(Dead Angel no.45) Rumbling, noisy waves o' sonic filth like the droning dead -- here's a disc that could have appeared on Zenflesh. Particularly the wildly overmodulated first track, "transmissions from skyway blvd. (flying high)," which is perpetually on the verge of disintegrating into crunching speaker death. The second track is even more painful, with high-pitched screaming noises wavering from speaker to speaker and all sorts of sped-up, screeching sonic trash and breaking glass plowing through the explosions of sound. Ouchie! A handful of repeated and distorted soundblocks form the bedrock of "cityscape cacophony," which is every bit as jagged and rude as its name suggests. By this point it's pretty obvious that William X's roots lie in cut-up power electronics (and that he likes his waves of sound as loud as possible). He lowers the volume a tad on "transient suffrage delay," but it's still solidly in the musique concrete tradition -- lots of overlapping sounds and screeches and noises adding up to something that would really annoy your mother. "22548000" sounds like a metal riff from a skipping CD that's been gruesomely "altered" in tone, then overlaid with lots of other machine sounds. They (the guys behind this fearsome exercise in power-noise are Bryan Day and Jorge Castro) get positively ambient, though, on the final track ("drifting through the phosphenes"), which sounds sort of like one of the tracks from Castro's album (reviewed earlier in this issue) filtered through a noise-o-tron. There's a beat of some kind buried down in the waves, although i hesitate to claim its actually drums -- judging from the rest of the album, it could be anything. It's good to see that the power-electronics genre is still alive and well, although now i probably can't hear anything.... - RKF

(Eld Rich Palmer no.10) An ear-bleeding record from notorious noise maker Brain Day and guitar improviser Jorge Castro should become an essential work for the noise genre. I do not know how the recordings can be compared to Jorge Castro's output, but they give to Brian Day what his music has always (consciously!) lacked - a low and serrated-bottom sound. To say it straightly: "Dawn Variations" is a condensed amalgam of various noise sub genres being presented in every possible aspect. I cannt remember when I heard so intense noise record last time. Spanning from flogging and harsh electronics through the wave-after-wave noise or mind-jarring, SISTRUM-inclined sound to mega blasts of power electronics it may be no mean task for an average noise-eater to hold out to the end of the record. It corresponds greatly to the most frenzied pieces by MERZBOW, MONDE BRUITS or AUBE. The oasis of subdued music (?) here are as rare as water on the Sahara desert and placed in the last two tracks which by their more spatial guitar droning and archaic industrial influenced sound (SPK, THROBBING GRISTLE) seem to be Jorge Castro's last manifestos on the record. A classic noise record! - Krzysztof Sadza

(Neo-Barbaric no.16) This is intelligent harsh noise rumbling like a thunder storm turned typhoon. Each "song" targets a single nerve and works it to death through arduous undulations and contortions meshed into ultimate conflagration. Sharp sounds layered on dull threads of evenly raked rauciousness profit from determined shape and unfolding chaos. The high handed hullabaloo is a face off between determination and to plumb the artistic impact and the urge to save yourself the stress. Each is a very powerful impulse. The feedback and fuzz take form and paint a mighty unflattering picture of gargantuan sonic ear searing. Nothing here to soothe the savage beast, but it might just beat him into submission. The sounds suffer right along with the blasted post-modern industrial society that steals our humanity and makes profit from our minds. Ugly truth dragged grudgingly from the nasty noise of nature and routine. - CC

(Vital Weekly no.290) Public Eyeshore is a noise label and these releases are some examples of what they do. The collaborative efforts between one Bryan Day and Jorge Castro (who you might know from his ambient releases on Eco label) as William IX is loud noise. Fucked up sounds from radio, feedback, synth noise, the whole lot is there. Nice? Humm maybe. I heard worse in the genre, and the big pro about this release is the total absence of concentrationcamp/sex/nazi imagery. So one can do noise without those quasi shocking images. - Frans de Waard

(Cranial Vulnus) sweet older collab from bryan day (from sistrum and the public eyesore label) and jorge castro (of cornucopia) presenting some pretty bonus harsh noise imo. granted, i might be a bit nostalgic. i still remember getting this in the mail and being all 'yay'. its sweet and there's variety from track to track. there are even some beats and rhythm and odd change ups and forms of ambience amidst all of the harsh noise. check out the reviews in the link below for other opinions. have at it. - Lackthrow