Pulse Demon is a studio album by the Japanese noise musician Merzbow, released 28 May 1996.[3] The album was reissued on vinyl in May 2018 by Bludhoney Records,[4][5] and again in November 2019 by Relapse, with a bonus track.[6]
The holographic, shiny silver artwork is a homage to the 1970s Prospective 21e Siècle imprint of Philips Records,[7] in particular the albums of Ivo Malec.[8] However, the art is most similar to the work of Bridget Riley, "Fall" and "Current" in particular.
Basically, this shiny silver is the color of Heavy Metal. I mean it the way William Burroughs said it. My basic idea is I think this idea has been approached in the past by Heldon and King Crimson.
Critical reaction to Pulse Demon was mixed. Pitchfork gave the album's 2003 re-release a score of 8.7/10, their highest rating out of their eight reviews of Merzbow albums. Calling it an "incomparable classic", the reviewer describes the album as "simply pure sound, viciously unadulterated static", going on to state that "music cannot get much more extreme than this. Maybe John Cage's 4′33″, and that's so far to the limit, it's probably cheating. This is the edge of music, of sound in general." Also praised was the album's packaging, being called "more valuable than some people's lives."[2] However, AllMusic's dismissive two-line review from Jason Ankeny simply said "Merzbow's second American release offers more of the deafening white noise that is his trademark, mastered for maximum loudness. Not for the faint of heart, but ideally suited for the hard of hearing."[9] Being given only 2.5/5 stars, Pulse Demon is one of the four lowest rated of AllMusic's 31 (solo) Merzbow reviews. The A.V. Club, in their review, described the album as "genuinely extreme, downright torturous sounds that are strangely compelling in their shredding intensity."[10]
^"Merzbow - Pulse Demon | メルツバウ". ele-king (in Japanese). May 8, 2018. Retrieved 12 May 2018.
^"Merzbow's legendary Pulse Demon finally gets a vinyl reissue… and sells out immediately". Japan Vibe. Retrieved 12 May 2018.
^"MERZBOW – Relapse Records To Reissue Remastered Edition Of Pulse Demon Album". Bravewords.com. Brave Words & Bloody Knuckles. 1 October 2019. Retrieved 24 October 2019.
^ abc. Corridor of Cells. 1997. Archived from the original on November 30, 1999. Retrieved May 24, 2012.
^ ab. Neural Therapy. Archived from the original on January 27, 1999. Retrieved April 22, 2013.
^Thompson, Stephen (March 29, 2002). "Merzbow: Pulse Demon". The A.V. Club. Retrieved 12 May 2018.
April 13, 2023
pulse, demon, studio, album, japanese, noise, musician, merzbow, released, 1996, album, reissued, vinyl, 2018, bludhoney, records, again, november, 2019, relapse, with, bonus, track, studio, album, merzbowreleasedmay, 1996, 1996, recordedoctober, november, 199. Pulse Demon is a studio album by the Japanese noise musician Merzbow released 28 May 1996 3 The album was reissued on vinyl in May 2018 by Bludhoney Records 4 5 and again in November 2019 by Relapse with a bonus track 6 Pulse DemonStudio album by MerzbowReleasedMay 28 1996 1996 05 28 RecordedOctober November 1995StudioZSF Produkt Studio Tokyo JapanGenreNoiseLength73 20LabelReleaseProducerMasami AkitaMerzbow chronologyMusic for Bondage Performance 2 1996 Pulse Demon 1996 Spiral Honey 1996 Professional ratingsReview scoresSourceRatingAllMusic 1 Pitchfork 8 7 10 2 Contents 1 Background 2 Reception 3 Track listing 3 1 Original version 3 2 Remastered version 4 Notes 5 Personnel 6 Release history 7 ReferencesBackground EditThe holographic shiny silver artwork is a homage to the 1970s Prospective 21e Siecle imprint of Philips Records 7 in particular the albums of Ivo Malec 8 However the art is most similar to the work of Bridget Riley Fall and Current in particular Basically this shiny silver is the color of Heavy Metal I mean it the way William Burroughs said it My basic idea is I think this idea has been approached in the past by Heldon and King Crimson Masami Akita 7 The title was inspired by the 1970s afro rock band Demon Fuzz and Akita s use of a fuzz box as a pulse generator 8 Some song titles were inspired by Jon Appleton s Appleton Syntonic Menagerie LP 7 Reception EditCritical reaction to Pulse Demon was mixed Pitchfork gave the album s 2003 re release a score of 8 7 10 their highest rating out of their eight reviews of Merzbow albums Calling it an incomparable classic the reviewer describes the album as simply pure sound viciously unadulterated static going on to state that music cannot get much more extreme than this Maybe John Cage s 4 33 and that s so far to the limit it s probably cheating This is the edge of music of sound in general Also praised was the album s packaging being called more valuable than some people s lives 2 However AllMusic s dismissive two line review from Jason Ankeny simply said Merzbow s second American release offers more of the deafening white noise that is his trademark mastered for maximum loudness Not for the faint of heart but ideally suited for the hard of hearing 9 Being given only 2 5 5 stars Pulse Demon is one of the four lowest rated of AllMusic s 31 solo Merzbow reviews The A V Club in their review described the album as genuinely extreme downright torturous sounds that are strangely compelling in their shredding intensity 10 Track listing EditOriginal version Edit All music is composed by Masami Akita No TitleLength1 Woodpecker No 1 6 422 Woodpecker No 2 3 373 Spiral Blast 4 304 My Station Rock 4 545 Ultra Marine Blues 11 296 Tokyo Times Ten 11 097 Worms Plastic Earthbound 24 538 Yellow Hyper Balls 6 03 Remastered version Edit Side oneNo TitleLength1 Woodpecker No 1 6 432 Woodpecker No 2 3 373 Spiral Blast 4 304 My Station Rock 4 54 Side twoNo TitleLength1 Ultra Marine Blues 11 292 Yellow Hyper Balls 6 03 Side threeNo TitleLength1 Tokyo Times Ten 11 082 Extract 1 bonus track 5 01 Side fourNo TitleLength1 Worms Plastic Earthbound 24 52Notes EditAll composed by live noise concrete No over dub Mastered at SAE Mastering Phoenix AZ January 1996 Personnel EditMasami Akita metals EMS audio generator shortwave noise electronics tape voice Colour Climax visual Bill Yurkiewicz amp David Shirk masteringRelease history EditRegion Date Label Format Quantity Catalog NotesUnited States 1996 Release CD 3 000 RR 6937 2 Holographic sleeve1998 unknown Jewel caseMay 11 2018 Bludhoney 2 LP 500 BLUD 20 Colored vinylCassette 100 n a Only available with LP bundleNovember 29 2019 Relapse LP 1 950 RR6937 Includes bonus trackItaly March 2023 Old Europa Cafe CD n a OECD 333 Remastered includes bonus trackReferences Edit Pulse Demon at AllMusic a b Linhardt Alexander Lloyd September 10 2003 Merzbow Pulse Demon Animal Magnetism Album Review Pitchfork Retrieved 12 May 2018 Merzbow Pulse Demon CD Album Discogs Retrieved May 24 2012 Merzbow Pulse Demon メルツバウ ele king in Japanese May 8 2018 Retrieved 12 May 2018 Merzbow s legendary Pulse Demon finally gets a vinyl reissue and sells out immediately Japan Vibe Retrieved 12 May 2018 MERZBOW Relapse Records To Reissue Remastered Edition Of Pulse Demon Album Bravewords com Brave Words amp Bloody Knuckles 1 October 2019 Retrieved 24 October 2019 a b c Corridor Of Cells Interview Merzbow Corridor of Cells 1997 Archived from the original on November 30 1999 Retrieved May 24 2012 a b MERZBOW interview Neural Therapy Archived from the original on January 27 1999 Retrieved April 22 2013 Pulse Demon at AllMusic Thompson Stephen March 29 2002 Merzbow Pulse Demon The A V Club Retrieved 12 May 2018 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Pulse Demon amp oldid 1148184904, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
