Venereology
Studio album by
Merzbow
ReleasedSeptember 1994 (1994-09)
RecordedJanuary–February 1994
VenueYaneura II, Tokyo
StudioZSF Produkt Studio, Tokyo
GenreNoise[1]
Length50:16
LabelRelease Entertainment
ProducerMasami Akita
Merzbow chronology
Electroploitation
(1994)		 Venereology
(1994)		 Noisembryo
(1994)
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Exclaim!7/10[2]
PopMatters8/10[3]

Venereology is an album by the Japanese noise musician Merzbow. It was inspired by death metal and grindcore.[4]

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. Venereology has also gained notoriety for the loudness of its mastering, which violated American limitations on the dynamic range allowed on CDs,[5] and for its third track, "I Lead You Towards Glorious Times", which is often cited to be the loudest track created in CD format—having a RMS value of 0.00dB.[6] The liner notes includes an extensive thank you list in the style of many metal releases.

Venereology was reissued on vinyl with a revised track list and bonus tracks by Relapse in March 2019.[7][8]

Background

Venereology was my first release on a death metal label. So, my target was "death metal" itself. I used more serious dead visuals than on the usual death metal albums. For me, it's like J. P. Witkin or J. G. Ballard. The rhythm in Venereology was a little slower than in my past releases, but more heavy. Also, the tone of Venereology was lots of overlevels and dirty sound. It's important to know that I made Venereology while drinking lots of beer. These essences are all influenced by death metal. But not musically. I liked something more extreme than the death metal rules.

— Masami Akita[4]

Akita then explained that his next album for Relapse, Pulse Demon, was back to his normal sound and was recorded sober.

Track listing

All music is composed by Masami Akita

CD
No.TitleLength
1."Ananga-Ranga"29:02
2."Klo Ken Phantasie"9:22
3."I Lead You Towards Glorious Times" (excerpt from live at Yaneura II, 5 February 1994)5:29
4."Slave New Desart"6:22

All music is composed by Masami Akita

LP side one
No.TitleLength
1."Ananga-Ranga Part 1"20:22
LP side two
No.TitleLength
1."Ananga-Ranga Part 2"8:39
2."Klo Ken Phantasie"9:20
LP side three
No.TitleLength
1."Last Splash"5:24
2."Slave New Desart"6:19
3."TD 3"7:32
LP side four
No.TitleLength
1."Outtrack 1"14:58
2."Outtrack 2"5:26

Personnel

Credits adapted from the album notes.[9]

Musicians

  • Masami Akita – performer, "decomposition," mixing
  • Kazuyoshi Kimoto – bass guitar on end part of "Klo Ken Phantasie" and on "Outtrack 2"
  • Reiko Azuma – noise on "I Lead You Towards Glorious Times"
  • Bara – vocals on "I Lead You Towards Glorious Times" and "Slave New Desart"

Technical and visual personnel

  • Mackerel Can Molding Company – live recording on "I Lead You Towards Glorious Times"
  • Antoine Bernhart – atrocity photos research
  • Naomi Hosokawa – photos transformation assistance
  • Abtechtonics – art direction, color
  • David Shirk – mastering [CD]
  • James Plotkin – mastering [LP reissue]
  • Jonathan Canady – additional design [LP reissue]
  • Jacob Speis – layout [LP reissue]
  • Matt Jacobson – executive producer, visual and logo interpretation for production
  • Bill Yurkiewicz – executive producer
  • Masami Akita – remixing and rearrangement from original DAT tapes at Munemihouse, Tokyo in October 2018 (LP reissue)

Release history

Release history and formats for Venereology
Region Date Label Format Quantity Catalog Notes
United States 1994 Release CD n/a RR6910-2
Russia 2006 Irond n/a IROND CD 06-1120
United States 2019 Relapse LP 650 RR6669 black vinyl[10]
250 neon violet vinyl[10]
100 purple/white with red splatter vinyl[10]
100 clear vinyl[10]

References

  1. ↑ "Merzbow - Venereology Album Reviews, Songs & More". Allmusic. Retrieved 11 December 2022.
  2. ↑ Ayers, Chris. "Merzbow Venereology". Exclaim!. Retrieved 21 April 2021.
  3. ↑ Skinner, Jared. "Merzbow Merges Metal and Experimental Music on the Ferocious 'Venereology'". PopMatters. Retrieved 21 April 2021.
  4. 1 2 "Corridor Of Cells - Interview - Merzbow". Corridor of Cells. 1997. Archived from the original on November 30, 1999. Retrieved May 29, 2012.
  5. ↑ Novak, David (2013). Japanoise : music at the edge of circulation. Durham: Duke University Press. p. 55. ISBN 9780822397540. Retrieved 14 June 2021.
  6. ↑ "A better way of measuring dynamic range? - Hydrogen Audio". Retrieved 24 February 2007.
  7. ↑ "MERZBOW "Venereology"". Relapse Records. Retrieved 16 January 2019.
  8. ↑ "MERZBOW - 25th Anniversary Vinyl Edition Of Venereology (Remastered) Coming In March; "Slave New Desart" Track Streaming". Brave Words & Bloody Knuckles. Retrieved 16 January 2019.
  9. ↑ Release Entertainment (1994). Venereology (booklet). Merzbow. Upper Darby, Pennsylvania: Release Entertainment. RR 6910-2.
  10. 1 2 3 4 "Merzbow "Venereology Reissue" 2x12"". Relapse Records. Retrieved 16 January 2019.
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