Pulse Demon is a studio album by the Japanese noise musician Merzbow, released 28 May 1996. The album was reissued on vinyl in May 2018 by Bludhoney Records, and again in November 2019 by Relapse, with a bonus track.
Background The holographic, shiny silver artwork is a homage to the 1970s Prospective 21e Siècle imprint of Philips Records, in particular the albums of Ivo Malec. However, the art is most similar to the work of Bridget Riley, "Fall" and "Current" in particular.
The title was inspired by the 1970s afro-rock band Demon Fuzz and Akita's use of a fuzz box as a pulse generator. Some song titles were inspired by Jon Appleton's Appleton Syntonic Menagerie LP.
Reception Critical reaction to Pulse Demon was mixed. Pitchfork gave the album's 2003 re-release a score of 8.7/10, their highest rating out of their eight reviews of Merzbow albums. Calling it an "incomparable classic", the reviewer describes the album as "simply pure sound, viciously unadulterated static", going on to state that "music cannot get much more extreme than this. Maybe John Cage's 4′33″, and that's so far to the limit, it's probably cheating. This is the edge of music, of sound in general." Also praised was the album's packaging, being called "more valuable than some people's lives." However, AllMusic's dismissive two-line review from Jason Ankeny simply said "Merzbow's second American release offers more of the deafening white noise that is his trademark, mastered for maximum loudness. Not for the faint of heart, but ideally suited for the hard of hearing." Being given only 2.5/5 stars, Pulse Demon is one of the four lowest rated of AllMusic's 31 (solo) Merzbow reviews. The A.V. Club, in their review, described the album as "genuinely extreme, downright torturous sounds that are strangely compelling in their shredding intensity."
Track listing Original version
Remastered version
Notes All composed by live noise concrete. No over dub. Mastered at SAE Mastering, Phoenix, AZ, January 1996.
Personnel Masami Akita – metals, EMS, audio generator, shortwave, noise electronics, tape, voice Colour Climax – visual Bill Yurkiewicz & David Shirk – mastering
Release history +Release history and formats for Pulse Demon Region Date Label Format Quantity Catalog NotesUnited States 1996ReleaseCD 3,000RR 6937-2 Holographic sleeve 1998 unknown Jewel caseMay 11, 2018Bludhoney 2×LP 500 BLUD-20 Colored vinyl Cassette 100 n/a Only available with LP bundle November 29, 2019 Relapse LP 1,950 RR6937 Includes bonus trackItaly March 2023 Old Europa Cafe CD n/a OECD 333 Remastered, includes bonus track
References