Every time I think I’m done with Merzbow he releases an album that grabs me by the face and screams “LISTEN TO ME!” F.I.D. (standing for Fur Is Dead) is one of those albums. It is powerful and burly but surprisingly not as brain drilling as usual. The chaos normally unleashed is instead channelled into a droning, pulsing muscle. This is one of the most exciting Merzbow releases I’ve heard yet.
Fourth Dimension Records
With six long pieces spread across two discs, F.I.D. is intimidating to say the least (I dread to think how I’d feel if left in a room with the Merzbox!). It’s nice to see that Merzbow isn’t past it. There are times when I think about what more can he do with noise and indeed many of his recent albums are pedestrian at best. I often think that it’s time for him to slow down and restrict himself to only albums of such gut-wrenching quality as this one. Although the thoughts of him adjusting his releases around a signal-to-noise ratio is not something I expect to come true. By the very nature of his music I suppose it makes perfect conceptual sense to release everything and introduce as much noise into the system as possible.
The stronger material is mainly on the first disc, the first two pieces of the album are chunky behemoths of noise. “Exteriorization?@No.1” erupts with a sheet metal shredding screech that would make an amplified scrap yard blush. Low rumbles make it feel like an avalanche but instead of rocks it is chunks of steel covered in electrified barbed wire falling down the cliff. It’s exhilaratingly heavy; the heaviness enhanced by what sounds like a loop of processed carnival music appears about halfway through.
“Forest of Kelp” begins with an incredible drone that reminds me some of Coil’s work with drones, particularly the more aggressive stuff like Constant Shallowness Leads to Evil. As a piece taken on its own, it’s one of the best things by Merzbow that has ever crossed my path and is undoubtedly where F.I.D. peaks. It fleshes out to a freakout of howls that change in pitch like the most satanic guitar solo never played, it is stunning. The final piece of the first disc is like the afterbirth of “Forest of Kelp;” it pales in comparison although the final few minutes of massively amplified metal percussion is a sure fire cure for hearing.
The second disc doesn’t always reach the levels of pure energy on the first but it is still a commendable effort on Merzbow’s part. “Exteriorization?@No.2” opens the disc with an arctic blast of white noise. It is a strong start to the disc and, along with “Forest of Kelp” from the previous disc, it is a sure sign that there’s life in the old noise machine yet. I think I’ve used up most of my adjectives in describing how colossal this album sounds but “Exteriorization?@No.2” is a towering pillar of rage converted to an audio signal. Unfortunately the momentum of the album is lost with the next piece, “Transition,” and F.I.D. doesn’t get back on form properly albeit there are some nice sparks of noise peppering the last piece, "Kongara," but it seems more like a rehash of some of the earlier material without the punch.
As his animal rights views move more to the forefront of his music and artwork (this album is in aid of PETA) and as his convictions on the matter seem to be becoming more resolute, there is more fire entering his music. In years to come I think the last two years or so will be seen as the start of Merzbow’s second wave of terror. There are still some awful releases of his being crapped out on demand but the amount of good albums seem to be on the rise. F.I.D. along with some of his more beat orientated albums (and the odd choice collaboration) make me not want to abandon the good ship Merzbow just yet as I hope he continues on this furiously intense path. Even if he doesn’t, this album is enough to keep me going for a long, long time.
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