04 October 2010

ABRAHAM CROSS


I got a package last week from Black Konflik in Malaysia, and it presented me with a genuine conundrum: do I celebrate another Noise Punk Monday with some of the distorted sounds contained in the box, or do I celebrate 13 years of marriage with a rip of a tape that symbolizes some sort of connection that my wife and I share? Suffice to say, Karoline ain't the biggest ABRAHAM CROSS fan, so Noise Punk wins! Tokyo's ABRAHAM CROSS combine classic Japanese crasher crust with distortion laden wall of noise and long atmospheric (but still chaotic) build ups, and though these songs are fukkn brilliant, they cannot hold a candle to the live assault. "Message From Forever" could pass as a '90s shoegaze anthem, and it's followed by two of the most ragingest minutes I've heard put to tape - just pure manic insanity. The track listing is slightly confusing, but the A side of the tape consists of tracks from Dan-Doh's Terro-Rhythm comp, the brilliant Tokyo Sound System comp, and the Skate All Day Drink all Night comp (all from 2005), as well as their side from the S.F.P. split EP, though the tape seems to be missing "Plastic Sun" from Tokyo Sound System, even though it's listed. The B side is even more confusing, so I've tracked it as one onslaught - 28 minutes of otherwise unavailable live material recorded at Earthdom (June 2007) and Shinjuku Loft (April 2005) - that barely touches what it is like to feel this band live, but does show them at their psychedelic pinnacle of chaos (especially about 14 minutes in). The first time I saw ABRAHAM CROSS, they had a hi-hat player...one dude out of his fukkn mind with a microphone on a hi-hat cymbal sitting in the middle of the stage wailing away on it like he was Eddie Van Hi-Hat for the entire set, and the next time I saw them I could hardly hear anything after being brutally pummeled by maximum volume techno through the house system for a full 20 minutes while the band set up their four guitar rigs (the guitarist for STRUGGLE FOR PRIDE was a relatively new member at that point, and it seemed he might have had something to prove...he proved it). Total and complete live destruction, offered to you via cassette.


It should be noted that I married Karoline 13 years ago today, which means that my streak as "The Luckiest Man On Earth" has continued for what would seem to be an exceptionally long time. Here's to that run continuing long after Noise Punk Mondays are forgotten...


10 comments:

the wizard said...

Here are the tracks on Side B, as listed on the tape:

1. I Need Air
2. Pointless Tooth
3. Nev
4. I.C.I.F.O.A.D
5. Feeling in Soil
(Live at Earthdom, Tokyo, 30/06/2007)
6. Feeling In Soil
7. Faces
8. Bad Circulate
9. End Of Time
10. Feeling In Soil
11. I Need Air
(Live at Loft, Shinjuku, 23/04/2005

Slobodan Burgher said...

Best Japanese band ever.

Anonymous said...

fuck yeah! this is a band that i've read about more often than listened to. looking forward to blasting it at work today.

gonuts for gonads said...

i just gots my copy a couple o' months ago, 'n' it DESTROYS!!! envy courses thru these veins, 'cause this past april i had an oppurtunity to see 'em on th' first day i arrived in tokyo, but my jetlagged, pregnant wife won th' battle! 'n' me bein' th' responsible type, stayed wit' her!!but har!har! i forced her to see exit-hippies th' next day!!! i hopes my baby don't resent me fo' its hearin' loss 'n' black lungs!!! oh well, i...was...in...heaven.........................!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Anonymous said...

congrats on the anniversary!

the wizard said...

I've been loving ABRAHAM CROSS a lot lately, I only wish I could share their live intensity...holy shit!!

(Thanks Evan!)

Anonymous said...

congrats dude!!!

ido said...

Wow. I just found this blog. And very glad that I did. Thanks so much for this and all the other tapes. Going to enjoy going through everything.

gaspar said...

thanx! i'm getting the daily dose of noise from your blog

Cotard-Syndrom said...

Hi there,
I would like to thank you for your postings. I foundnd so much new bands on your blog since a long time and I hope for all of us that you will keep it up!

Further I would like to ask you if you could fix the link.

Greetings from Berlin, Germany and thank you!

Moppi
http://cotard-syndrom.blogspot.com/