KEIJI HAINO

Black Blues (violent)

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Boomkat Product Review:

The 'violent' version of 'Black Blues' is Haino at his fanged best, growling, gurgling and stabbing at his guitar to render fierce, energetic interpretations of the plaintive lullabies we heard rendered in near silence on the 'soft' edition.

Like its hushed counterpart, 'Black Blues (violent)' was originally released 20 years ago and stands as one of the Japanese enigma's most radical contrivances. If 'Black Blues (soft)' took advantage of the silence, then this mirrored set fills the spectrum with jagged, raw expression. It's still emotional - and the songs are still the same, though they're barely recognisable - but Haino taps into a different part of his soul here, bellowing guttural tones that sound as if they've been yanked from one of hell's lower levels. On 'Black Eyes', his voice cuts through the tinny, amp-strangled twangs like a knife thru dead flesh, howling in emotional pain that's only supplemented by the distortion. In contrast, the guitar is somewhat restrained, nowhere near the blown-out psych of Fushitsusha; it seems more like Haino's tribute to early blues itself - noisy and free-flowing, but never deafening.

He strides into deranged free-improv territory on 'Town in Black Frog', slashing out bendable riffs that position themselves between Fred Frith, Derek Bailey and Robert Johnson. And 'Drifting' is almost unrecognizable, its gentle glacial quality substituted by wailing feedback and dissonant solos that underpin Haino's jagged, redlined vociferations. The most startling moment yet again comes with 'See That My Grave is Kept Clean' - Haino has lost almost all traces of blues now, teasing quivering, metallic chimes from his strings and coughing out words that sound as if they may as well be his last. It's terrifying, idiomatic material - not easy listening by any stretch, but fucking essential nonetheless.

MP3 Release (6)