I remember how excited I was when DBL first assaulted the auditory passages (in my case via Metal-Induced Orgasm (1995)). In my excitement I may have gotten a bit carried away, pronouncing DBL heir apparent to the Merzbow throne; though, per the familiar narrative of such things, a similar title seems to have been retroactively bestowed – by The Rita anyway. It was less a sense of vision than one of crystallization. Much like The Rita's HNW, DBL represented a refining, or focusing, of a certain strain I enjoyed very much. A strain characterized by seemingly crowded surplus of sounds fighting against one another in a vain effort to be heard above the net flatulence. "Pure putrefying overbludgeon," or something to that effect, was one favored phrase. "Unrefined overkill" was another. Presented mainly against forces deemed hostile to what I knew and loved. What did I know and love? No more than something so devoid of any attempt at justification that even self-styled audiophiles in the experimental field hated the shit – the RAW FILTH – for its uncompromising lack of concession to higher-minded fidelity. DBL represented everything that not only People Who Don't Like Noise didn't like about Le Shit but what People Who Think They Like Noise But Actually Don't didn't. Or so I would like to have phantasized. One could go on to suggest that The Rita was a natural progression, a further refining and focusing, of the, um, overbludgered strain. And fortunately, one not quite so short-lived.
Much like a lot of their mid-90's contemporaries, DBL burnt themselves out in very short order. One could smell the beginnings of the ends in things like the Human/Machine collab with Thirdorgan – conceptually sound, but the worst I'd yet heard from either artist – and the higher-end but lower-impact Inhumanities (1997). If DBL were trying to re-fire their jets, it was with muted success. Sniffing another misfire, I gave Annihilation Devices Part 2 a miss... and then the project went on a fucking ten year hiatus. Before that happened, however, Horrors Of The Human Body came to pass.
Horrors Of The Human Body (1996) was the end of an era as far I'm concerned, the last truly great DBL released on Giuliani's own Less Than Zero. A denser, heavier DBL, less saturated but much more suffocating. Much more. As flatulence gives way to a smoother, nuanced, presentation, some of the irritated audiophile contingent might a last begin to grant DBL granules of grudging respect. But, in the dialect of my former excitement, fuck 'em. Save the DBL for those who give a shit. Or should I say, Le Shit.
Giuliani also deserves credit for time served as Less Than Zero, issuing top work from around the noiseworld. I think I've got every single LTZ – except, ha!, Annihilation Devices Part 2 - and they are all classics. Every single one. A particular favorite is the Original Soundtrack compilation, for which I'd like to wankerously quote my own review:
QuoteFor those BIG DUMMIES still confused about the differences between power electronics and noise, Less Than Zero have provided the ideal pedagogical case study. With enough Original Soundtracks going around, confusion will soon be a thing of the past. All budding musicologists should have one - a handy reference source perfect for category hounds in search of clarity. Finally. The dichotomy is made crystal clear over sixty minutes of scrupulously split sonics. Original Soundtrack divides into two distinct halves: Power Side and Ultra Side. Power Side is dominated by Americans and Italians. Five of the six Ultra Side contributors are Japanese. On one side we have bands like Murder Corporation, Atrax Morgue and Deathpile. On the other, bands like Thirdorgan, Building of Gel and Cock ESP. On one side, we have song titles like "Raped to Death", "Whore Trash" and "Blindfold". On the other, titles like "FGKYKFALHNGR", "Chris Masonobu and Nakamoto Cozy" and "I don't want to buy Samurai Bond." If you're still confused, I'm afraid you're a lost cause
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