.
JK: Did you ever do a call for submissions for your comps? Something I might have seen in OP, Sound Choice, etc?
CP: I sent out postcards for Body Sounds (HR070) and Woundz Never Heal (HR069). But just postcards sent out for people to contribute.
Thee Stench Of Death is yet another excellent and stylistically varied set of global cassette culture artists, including both lesser known contributors and bands that were well known throughout the network.
Side A opens with International Terrorist Network (Columbus, Ohio), which the work of Jeff Central (Chenault), and was later the name of his ITN (International Terrorist Network) label. On ‘Devils Night Excerpt’, an incessant, minimal, radio/static wave lays the foundation for a parade of sci-fi squeals, pulses, drones, echoed scratches, and occasional clatters. A nifty snippet of alien sound experimentation. Jeff chimes in again later with a second contribution, ‘You’ll Never Forget Heather’, which cranks out hyper tribal percussion grooves and soundscape static over which eerily efx’d spectral voice samples pulsate through the music, creating a robotically psychedelic experience.
Harsh Reality label honcho Chris Phinney contributes a track from his Mental Anguish solo project, ‘Moan’. I like the combination of steroidal electro percussion and rock ‘n’ roll wind tunnel of spaced out effects, plus intermittent rant vocals.
We’re also treated to a track from Phinney’s space rock band Viktimized Karcass. ‘Dog's Life’ is a gloriously chaotic, acid mind-fucked, 78rpm instrumental space jam at the Star Wars cantina comedy club.
Yet another Phinney entry is by Cancerous Growth, his duo project with Mike Jackson. ‘On The Fritz’ is a chaotically free-wheeling noise-punk acid jam that is both stoned and whimsical.
Big Stick (Astoria, New York) is a band I’d never heard of and gets two tracks. ‘I Look Like Shit’ is a self-deprecating freakshow punk ‘n’ roll song with oodles of fun effects. A great example of how sheer imagination and effort can turn the bedroom into a dream quality studio. And ‘Shoot The President’ sounds like Bill Nelson circa Red Noise with punk Bowie vocals.
Konstruktivits (UK) contribute ‘Espana Viva Granada’, a robotic video game meets Kraftwerk as electro pop ditties with an Ash Ra Tempel space kosmiche jamming vibe.
The wonderful X-Ray Pop (France) are another international representative and get two songs. Fans of the band will know ‘DS’, which here is a live, spaced out performance of what I consider to be one of homemade music’s truly great pop songs. The trademark X-Ray Pop simplistic synths are present, accompanied by a trippy ambient guitar melody and freaky shooting star synths. ‘Minimum Naif’ is another X-Ray Pop classic, which zips along like a full action Mario Brothers game as sci-fi electro pop.
Neljan Seinan Jumalat (Finland) is another band I’d not heard of before. Their ‘Etainen Kulkue (Remote Escort)’ is a short, free-improv sound exploration that combines plunking strings, rhythmic chain clatter, ambient noise-metal guitar, and voices/talking.
Also new to me are Peach Of Immortality (Washington, DC). ‘Stepping Stone’ is a slab of grinding, aggressive, yet avant rocking noise-metal with an ambient vibe, despite its brain crushing assault. I like the easily discernible instrumentation as opposed to being a dense wall of sound. They pop up later with a second track, which serves up more heaping portions of their brain-on-drugs noise-metal, bringing to mind Henry Cow at their most abstract and having decided to become a Metal band. I’m really diggin’ these guys.
Attrition (UK) were ubiquitous and prolific throughout the 1980s. ‘Mind Drop’ starts off as a haunting gothic doom tune, before launching into an industrial New Wave dance-Pop song. Great recording and production. ‘Fate Is Smiling’ is similar but more purely gothic and includes some really cool and intricate instrumental embellishments. Great vocals and spacey colorings.
Jim Lee (Memphis, TN) contributes three crazy songs. Cheesy synths were put to fantastic use in the homemade music underground. ‘Life Is Just a Mystery’ sounds like it might be at home on the Residents' Commercial Album. For ‘The Shuttle Disaster’ Lee takes newscasts and mission control transmissions and backs them with light static waves, a flute like melody, and ominous percussion. ‘Night Fright’ gets a little more harsh, though it’s all very experimental spaced out, with a jamming vibe amidst a clatter of howls, phased grinds and effects.
If, Bwana (Great Neck, NY) is a solo project of Al Margolis, whose Sound Of Pig label was highly influential throughout the 1980s. ‘Blues Drums Lose’ is a great combination of meditative drift, steadily warbling electro percussion, and cosmic shamanic free-jazz. ‘Red Harvest’ is in a similar spirit, with wah effects and a horn for some disorienting free-jazz drone wailing, against an electronic rhythmic pattern and minimal block percussion. And ‘The Desert March’ is very different, sounding like an experimental chamber ensemble with elements of Philip Glass and dissonant yet melodic electro orchestration.
Dance Naked (UK) are similar to Attrition but less goth influenced. Their self-titled song is solid industrial pop with underlying Residents musical bits. And ‘Thrust-Excelsior’ is similar, with great use of dual vocals.
INTERVIEW with Chris Phinney by Kranitz
JK: I love the title Thee Stench Of Death.
CP: It was a good compilation.
JK: You’ve got a tombstone on the cover. I know you took lots of photos in cemeteries. Was this random or does it fit into a theme? You’ve got this Russell Gregory’s tombstone.
CP: It just stood out. I liked the part about how he was murdered by North Carolina rebels.
JK: I didn’t do a side-by-side compare, but is the Viktimized Karcass ‘Dog's Life’ the same recording that is on the Atrocity Slaughter tape?
CP: Same one.
JK: Who is Jim Lee? That’s a Memphis name I’d not heard before this.
CP: He was this kid that Mike Jackson knew. He dabbled around with Casios and things like that. He got in touch with me through Jackson and submitted a few tracks.
JK: And I see Jeff Central (Chenault) is on here as International Terrorist Network.
CP: Yeah, Jeff’s on there. And Big Stick.
JK: Yeah, Big Stick’s ‘I Look Like Shit’ is a pretty riotous song. I described it as a “self-deprecating freakshow punk ‘n’ roll song with oodles of fun effects.”
CP: They were a cool band. I don’t know if they’re still around or not. They were a good New York band.
JK: You’ve got X-Ray Pop. I love that band. Their music was so simplistic but they sounded like nobody but themselves.
CP: Right. And I’ve got Peach Of Immortality on there as well. Nice and noisy. They were a Washington, DC band.
JK: I had never heard of them before. Were these all people you had been trading with or did they submit tracks specifically for this compilation?
CP: I’d been trading with them.
JK: Did you ever do a call for submissions for your comps? Something I might have seen in OP, Sound Choice, etc?
CP: I sent out postcards for Body Sounds (HR070) and Woundz Never Heal (HR069). But just postcards sent out for people to contribute.