13 UNDERRATED NOISE ROCK ALBUMS
It only hurts when I breathe.
So yeah, your enthusiasm has turned this feature from a one-off sort of clickbatey thing into a monthly regular. You created the monster, now deal with it! For the third volume of 13 Underrated, let’s move away from metal a bit, shall we? Sure, we’ll still stay within the shadowy realms of gritty, loud and unpleasant music all the same. In fact, particularly so, givem the genre victim for volume three is noise rock, a remarkably cheerless, punishing genre that has always bubbled way down underneath the popularity surface. But hey, you wouldn’t be reading this here rag if you wanted bubblegum pop, right? Or maybe you would. I don’t know how weird you are.
Anyway, the same principles apply. In case you haven’t read the other ones, real quick:
“underrated” is a debatable and fluid concept;
so is “noise rock” and every other music genre;
have fun and show me your list!;
here are the other two 13 Underrated lists so far: doom metal and black metal (of the 21st century).
Mkay? Let’s go then.
Arab On Radar
Yahweh Or The Highway
(Skin Graft Records)
2001
Though it’s by pure alphabetical chance, it’s also appropriate and just plain cool that we start a noise rock list, typically a genre of insubordination, revolt and provocation, with a band that has a potentially problematic name. If it makes you feel better, these Providence, Rhode Island dudes have stated that it was indeed meant to stir up discussion, but never to be derogatory, so there you have it. Though active for only eight years (1994-2002), Arab On Radar had a rich career, with four full-length records and a bunch of smaller releases, including a split with a very young (at the time) The Locust in 1999. In fact, they would release a documentary DVD on Justin Pearson’s Three One G label (a crucial label for the genre, especially for its more forward-thinking bands, it should be said) which I heartily recommend if you dig them. Also, their live shows were the stuff of incendiary legend, so much that they even managed to piss off Marilyn Manson fans so much they got into a fight with them, way back in 1995 already (you can read that whole hilarious story here). As for this album itself, it was the last one of their career, and it sums them up pretty well. A chaotic, 25 minute mess of guitar torture, drum abuse, disregard for sane tempos and cynical sneering. It sounds like an old walkman running a scratched jazz tape inside a garbage can falling down the stairs down into an abandoned subway station. Oh, and no bass, did I mention that?
Bitch Magnet
Ben Hur
(Glitterhouse Records)
1990
Did someone mention problematic band names again? Whatever, in this case it seems just like a case of pre-internet bad taste humour, no harm done. Besides, you’ll totally forget not only the band name but perhaps yours too after a few minutes of ‘Ben Hur’ rumbling around inside your head. Once again the last album of the band’s career, and once again the best (or read that as “my favourite” instead if it bothers you), it’s the goddamn low end that catches you here, the one thing that is in total opposition with the above entry to this list. ‘Ben Hur’ has bass, boy does it ever, and it’s the kind of bass that probably gave way to those stupid “your headphone volume is too loud” warnings on devices these days. Of course it is, dummy! How else would I listen to the unintelligible mumbling and the fat grooves on nine-minutes-because-fuck-you opener ‘Dragoon’, for instance? They were far from a one-trick pony too, as the Slint-worthy loud-quiet dynamics on something like ‘Lookin’ At The Devil’ clearly display. Blunt aggression and surprising elegance, a rare combination that’s all over this album.
Brainbombs
Burning Hell
(Blackjack Records)
1992
It almost doesn’t matter which Brainbombs album I pick for this, as long as there is one. They’re all different anyway (and - Miss Casey would be proud of this - I enjoy them all equally), but ‘Burning Hell’ often remains unmentioned in favour of the more popular ‘Obey’ or ‘Urge To Kill’, I think. This is also the most noise-rockey of the bunch for me, the rawness, the repetition, the simplicity even, elevates our genre of choice for this evening above the others that are also always present in one way or another in the Swedes’ albums. ‘Burning Hell’ feels like an unlikely cross between Discharge and Swans, and its influence even on the band itself is bigger than what’s usually recognised, with subsequent albums (‘Urge To Kill’ included) even taking titles and lyrics from this amazing piece of grey pessimism.
Caspar Brötzmann Massaker
Koksofen
(Our Choice)
1993
You might argue whether Caspar Brötzmann is underrated or not, or if his work with Massaker really qualifies for noise rock inclusion, but I’m long past hearing you because I’ll have ‘Koksofen’ (which means “coal furnace”, appropriately)on blast for the millionth time and I’ll still be shaking as if it’s my first terrifying listen to the thing. Everything’s been said about Caspar’s unique ability to extract the most harrowing sounds out of his guitar, each feeback shriek or razor-sharp string pull he does feels like it’s hacking a little bit more out of your soul each time, but what’s not mentioned so often in the same breath (like it should) is the uncanny ability he also has to transform these shreds of noise into actual songs. Though there’s very little musical conventionality at all in ‘Koksofen’ - your gran wouldn’t so much hate it as even rate it as music, trust me -, the way these songs heave and seethe like a volcano erupting and then cooling back down, the sheer dynamics of how these sounds are stitched together, is indescribably beautiful, if you stop to think about it. On top of it, how it all exhales a tense feeling of dread and how it expresses pain, trauma and torment (such human things despite the industrial, machine-like qualities of the music!) like few others, that’s where the real genius of Caspar Brötzmann lies.
Crust
Crust
(Trance Syndicate Records)
1991
Another good way to put together this list would be to just pick thirteen random albums released by Trance Syndicate Records, the label founded by King Coffey, the Butthole Surfers drummer. From 1990 to 1999, they put out a veritable embarrassment of noise rock riches (check it out), and it can honestly be said that there is not a stinker among them. Everyone usually focuses on Alternative Tentacles (and rightly so, mind you) as the epicentre of noise rock, but there are/were a lot of other cool labels putting out essential stuff too. One of Trance Syndicate’s best bands - and most cruelly ignored - was indeed Crust. Get past the funny bit that a band called Crust with an album called ‘Crust’ doesn’t actually play crust and, well, that’s the last funny bit about any of this. ‘Crust’ is an ugly, punishing, hopeless portrayal of society which unfortunately could well have been written today - in fact, it feels even more accurate now than it did back in 1991. At times, it feels like the singer (John Hawkins) is on the throes a manic episode, arguing with himself intensely as diverse as various types of crime, disease and living on the outskirts of society. Accompanied by a few kinds of captured noises, the album gives off some claustrophobic industrial vibes akin to Cop Shoot Cop, but in infinitely poorer taste. And that’s a compliment.
Fight Amp
Constantly Off
(Brutal Panda Records / Knife Hits / Lost Tape Collective)
2015
Once again Fight Amp’s discographic swansong, and once again the most noise-rockey of the bunch. There’s always been all kinds of influences fueling the Philly band’s raucuous, high-octane grungy, sludgy, loud brand of rock, but ‘Constantly Off’s gritty, clanky sound, as if the guys in the band are hitting each other with the instruments as they play, as well as the gloriously thick layer feedback covering it all like some sticky grime, reeks of noise rock more than anything else. It’s a groovy, punked-up, high energy take on the genre though, and it rides a constant, unwavering high for all of its eighteen minutes. Shame they split up, but at least they did so at the absolute height of their game.
Johnboy
Claim Dedications
(Trance Syndicate Records)
1994
See, there’s Trance Syndicate again. It’s a tight call between their ‘Pistolswings’ debut (1993) and this, but ultimately ‘Claim Dedications’ sounds a little more mature, more uniquely Johnboy. It’s a shame most of these bands never lasted very long. Though it feels kinda natural for music with such guts-hanging-out raw honesty and also such a confrontational nature, but still, it would have been great to see how they would have evolved from these fantastic, intense first few years. Maybe they would have sucked and the fact a bunch of them split up in the ‘90s is a blessing in disguise, I don’t know. What I do know is that Johnboy was really wonderfully unique. Angular riffing, really harsh and aggressive, but only deceptively simple - not relying on vocals as much as some other bands, they embark on almost psychedelic instrumental excursions often, never losing their razor-sharp edge but showcasing a level of performance and composition that is really quite impressive.
Pigs
You Ruin Everything
(Solar Flare Records)
2012
It beggars belief how a band formed by Dave Curran (Unsane) and Jim Paradise (Player’s Club, Freshkills, Hellno), joined by producer extraordinaire Andrew Schneider on bass and vocals, didn’t become a shining beacon of noise rock for the 21st century. Especially since this, their debut album which followed their already pretty cool debut 10” ‘Gaffe’ (2011), had everything you could ever want for a genre flag-bearer, right down to the obviously perfect artwork. The kickass drum intro that opens the album, on ‘Give It’, immediately lets you know how awesomely big and bombastic it sounds, were it not a brilliant producer part of the line-up, and so after the scream that kickstarts the song proper we’re well on our way. Not really trying to reinvent the wheel, Pigs kept it relatively straightforward, as gritty and bellicose and sonically dense as you could wish for, while laying down a few infectiously catchy choruses and riffs in the process too. It’s the kind of band that you could see still existing to this day, playing all the hipster festivals and wiping the floor with their hair buns, but hey, I guess these people are busy or whatever. They still followed this up with the equally excellent ‘Wronger’ in 2015, but very little was heard from them since.
Pre
Epic Fits
(Skin Graft Records)
2007
Another label that should be given props alongside the already mentioned Three One G and Trance Syndicate is Skin Graft Records, a specifically noise rock label that has been responsible for some of the genre’s finest hours, like the two they snuck into this list, by Arab On Radar and Pre. Fortunately they still exist and they’re still way ahead of the game, having put out recent envelope-pushing stuff like Buñuel’s last album ‘Mansuetude’ in 2024 for example. As for Pre, let’s put it this way - if you like the Melt-Banana school of noise rock, you should be all over these people. A convulsing, unpredictable bullet train constantly at high speed and on the verge of derailing, they blast through their mostly one-minute long songs with a mix of joyously febrile excitement and deliriously excessive violence. Formed “in a basement in London”, their vocalist is however Akiko Matsuura, a Japanese bundle of screechy energy who has also played drums and guitars for several other bands. Sadly, after releasing two more albums in 2009 and 2011, Pre have been apparently inactive for over a decade.
Sweep The Leg Johnny
Going Down Swingin’
(Southern Records)
2002
I remember discovering Sweep The Leg Johnny (yes, it’s from Karate Kid) with their brilliant 1999 album ‘Tomorrow We Will Run Faster’, a totally blind gamble-purchase on my favourite record store at the time that paid off immensely - it’s an incredibly slick, elegant album that confidently between embraces post-rock, jazz (there’s a saxophone, man!) and yes, noise rock in an immensely addictive fashion, its noir vibes just adding to its cool factor. I naturally became an immediate fan, so when I got ‘Going Down Swingin’’ a few years later I already had lofty expectations, but it didn’t matter because it blew me away all the same. Equally brainy, but more energetic, with a certain urgency that might come from the fact that it was already decided this would be their last album. A quick look at their Wikipedia page actually produces two great quotes that explain well the appeal of this quirky, unusual music: The Stranger described Sweep The Leg Johnny as “the only band in America that can make a saxophone sound like it belongs in the middle of intimidating post-punk guitars and apocalyptic vocals," while writer Zac Crain said that “there is no way to properly describe Sweep the Leg Johnny without completely missing the point, without chiseling away at the Chicago-based band until it neatly fits into a category that is comfortable and familiar. And wrong," which I’m kinda doing by shoving them in a noise rock list, but whatever. Great music is great music. Unfortunately, their vocalist Steve Sostak died in February 2023. Rest easy, dude.
Trenchmouth
Vs. The Light Of The Sun
(EastWest Records)
1994
If that young lad on the left looks somewhat familiar, then you probably have a good taste in comedy as well as in music, because that’s none other than Fred Armisen, the very funny actor, comedian and writer, and yes, drummer still, as he still maintains the activity, having even done a ‘Standup For Drummers’ series of comedy shows. Fred is by far the most famous person that has ever been on The Devil’s Mouth podcast (episode 56), and he’s a genuinely cool and open-minded dude, so a big shout out to him. Trenchmouth existed for a relatively short time (1988-1996) but their output was not only prolific but wildly diverse, each of their five albums sounding like pretty much nothing else, let alone each other. ‘Vs. The Light Of The Sun’ is the one that clearly pends to the noise rock side - and strangely enough, the only one released on a major label -, mixing it with a post-punk kind of approach and coming up with an absolutely unique sound. Jagged, jazzy rhythms, basslines so groovy and slick you could grease your hair with them, a manic, At The Drive-In-esque, furiously repetitive vocal performance, and a feeling of constant tension as if the wheels are just about to come off but never quite do, all of it combines to make this an experience like no other. Give it a shot.
UXO
UXO
(Reptilian Records)
2016
The toughest decision I had to make for this list was whether to include this, or Celan’s ‘Halo’. Putting both in seemed a little excessive as they are both collaborative projects featuring Unsane’s Chris Spencer, which also have in common the sad fact of having been (so far) one-offs. Fortunately Human Impact became a real band at least, right? But yeah, while Celan was mostly about the interplay between Chris and Ari Benjamin Meyers (Einstürzende Neubauten), UXO (short for “unexploded ordnance”) unites the noise rock dream team of Chris and Steve Austin of Today Is The Day. Ultimately I went for UXO (though consider Celan the “hidden track” of the list and go check it out too if you haven’t heard it!) because it’s perhaps surprisingly simple to describe - even if most musicians involved in collaborative projects of this nature don’t typically like said projects to be described like this, I’m sorry Chris and Steve, but this really does sound like a mix of Unsane and Today Is The Day. And that’s a great thing! That malice, that almost black metal-like evil tinge of Today Is The Day, coupled with the fucking tough-as-nails, dead-bodies-in-alleys sneer of Unsane? With Chris and Steve trading their uniquely gnarly vocals back and forth over gigantic, whale omelette-thick grooves? Yes please! And yes, more of it please, when you guys have a minute!
Zeni Geva
Desire For Agony
(Alternative Tentacles Records)
1993
It might not be too underrated in certain circles, but who cares - Zeni Geva deserve an unreserved legendary status in any context, they should be mandatory in school books, so no matter what degree of recognition they have attained, they’re still underrated to me. Though the towering Swans-like ‘Maximum Love And Fuck’ / ‘Maximum Money Monster’ is often considered their masterpiece, I really can’t get past everything ‘Desire For Agony’ has ever done for me. Like Melvins with a straight face, under the precious guidance of Steve Albini, KK Null and his cohorts (Tabata on guitar and Eito on drums for this one) launch into a collection of songs that feels like a cold blade being inserted between your shoulder blades, over and over, emotionlessly and without any hint of remorse. The unstoppable and dry as a bone cadency of ‘Dead Sun Rising’ is worth the price of admission alone, while ‘Disgraceland’ drags you slowly and purposefully through the mud and ‘Autopsy Love’ gets as close to Godflesh playing death metal as your worst nightmares would be able to. If ever a party drags on for too long at your place, this will surely sour the mood in just a few minutes.
Want to help us and the bands we cover keep the lights on, and get an exclusive tote bag to show for it? Become a subscriber of TDM and we’ll send you one, free postage worldwide. Also, never miss a post again (‘cause you’ll get ‘em in your inbox) and access our subscriber only posts. Get on it: