Live II

Released

The ultimate document of Keiji Haino’s legendary band, this epic double CD (nearly 150 minutes of music), often referred to as Live II, features 13 untitled tracks, covering a variety of moods. Disc 1, Track 2 features a monolithic garage rock riff and a pounding beat, strongly reminiscent of Les Rallizes Dénudés; Disc 2, Track 3 is a hardcore punk sprint, with Haino unleashing piercing daggers of feedback (and a surprisingly shredtastic solo) as bassist Yasushi Ozawa and drummer Jun Kosugi blast along like they’re in Discharge; but the album’s emotional heart is Disc 2, Track 1, a nearly 17-minute ballad on which Ozawa’s bass takes a lead role for much of its running time—it takes nearly nine minutes to peak, but when it does, it sweeps you away like a tidal wave.

Phil Freeman

Suggestions
Starship Africa cover

Starship Africa

Creation Rebel
LP5 cover

LP5

Autechre
Gottfried Michael Koenig cover

Gottfried Michael Koenig

Gottfried Michael Koenig
Sacred Ceremonies cover

Sacred Ceremonies

Bill Laswell, Wadada Leo Smith, Milford Graves
Fly or Die cover

Fly or Die

Jaimie Branch
Perpetual Void cover

Perpetual Void

Chris Tordini, Marta Sánchez, Savannah Harris
Bending Bridges cover

Bending Bridges

Mary Halvorson Quintet