(Noise, Harsh Noise) [CD] MAAAA - Decay And Demoralization - 2010, FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

Tracks 1-4 originally released as "We Are So Fucking Harsh! You Are So Fucking Suck!" - split cdr with Torturing Nurse, released by Triangle Records (TR-28) in 2007, edition of 50. Recorded in Petrozavodsk, Russia in September of 2007.
Track 5 originally released as "Blood And Shit" - split cassette with Out Of Focus, released by Triangle Records (TR-34) in 2008, edition of 50. Recorded in Petrozavodsk, Russia in winter of 2007.
Track 6 originally released as "Satan Edge" - cdr, released by B-rush (B-11) in 2008, edition of 44. Recorded in Petrozavodsk, Russia in May of 2008.
Thanks to G. Averin, Jura Belkin, Denis Terev, Stan, Vivian and everyone else who has supported us and all our friends.
Album design and layout (C) Mind Flare Media 2010
Maaaa are a duo that mostly keeps their noise "pure," only occasionally allowing slips of black metal sounds and imagery (i.e., their indecipherable logo). The approach though is purely old school harsh noise: no drone passages, no poetry, no drums or horns, just pure unadulterated feedback and junk metal. The feedback squall of "Karelia" that stays frozen while the junk metal pounds around it definitely sounds like a nod to the US masters Macronympha. "Must" isn't as clearly based on banging on metal garbage, but instead sounds like windchimes from hell rattling around as broken megaphones randomly spew out random sounds in the distance before everything is reduced to simply water running and echoed feedback, providing one of the few "calm" moments on the album, and even that is a bit of a stretch. "Be" cranks back up the clattering metal percussion, with warbling noises and a few sustained tones, but for the most part remains a consistently flowing river of violent racket. "Destroyed" represents the closest this disc gets to a rhythm, but it still makes Test Dept. and SPK sound quaint in comparison. Above that, it's a jumpy mix, with feedback-drenched echoes jumpily edited together to provide a raw, dynamic experience. The metal elements of "Vivian" are almost industrial in their overt presentation, but are overshadowed by the roar of a jet engine blasting along, with only slight variations in pitch, so it sort of flirts with the Harsh Noise Walls subgenre but with the variations that occur keep it a bit more varied. There is an almost jarring cut to what must be a recording in a bathroom that segues into a torrent of black metal before going back to do the noise thing, which makes for an interesting irony…it's the more conventional sounds that are shocking within this context. The closer "Satan Edge" actually constitutes about half of the disc, making it a substantial piece of work. Beginning with a worn vinyl rendition of a black mass, it goes quickly into sharp, waxy noise and layered feedback, with an emphasis on the high-end frequencies. Surprisingly, it's not quite AS pummeling as the other tracks, letting a bit more of the layers show through, but I'm speaking in relative terms here. There are a few oddities, such as some almost glitch-type sounds and more sampled thrash guitar, but on the whole it stays a long, heavy track of varied sounds. Because of its strict adherence to an old school noise mentality, there's not a lot of surprise or innovation to be found, but not that there needs to be. It sounds as if it could be from the mid '90s, or, as I think of it, the Golden Age of Noise, hand-dubbed onto a cassette tape out of necessity, not because of it being "cool." My only complaint, which is probably showing my age more than I should, is that it's just a bit too loud. It reminds me of those noise releases Relapse put out, where it is intentionally mastered at a painfully high level. It ends up requiring too much fine tuning on the volume knob to find that sweet spot of loudness, but not so much that everything is obscured (or deafness begins to set in). It's a small complaint though, and the positives definitely outweigh that single negative. - Brainwashed.com
Mind Flare media is a label which not only turns its back on the Lo-Fi DIY aesthetic of noise, its also a sign of the truth that capitalism more than an economic system is a mental disease which has infested, and infected humanity, in a more nihilistic than Marxist vein it's the general condition of humanity from which it might just be possible to discuss what a cultural revolution entails. Anyway I suppose Merzbow et al. could, if this label makes a buck take them to court, but (un)fortunately the work here - which began promisingly is only (IMO (inserted by legal request?)) a poor pastiche of Harsh Noise and not the thing itself. A general processing, clangy reverb and feedback which is always controlled, except for some reason track 5 has a short section of sound of someone apparently having a wash (so it's the arty bit?) and the final track "Satan Edge" begins I think with a bit of Aleister Crowley "Do what though wilt" - as an ex public school estate agent would say 'your ticking all the right boxes' - but if what thou wilt is to bootleg this disc* then you would I suppose need to get a good lawyer first. And that would be it if it were not for what might be YHWHs sense of humor, my copy made by www.ultraentertainment.com 'The nations low price leader!' had problems with playback on tracks 5/6.* so much so that when I did try to rip it I got a "could not read audio data" error- but that (to keep the lawyers happy) might be a fault with my player. - jliat T.M., Vital Weekly

MAAA is Renata and Sergey
Everything recorded with fx pedals, polyvox, metal objects, recorded sounds (some samples recorded by G. Averin in Saint Petersburg in 2007 - track 5). No computer generated sounds.