(Credit: Pain Chain)

Ok, I know what your thinking: Great… more senseless noise on the Hassle. If you are thinking that you might want to look at this list again because this isn’t going to be your typical Merzbow. For this year-ender, I will be looking at a selection of artists that experiment and push boundaries of the noise genre as a whole. The only rule for this list is that they have to have released music IN 2018

The first one I’ve chosen is actually not a noise artist from NE but Misery Ritual’s Searing Blood as the nastiest noise tape I’ve heard this year. The sensation I get when I listen to this is falling down a bottomless pit but somehow hitting the bottom painfully for the whole experience. If you want to explore the California noise scene and see what they have to offer

This musician has spoiled us with tapes this year so if you’re familiar with this artist you might be thinking which one I found the most intriguing out of them all. That has to be their split with Goth Girl. First off this is the most striking tape on this list so you’ve been warned. The alarm and siren sounds are perfect mixed in with the voices cackling and screaming. The actual heteronormative dialogue towards the end of this single is provoking and gives a deep perspective on privilege. This provides a whole new meaning to this song

NN has always been finding new and different ways to experiment with their music and with their release of Palpable Menace, this is no exception. They’re all numbered tracks and are pretty long in length. The whole record feels like playing laser tag in an all black cave with an alien twice the size of you. It gives you a sense of fear but also excitement and even wonder as you listen to this tape. Wondering what equipment they used, how they used it and the talent behind the creativity of this tape.

This artist isn’t going have me select from his releases rather, it’s going to be his live performance August 1st at Dorchester Art Project. I’m not just putting him on this list to promote our venue but it was my first noise show I’ve been to and it was a great introduction. Lights out, a flashlight appears with his eyes bulging out of his sockets staring directly at me he slowly puts the microphone in his mouth then I hear the drips of water and harsher effects start to go in and then you can’t see his face anymore… He’s hiding his face with a wet mask and it gets better. Seriously check this artist out even if you aren’t into noise because his performances can give you enough excitement on its own.

“Words cannot express the true chaos of the mind. I make noise to fill in the gaps.” Just that statement alone puts Pain Chain on the list. I can’t choose a specific release for this artist because it’s too damn difficult because each one is unique and gives me almost as much anger and energy the artist has. Coming from Lowell is some of the most radical, politically charged noise you will ever hear. It’s like you combine the messages of queer punk with the sound of noise and this is what you get. Some of these releases have elements of spoken word/speech samples to further prove its point.  A big example of this is on their first release “Ain’t This Country Great?”. The archived samples go great and make it all the more powerful. The two releases I have of theirs are “Split with Goth Girl” and “Deserted” with NO123NOISE and they both sound great on my cassette deck and enhance the experience as a whole. I absolutely recommend this artist to anyone who’s into punk, noise or both.