It is extreme, yeah, but perhaps too much so to really disturb. Unfortunately this sort of stuff has been done to death, plus there's the fact that the images they choose often cease to be disturbing pretty much because of the music that is played in the background, which kinda implies that YOU MUST BE SCARED, when in fact something lighter and unthreatening would have done the job. Still good, though.

[_slavo_]

Hijokaidan is not that extreme to me.

It IS extreme, musically. But on the other hand, you get a thousand of other noise records just like that. Emotionally, it's not that disturbing.

I'd go for a Whitehouse record myself.

[pbradley]

Ha ha, one of the members of SPK would later go on to do a brief stint with The Cure. Should have seen that coming.

[jon boy]

thanks for the info. heard some pretty extreme stuff a while ago it was literally extreme microphone feedback and screaming then the guy doing it just went nuts and started attacking the audience. suprisingly some of them didnt mind.

[Tokolosh]

Jazkamer springs to mind.

[sonicl]

I don't really get the point in a lot of extreme music, it just seems to be a machismo, who can be the biggest bully in the playground / who can stand the most pain, sort of thing, rather like guys in a gym trying to outdo each other by lifting the greatest weight. Whenever I hear any power electronics, I can't understand what the point of it is supposed to be.

I'm not asking to be enlightened, I'm just saying what I feel.

[pbradley]

Yeah, I agree with you on the machismo thing. Same thing with technical metal guitar playing and a lot of latter day hardcore punk for me.

[Glice]

Personally, I really like the idea of deeply abrasive music, but I haven't heard anything out of noise/ the darker recesses of metal that particularly disturbs me. I still enjoy some of it, but I think in terms of harrowing music I'd take a Schnittke, Shostokovich or Mahler over any black metal/ noise music. Even something like Toru Takemitsu/ Morton Feldman manage to pull at the ole' heart strings more - I contend that a great many classical types have a great appreciation of dramatic tension, which is more effective in disturbing one's emotional state. You are, of course, more than welcome to disagree with me. You will, however, be wrong to do so on account of my innate rightness.

[Cardinal Rob]

Haha. Typical SYG replies, tbh.

[PAULYBEE2656]

the question is whats the most extreme music ever................

it all depends on your idea of extreme....
is it this?????????????

 

or this????????????????

 

or even this???????????

 

or for some it could be this...........

 

who knows??
but one thing for sure there will be even more extreme forms of music in years to come, there has to be, its evolutionary.........

[Glice]

I've said something like this before, but in response to Mr Bee: I think you've half-pointed out the way things are in your post - one man's meat is another man's poison, in many cases. Stockhausen's nearly finished an opera that's longer than Wagner's ring. I think Pauline Oliveros has one that clocks in at similar times. Is Merzbow more extreme than Prurient? How does one measure 'extremity'? Who's more moribund, Hank Williams or Patsy Cline? Or Jandek? Are La Monte Young's drones more extreme than Hindu ceremonial drones? Is Britney more hardcore than Christina?

You can invent a million senses of 'extremity', and it's important that people do push whichever envelope they want to push. I don't think there's a finite point where you can say most extreme though, from the audience's point of view. I would rather say that Xasthur were good than 'the most bleak of black metal bands' or something. This isn't quite a 'it's all subjective' statement - it's that the notion of 'extremity' is subjective. We still have critical frameworks and qualia.

[atsonicpark]

Nah, Sunn isn't extreme. Unless guitar feedback just destroys you.

When I think of extreme, I think of Cyptopsy, Necrophagist, stuff that's obvious that these people are just fucking insane (and probably play guitar 20 hours a day). Maybe Mayhem, since all the murder and weird shit connected with that band, is pretty extreme. I dunno.

[Bicorn Halfelven]

I was playing the 804 Noise Fest in Richmond, VA last year and was watching our band's merch in an adjacent room with the rest of the record dealers and artists hawking their wares. Seated at the table next to me were Dominic Pernow? (Prurient) and Carlos Giffoni... I had never met these guys before or even heard what they do, but we were passing a bottle of medium quality vodka and shooting the shit for a few hours.

Later, after burning a spliff in the parking lot, I came back into the space to see Dominic dressed all in black, sans glasses, howling into a microphone, punching the air and making an incredible racket... It was great!

I think it seemed a little more "extreme" than it would have if I had not met the jovial guy he is beforehand.

[atsonicpark]

I don't even really know what makes music "extreme". And looking back at my post, the Necrophagist and Cryptopsy and stuff... I mean, yeah, it's called "extreme" because of how fast and technical it is, but really, isn't a band as talented as that really just a bunch of dorks? And dorks ain't extreme!

So, I'd like to change my answer... Lustmord - Heresy. That's probably considered extreme.

Originally Posted by atsonicpark

Nah, Sunn isn't extreme. Unless guitar feedback just destroys you.

When I think of extreme, I think of Cyptopsy, Necrophagist, stuff that's obvious that these people are just fucking insane (and probably play guitar 20 hours a day). Maybe Mayhem, since all the murder and weird shit connected with that band, is pretty extreme. I dunno.

That's pretty lightweight stuff to me. Mayhem extreme? Christ almighty!!

[Tokolosh]

Naked City's Grand Guignol is quite extreme. The thrash tracks 2-34 that is.

[atsonicpark]

Well, I only said mayhem because of the murder involved with the band. Not the fact that they tremolo pick.

But again, I don't really know what constitutes extreme music. There's this weird track at the end of a Cattle Decapitation record that's nothing but cows screaming and meat cutting sounds.. blades ripping through flesh.. all kinds of sick sounds.. I dunno. I'm sure a bunch of noise dudes have recorded chicks getting raped with blowtorches and set it to feedback... a musical equivalent to August Underground Mordum or something... sick shit like that.. I dunno...

[nicfit]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qfFuJ...elated&search=

[Crumb's Crunchy Delights]

I heard a band called Napalm Death who were very loud.

[Norma J]

I'd rather listen to rock 'n' roll any old day - it doesn't try so damn hard to move me by being weird.