Limited vinyl LP pressing of Wolf Eyes' second full-length release housed in a Stoughton tip-on sleeve. Coming just months after Dread (Wolf Eyes' first LP as a trio), Slicer was released on cassette in an edition of 50 in 2001. From start to finish, it's a full-fledged sonic experience, downright enveloping. Deep stuttering bass, high streams of electronics, rugged tape manipulation, horns, glass - this recording contains an enormous spectrum of sound. The calm intensity of their wildly bizarre sonic experiments and masterful compositional moves make for a rewarding repeat listen. With influences coming from all over - avant-garde sound art to Pink Floyd and beyond - specifically, Slicer brings to mind the perfectly edited Malesch from Agitation Free, the immediacy of SPK, and the innovation of Henning Christiansen. Wolf Eyes were looking for, finding and fleshing out new musical forms. You won't be surprised, if you've followed their prolific output, that band practice was also always a recording session, and these guys all had solo projects too - they played all the time. Their ideas developed from jamming, and you can hear the confidence, the masterful control of tone, the patience of the improvisations. This is deeply ambitious music made without academic pretensions. It contains some of the most minimal programming in their catalog and the editing and mastering are nothing short of inspired. Setting an impossibly high water mark early on as the noise scene was just getting to it's feet, few, if any, have come close to the energy and power of this recording since.
N**N
Why these guys aren't getting Grammys, I don't know.
like the other reviewer said, this music is downright scary. Remember the first time you played Silent Hill? Yeah, that scary. Anyway, Ann Arbor, Mi's Wolf Eyes is one of the best electronic groups I've heard in a while. Their combination of simplistic beats, record scratches, and echoed brass (believe me, it works) makes the most interesting soundtrack ever. You know you're a good band whe the lead singer of Sonic Youth listens to you. Anywa, if you're a fan of Merzbow, Earth, or the movie Begotten, this is for you.
A**S
Early Wolf Eyes reissue
This is an early Wolf Eyes album which has been reissued. This album differs from later Wolf Eyes work because it plainly displays the band at their birth, replete with the simplest noise experimentation. It's a good listen, but not the most representative of what Wolf Eyes have become. Although if one should run across the original vinyl or cassette versions with handpainted album covers, one should immediately pick them up as they will probably fetch some very nice prices on ebay in the future. Heads up to Ann Arbor kids.
Trustpilot
2 weeks ago
2 weeks ago