Four plus years now defunct, Discordance Axis is (finally?) being put to rest by Hydra Head's release of Our Last Day. To be quite honest, the album is really more of a tribute record combined with an odds-and-sods mixture of two previously unreleased tracks, one track from vocalist Jon Chang's new band Gridlink, and an official release of DA's Merzbow collaboration -- essentially a 16-minute remix of their final album, The Inalienable Dreamless, which had previously been available only via the internet. Such a strange amalgamation of elements would seem a rather inappropriate tombstone for many bands, but when you are operating in the musical style of grindcore, very little can truly be called inappropriate.
Beauty in grindcore comes in the form of sheer, unadulterated ejaculation of sound. Complete release. In a sense, this posthumous collection is completion of that release for DA's career. The unreleased tracks are small gems that fans are certain to appreciate. The Merzbow remix track is like watching a baby giving birth to a baby -- freakishly unholy, yet simultaneously transfixing. While all the covers show reverence for the originals, the only true revelation comes in the form of the reinterpretations by Cide Projekt, and in particular their "Macro [Remix]." These tracks are like grindcore being processed through a Commodore 64 by Bruce Haack, and as such, they might convince any skeptics of DA's potentially further reaching influence. So, while this is not a lost treasure unearthed, it is a tantalizing collection that will satisfy those fans looking for their last fix, not to mention some potential new sources of pleasure.
1. Sega Bass Fishing (Discordance Axis)
2. Ikaruga (Discordance Axis)
3. Cat's Cradle (Cide Projekt)
4. A Broken Tomorrow (Cide Projekt)
5. Tokyo (Cide Projekt)
6. Killing Yield (Cide Projekt)
7. Aperture of Pinholes (Cide Projekt)
8. Mind Seduction Aftermath (Cide Projekt)
9. Flow My Tears (Cide Projekt)
10. Information Sniper (Cide Projekt)
11. Amnesia Ceiling (Cide Projekt)
12. Macro [Remix] (Cide Projekt)
13. Radiant Arkham (Gate)
14. The Inalienable Dreamless (Gate)
15. Castration Rite (Mortalized)
16. A Crack in the Cataracts (Mortalized)
17. Drowned (Mortalized)
18. Ulterior (Melt Banana)
19. Mimetic (Noiseear)
20. The Inalienable Dreamless [Complete] (Merzbow)
21. Naked Pieces Scattered (Gridlink)
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