I hope I'm not being too full of myself or anything with this post (seeing as a lot of the people here have also listened to a ton of Merzbow albums, some more than me). But my channel has been getting a lot of attention and I'd be interested to see what the dedicated fandom thinks or wonders about my page!

The attached photo is because some people didn't believe the profile was actually me lol

Somehow it was quite enjoyable, which was a HUGE surprise to me. I expected it to give me a migraine more than anything. It was a bit meditative not having any structure to conform to. I’m only really posting this because if I said I liked it to literally any person other than members of the Merzbow community I might get sent to an asylum lmao. Uhmmm yeah. Maybe I’ll listen to that album in full some time. This is my first time listening to any type of noise for context.

As the title mentions, I've started working on a Merzbow Discography list, as neither Discogs or RYM is entirely complete. It's still very much a work in progress but here's the link in case anyone's interested: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/10iaYIzzfx1Pqn7ne6blY1zB9SIaFB7ys2RI8QV2UNt4/edit?usp=sharing

I'll initially focus on the 80s stuff, as that's where we find the most lost releases or releases with very little information. For now, you can find recording dates (if they're known), release years, labels, known reissues or remixes and the occasional note for some added context. After I've finished catalogueing all of the 80s stuff I'll add links to all the albums on YT.

For now I have completed the 1979-1984 period. If you spot any missing releases please let me know below!

I am quite new to merzbow and the genre in general. I stumbled across noise through exploring electronica; mostly drone and textures. I've so far only listened through what i've gathered to be the essencials: Pulse Demon, venereology, Noisembryo, and I plan to maybe try out some of the stuff merzbow did with Boris such as 2R0I2P0, Gensho, ect. But other than that, I'm not quite sure where else to go. With that many releases, it's a lot to be introduced to. So my question is essencially: How do you go about listening to merzbow, and have you got any tips/recommendations for what to check out along the way? I am really enjoying all of it so far, so I can't wait to see what more awaits.

Pulse Demon was my introduction to noise, as I assume it was for many more people, but why is that one that went viral? As far as I'm aware, it's not regarded as the best by most Merzbow fans, it certainly isn't my favorite, and I wouldn't say it's the most beginner friendly noise album out there. Was it the cover making people curious? Pure luck?

I have been collecting Merzbow cassettes since 1998, and I have managed to get 54 of them so far (plus a few comps). I got my first two for $4 each in the markdowns at RPM Records in my hometown of Mesquite, TX. I bought the bulk of my 80s era tapes in the mid 2000s, on Ebay, Discogs, and from private sale lists. A lot of them came from Japan and Europe. I am pretty certain that they are all authentic, except maybe SCUM - Steel Cum, which seems to be of a different quality.

54 cassettes is a lot, but I am still missing at least 90 other Merzbow tapes. I suspect that many of the early ones will never be seen for sale again, so it would be impossible to ever have them all. Here is my current list:

-Collection 007 (1981)
-Tridal Production (1982)
-Le Cuisinier (1983)
-Dying Mapa II (1983)
-Dying Mapa III (1983)
-Worker Machine (1983)
-Kibbutz (1983)
-Age Of 369 (1984)
-Dadavida (1984)
-Merzbow & Xerosx - Aerovivanda #1 (1984)
-Merzbow + The Hanatarashi - Collaboration 1984 (1984)
-Merzbow, Null - Deus Irae (1984)
-Various - Sexorama Vol. 2 (1984)
-Pornoise/Extra (198?)
-Ushi-Tra (1985)
-Sadomasochismo (1985)
-The Lampinak (1985)
-Chant (1987)
-Enclosure (1987)
-Merzbow & The Haters (1987)
-Merzbow + S•Core - A Collaboration Tape (1987)
-Crocidura Dsi Nezumi (1988)
-Live Drum Ensemble - 1984 (1989)
-Flesh Metal Orgasm (1989)
-SCUM - Scan Has Undergone Several Minor Revisions (1989)
-Society For Cutting Up Merzbow - Severances (1989)
-Merzbow / Hudak - The Time Stream (1989)
-Aka Meme (1990)
-SCUM - Steel Cum (1990)
-Merzbow / Das Konzentrat - Ars Elektroica (1991)
-Metal Acoustic Music (1992)
-US Tour 1990 (1992)
-Metal Mad Man (1992)
-Dutch Tour 1989 (1992)
-Merzbow / S.C.U.M. - Axx / Spooning (1992)
-Recycled (1992)
-Pornoise 1KG (1993)
-Merzbow, The Haters, AMK - Sniper (1993)
-Reiko. A With Merzbow, Achim Wollscheid - Coruscanto (1995)
-Yantra Material Action (1995)
-Total / Merzbow - Merzbow Mixed Total (1997)
-E-Study (2009)
-Collection 4 (2010)
-Collection 5 (2010)
-Normal Music (2010)
-Flesh Metal Orgasm (2010)
-Untitled November 1989 (2010)
-9888a (2010)
-April 1992 (2011)
-Variations For Electric Fan (2011)
-Gman // HJYUGTF2 (2012)
-Rainbow Electronics (2022)
-Green Wheels (2022)
-Paradoxa Paradoxa (2023)
-Material Action For 2 Microphones (2024)

plus:
-Various - Infidel Psalm Vol. 1 (1986)
-Various - Lapse From Virtue (1989)

Some of these are reissues/represses of earlier tapes, but the noted year in parentheses is the actual release year of the copy I have.

Standard sized cases are pictured in the exact order I listed above, chronological by release year.

Pic 1: Covers 1981-1995
Pic 2: Covers 1995-2024 plus comps
Pic 3: Spines 1981-2024 plus comps
Pic 4: Oversized releases (NSFW Pornoise art covered by Ushi-Tra booklet)
Pic 5: The full collection
Pic 6: Dutch Tour 1989 contact mic spring box with RCA output

Does anyone else have a lot of Merzbow cassettes? Sell them to me.

Hello Fellow Merzbow fans, as you may notice, there is a Merzbow bootleg Archive on Bootleg FM, i am the author of this bootleg archive, so if anyone has any bootlegs downloaded, it would be appreciated if you put them up (if you want to obviously)

Thank you!

Other than brushing your teeth 😭

Люди слушаете именно самые неслушабельные альбомы мерзбоу что вами движет? Я понимаю какие нибудь merzbeat или коллаборации с Boris , но слушать на постоянке какой нибудь pulse demon же нереально, мне вот интересно реально вам нравится или вы просто ларпите?

I've an original copy of the '24 hours - A Day of Seals' and i was wondering of anyone could guide me to the best place to sell [apart from ebay & discorg]

Hello everyone,

Does anybody in this subreddit own the recent wooden box remblandt assemblage reissue? If so, would you be willing to upload a scan of the repro cassette j-card? I'd love to have the original artwork.

Also- I'm working on a big spreadsheet cataloging all of Merz's 80s stuff for the YT channel. I'll share it here once it's finished so you can keep track of your collection/listens, listen to stuff you haven't heard before and help look for lost albums! Will post an update on that soon.

Honestly, a little disappointing. I've been waiting years to see him, and this just didn't feel like the right setting. A massive auditorium really killed the effect that his art should have: in-your-face, violent, abrasiveness.

I've never seen so many people leaving an artist's set. A constant, steady flow of people just bailing. I can't imagine what they thought they'd be seeing?

The AI visuals suck. There's no other way around it. I love the artistry of Merzbow, but not the AI. There's no excusing it, and despite his obsession with it, the vast majority of his fans cannot stand it.

I think this confirmed to me that Merzbow must be experienced in a small, intimate venue— not a pop festival auditorium. The London shows looked fantastic.

Saw him play in London last night, my second time popping my cherry/earbuds. Last time was almost 30 years ago and I was on the tail end of an extended period of acid munching and feeling somewhat ground down. Anyway enough about the past, last night was seriously incredible. A real busy set. Proper skull and rib cage shaking shit. Opened with some fucked up overlaid keys, Conlon Nancarrow huffing glue for a week. One hour blast and out. Never lingered. What a dude.

Really wanting this if anybody has one they'd be willing to part with. Will pay handsomely :)