Venereology
Encyclopedia
Venereology is a studio album by the Japanese noise musician Merzbow
. It was the first of five Merzbow albums released by the American heavy metal
label Relapse Records
, under their Release Entertainment imprint, and as such was responsible for bringing Merzbow's work to a much wider audience in the United States.
This album is Merzbow's take on death metal
and grindcore
. The liner notes for Venereology are much more detailed than most of the ones for Merzbow recordings which usually only include a few websites and a tracklist. The album was reissued in 2006.
Merzbow
is the main recording name of the Japanese noise musician , born in 1956. Since 1979 he has released in excess of 350 recordings.The name "Merzbow" comes from German artist Kurt Schwitters' artwork, "Merzbau”. This was chosen to reflect Akita's dada influence and junk art aesthetic...
. It was the first of five Merzbow albums released by the American heavy metal
Heavy metal music
Heavy metal is a genre of rock music that developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s, largely in the Midlands of the United Kingdom and the United States...
label Relapse Records
Relapse Records
Relapse Records is an independent record label based in Upper Darby, Pennsylvania. It was founded by Matthew F. Jacobson in 1990.-History:The label was started by Matthew F. Jacobson in August, 1990 in his parents' basement in Aurora, Colorado...
, under their Release Entertainment imprint, and as such was responsible for bringing Merzbow's work to a much wider audience in the United States.
This album is Merzbow's take on death metal
Death metal
Death metal is an extreme subgenre of heavy metal. It typically employs heavily distorted guitars, tremolo picking, deep growling vocals, blast beat drumming, minor keys or atonality, and complex song structures with multiple tempo changes....
and grindcore
Grindcore
Grindcore is an extreme genre of music that started in the early- to mid-1980s. It draws inspiration from some of the most abrasive music genres – including death metal, industrial music, noise and the more extreme varieties of hardcore punk....
. The liner notes for Venereology are much more detailed than most of the ones for Merzbow recordings which usually only include a few websites and a tracklist. The album was reissued in 2006.
Track Listing
Personnel
- Masami Akita – decomposition, mixing
- Reiko A – noise on track 3
- Bara – vocals on track 3
- Mackerel Can Molding Company – live recording on track 3
- Kazuyoshi Kimoto – bass guitar on end part of track 2
- Antoine Bernhart – atrocity photos research
- Naomi Hosokawa – photos transformation assisted
- Abtechtonics – art direction, color
- David Shirk – mastering
- Matt Jacobson – executive producer, visual & logo interpretation for production
- Bill Yurkiewicz – executive producer