Merzbow - 抜刀隊 With Memorial Gadgets

Haven't you heard? Neo-fascism is on the rise. Truly troubling times these we're living, as history (idiotically) repeats itself, again and again. Brazil just gifted the world with our own version of Trump. Even Japan is seeing some nationalistic walks here and there. And this, my friends, is my lame hook for talking about this amazing album!
Merzbow needs no intro, if you heard the "noise" word, you heard about Merz. He needs a comprehensive guide, though, as his works are not limited to brutal Harsh Noise assaults, no sir! His catalog is full of gems and surprises, and this beauty here being one of the highest points of it.
抜刀隊 ("Batztoutai" as it's most commonly seen, or "Battōtai") With Memorial Gadgets stands tall as the most unique Merzbow record. I'll get to the sound in a minute; Remember my shitty hook up there? Well, 抜刀隊 was a military march used during the fascist Imperial times, and the cover is also adorned with the Imperial seal and miscellaneous military imagery. The use of the march (sampled in the title track) and the imagery is defended conceptualized as " I'd like to use Japanese-like images and words on purpose, as a way of randomly mixing significant cultural details [...] The reason those images were used was that I'd been researching misreadings of Japanese public history". Sure, Akita-sensei, I'll bite that. Such a Dada trickster he was, huh? That's some old-school Industrial flirting-with-fascist-imagery action for you, kids.
Seriously now. Soundwise this is just some classy display. Taking his then-current approach of tape loops galore and refining it, just bringing it to the next level. It samples a great variety of sources, but what really impress the most is that it takes from various musique concrète records. That's right, it samples sample-based music! It's meta musique concrète! Such a simple idea, such complex result. Genious!
Is it the best record to get into Merzbow? Probably not. It's a slow burner, that's for sure. Honestly, I took some time to truly digest it, but once it clicked, I couldn't let it go. It's not the harshest, it's not the most cohesive (at first), nor is it welcoming, it's difficult. It's not simply background noise or a live recorded psych jam session. It will demand your full attention, this work of art. Oh boy, is it rewarding!
BY THE WAY, BIG FUCKING 'BY THE WAY': This is the original 2 LP version, not the remixed and re-arranged version later released (dubbed "de-composed works 1985~86"). The original is the superior version, this is not "in my honest opinion", this is fact. Sorry, Akita-sensei...