Classic noise debut
This was the vinyl debut of the prolific noise/experimental group way back in 1985, and this latest reissue is the most comprehensive version yet. Emerging at time when the avant-garde, industrial and experimental music community was far-ranging and deeply set underground, this Long Island group crafted this set of ultra-harsh walls of screaming noise and feedback, as inspired by fellow subversives like Whitehouse and SWANS. The original LP, which comprises the extended opening tracks “Knees” and “Bones”, are shrill, gouging, and terrifying assaults of grinding electronic feedback and the incomprehensible agonized shouts of either Paul Lemos or Chris Moriarty (I can’t tell). There are moments where the noise settles a bit into a moody (yet still ultimately a primal and visceral) sound, but overall, this album is a raw and edgy collection of power electronics that doesn’t hold any semblance of structure, order, or melody.
Bonus tracks are included here that only add to the noise and confusion. There’s a lengthy remix, called “Knees Power Mix”, another installment of the ongoing “Swallowing Scrap Metal” series of harsh feedback forays, and a remix of a wild and frantic track from CB’s out-jazz/scat side project, Breast Fed Yak.
Among a slew of other early releases (mostly on cassette), Controlled Bleeding’s earliest recorded output was a destructive primal scream that showed little evidence of their later trajectories into ambient, dance, or metal music that gained them a following in the late 80s and early 90s. This is about as harsh and noisy as you could ever hope to hear. Bravo! Here’s hoping Artoffact will consider other reissues of long-lost Controlled Bleeding recordings of this era.
