Merzbow
Pages from the Book
Half Machine Lip Moves/Alien Soundtracks
Ben Frost

Avant-Garde » Sound Art » Noise

Sludgy, abrasive, and punishing, Noise is everything its name promises, expanding on the music's capacity for sonic assault while almost entirely rejecting the role of melody and songcraft. From the ear-splitting, teeth-rattling attack of Japan's Merzbow to the thick, grinding intensity of Amphetamine Reptile-label bands like Tar and Vertigo, it's dark, brutal music that pushes rock to its furthest extremes. By the end of the '90s, a resurgence in the use of sine waves -- originally explored by musique concrète artists in the '50s -- became increasingly frequent among noise artists such as Otomo Yoshihide.

Noise Artists Highlights

Merzbow
Merzbow
Ben Frost
Ben Frost
Boredoms
Boredoms
Chrome
Chrome
Keiji Haino
Keiji Haino
Melt Banana
Melt Banana

More Noise Artists

Noise Album Highlights

Pages from the Book
Aube
Pages from the Book
Half Machine Lip Moves/Alien Soundtracks
Chrome
Half Machine Lip ...
1930
Merzbow
1930
A U R O R A
Ben Frost
A U R O R A
Brainsville
Tabata
Brainsville
Rabbi Sky
Alan Licht
Rabbi Sky

More Noise Albums

Noise Song Highlights

Title/Composer Performer Stream
Magnesia Nova Merzbow
1930 Masami Akita
Bore Now Bore
Boredoms
Minotaurus Merzbow
Scent Ben Frost
Ponchobilly
Hanatarash
Zoo, No Vacancy Melt Banana
Paroxysmal Discharge Akifumi Nakajima
Spark
Masonna
Cathode No. 1, for large ensemble with tape manipulation Otomo Yoshihide

More Noise Songs

Other Styles in Sound Art