My Castle of Quiet

Arvo Zylo's recordings and talents run the range from truly overwhelming, confrontational, and chilling, to thought-provoking. His experimental sounds are rooted in the 1980s Raplh/LAFMS/post-TG international "noise boom." Over many releases and collaborations, he has maintained a character of the unexpected, though one always wants to hear what that next sonic mask will be. In his other projects Blood Rhythms, Saint Street, and Mister Fuckhead, Arvo guarantees provocative listening, and the "catchy" or more-easily-palatable nature of the work will naturally come and go, giving way to the horror.

The cassette-and-CDr album 333, his recent split with Death Factory, and some of the live solo work he's done recently, under his own name and as Blood Rhythms, all stand out to me as experimental music of the highest order from an original talent.

NJ's IDES did what I'm always a sucker for—treated their live WFMU appearance as something unique and special, considered the medium / opportunity of a live radio appearance, and planned accordingly. In addition to their mini-masterpieces—tight, well-composed songs of 40 secs. to one minute in length, they bridged those songs with a series of improvised, powerful "interludes," cleverly paced and sequenced passages of enthused energy.

I knew immediately upon hearing IDES for the first time that they were a cut above simply another hardcore band, with an intensity and dedication to their sound that transcended genrefication. They pretty much played straight through their 22-min. onslaught, wound tight as a battlefield tourniquet, though there were two ever-so-momentary "breaks," which is where I cut up the otherwise-continuum presented here, for your mp3 enjoyment, stream or download. 

Like the predatory sea mammals we have today, the Megalodon cannot stop, or it dies, and the sonic charisma of IDES remains intact. The band have an incredible "swing" to everything they do, such that even an old fart like myself can daydream about careening off the stage head-first into the pit; all you'd see of me would be the flat heels of my Converse hi-tops, back when such footwear actually sort-of supported my meager arches.

The noise bridges are welcome, carefully placed throughout the set, and sound casually great, miles away from anything even remotely half-arsed. So, the verdict is and remains that New Jersey is a reliable, consistent font for all things hardcore and punk, and beyond; look just across the Hudson, 'cause great things are happening.

Can't thank the band enough for playing, adding yet another outstanding, highly memorable live performance to the ever-growing WFMU / My Castle of Quiet pantheon. Thanks also to engineer Juan A. for the reliable, versatile and casual application of his considerable talent, translating the often-chaotic happenings across the double-glass into something radio-ready and highly listenable.