Regular readers of this wonderous emporium of the profane and the excitingly devilish blog of distinction, and to steal a phrase from Alan Moore, a spectular cyber-slum, will note that this particular contributor remains a devoted Genocide Nippon fan. They are the greatest of bands who are the true unholy inheritors of the NWOBHM mantle of Metal greatness. I confess, they are my favourite band of all time, and that dear readers is no inconsiderable accolade.
Anyway on to the business in hand… a most delightful attack of earache!
This is a single CD disc release by cult metal band Genocide Nippon, hewn from two distinct live slots in time it is entitled The Rites. Released in all its raw edged finery this album has all that you would care to taste from a live bootleg. It has that rough edge, the ear-bleed noise, the sonic hammering, the feedback, the sublime closeness to the eager listener and all the brusque emotions which that embues!
Free from studio tinkering, soundboard meddling and cosmetic remodelling you get a simple noisy lesson in frank candor recorded from within the audience. In terms of that live metal atmosphere it is 100% Dogmatic Approved!
There is no finer tribute to this cult Metal band than sampling them alive and in full-on metal mode, blistering and bloody!
The slice of fried gold you have here provides two eras from the band’s history the first a quality bootleg sample from 2000 and the other a searing tribute in all its sordid frightfulness from the deepest recesses of 1984.
It is the Year 2000 and all its live guitar-laden delights which offer the best cuts on the album. For a start you have to bow to a band who chooses Goblin’s superlative Profondo Rosso as an overture to their appearance on stage!
The use of the wonderous Goblin theme stirs one’s heart to tingle and beat that bit faster anticipating the electric wizardy which indeed follows. By the time the doomy instrumental Gibakurei forces its wicked way into your consciousness ’tis already to late to back out. Then, then the double axe laced treat coupled with the most amazing vocals guides the listener toward something akin to audio paradise in the song Doomsday. This is Genocide’ at their most coarsely unleashed best, you sense in this ready, willing ‘bootleg’ that the crowd loves the sounds which is pounding them senseless. And why not?
For the listener is already spellbound by the whirlwind bestowed upon them from the very outset.
Next up is the clever A Bullet In The Wrong Heart, with its ingenious switching riffs which literally rips this listener’s head and heart from their anchoring rivets. The dual guitar melodies work wonders on this song and remains a favourite of mine.
Both the 2000 and the 1984 sets culminate with the ultimate epic Genocide’ masterpiece, the truly great Living Legend with its double axe frenzy flair of extraordinary audio magic. Once you succumb to this song your craving simply demands a repeat play. I urge you to listen to this at night in the dark, headphoned up and let the whole absolute forces of Heavy Metal elation be visited upon you as Genocide’ lets rip with a raw but irreproachable journey back to the halycon 1970/80s and its electric euphoria.
Just to add a bit of finesse to the whole fabric of the album and its musical setting it is pleasing to see that it is released by Satanic Lust records, a Heavy Metal band ought to be on such a named record label, you wouldn’t have it any other way now would you?
Footnote: The Rites was originally released in 2001 as a 500 CD limited edition run (Satanic Lust Records KSL-01). Indeed the album is officially sold out and deleted but there ARE copies are still to be had out there if you look around online or via your friendly specialist underground metal music fixer.
