It sounds like a work of fiction, one of those things that could, would, and probably should, never happen. Ginger Wildheart and Shane Embury of Napalm Death collaborating with Jon Poole of Cardiacs fame on a ball-bustingly noisy, thrashy / grindcore album, with a roll-call of guest appearances from the likes of Mark E Smith is one of them. And yet, it’s true. As a label, Ipecac have released some pretty far-out stuff in the past, but this... this has to trump the lot, especially when you sling in some Merzbow for extra layers of noisy shit.
‘Mark E Smith doing grindcore?’ you’re probably asking incredulously. ‘But... but...’ But nothing: it’s Mark E Smith: he does what the fuck he pleases, as the mood takes. there’s always been a grind / metal element to The Fall’s sound you know. In fact, he’d probably tell you The Fall invented it. Anyway, whatever. It actually works. The two tracks he rocked up and ranted all over sit perfectly comfortably on the album, and his atonal ramblings and yelpings are curiously suited to this alternative context.
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But it’s not all about MES by any stretch: ‘Error 500’ is a full-length album after all, and what’s more, it’s a solid, full-on, in-your-face balls-out racket of an album that really doesn’t let up from beginning to end. It’s unashamedly noisy, it’s every bit as inaccessible as you’d expect and won’t be threatening Katy Perry or Jessie J for that coveted number one slot in the album charts. But who cares? It’s heavy as hell, uncompromising and unique. It’s also seriously good. Genius.
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