Pulse Demon

The holographic, shiny silver artwork is a homage to the 1970s Prospective 21e Siècle imprint of Philips Records, in particular the albums of Ivo Malec. However, the art is most similar to the work of Bridget Riley, "Fall" and "Current" in particular.

{{quote|Basically, this shiny silver is the color of Heavy Metal. I mean it the way William Burroughs said it. My basic idea is I think this idea has been approached in the past by Heldon and King Crimson.|sign=Masami Akita{{cite web |url=http://www.geocities.com/~zaraza_doom/merzbow.htm |title=Corridor Of Cells - Interview - Merzbow |date=1997 |work=Corridor of Cells |access-date=May 24, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/19991130203529/http://www.geocities.com/~zaraza_doom/merzbow.htm |archive-date=November 30, 1999 |url-status=dead}}}}

The title was inspired by the 1970s afro-rock band Demon Fuzz and Akita's use of a fuzz box as a pulse generator.{{cite web |url=http://www.geocities.com/sunsetstrip/2958/ntmerzbow.html |title=MERZBOW - interview |work=Neural Therapy |access-date=April 22, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/19990127211112/http://www.geocities.com/SunsetStrip/2958/ntmerzbow.html |archive-date=January 27, 1999 |url-status=dead}} Some song titles were inspired by Jon Appleton's Appleton Syntonic Menagerie LP.

Critical reaction to Pulse Demon was mixed. Pitchfork gave the album's 2003 re-release a score of 8.7/10, their highest rating out of their eight reviews of Merzbow albums. Calling it an "incomparable classic", the reviewer describes the album as "simply pure sound, viciously unadulterated static", going on to state that "music cannot get much more extreme than this. Maybe John Cage's 4′33″, and that's so far to the limit, it's probably cheating. This is the edge of music, of sound in general." Also praised was the album's packaging, being called "more valuable than some people's lives." However, AllMusic's dismissive two-line review from Jason Ankeny simply said "Merzbow's second American release offers more of the deafening white noise that is his trademark, mastered for maximum loudness. Not for the faint of heart, but ideally suited for the hard of hearing."{{AllMusic|class=album|id=r241844}} Being given only 2.5/5 stars, Pulse Demon is one of the four lowest rated of AllMusic's 31 (solo) Merzbow reviews. The A.V. Club, in their review, described the album as "genuinely extreme, downright torturous sounds that are strangely compelling in their shredding intensity."{{cite web|last1=Thompson|first1=Stephen|title=Merzbow: Pulse Demon|url=https://www.avclub.com/merzbow-pulse-demon-1798193834|date=March 29, 2002|website=The A.V. Club|access-date=12 May 2018}}

{{Track listing

| headline = CD track listing

| all_music = Masami Akita

| title1 = Woodpecker No. 1

| length1 = 6:42

| title2 = Woodpecker No. 2

| length2 = 3:37

| title3 = Spiral Blast

| length3 = 4:30

| title4 = My Station Rock

| length4 = 4:54

| title5 = Ultra Marine Blues

| length5 = 11:29

| title6 = Tokyo Times Ten

| length6 = 11:09

| title7 = Worms Plastic Earthbound

| length7 = 24:53

| title8 = Yellow Hyper Balls

| length8 = 6:03

}}

{{Track listing

| headline = Side one

| title1 = Woodpecker No. 1

| length1 = 6:43

| title2 = Woodpecker No. 2

| length2 = 3:37

| title3 = Spiral Blast

| length3 = 4:30

| title4 = My Station Rock

| length4 = 4:54

}}

{{Track listing

| headline = Side two

| title1 = Ultra Marine Blues

| length1 = 11:29

| title2 = Yellow Hyper Balls

| length2 = 6:03

}}

{{Track listing

| headline = Side three

| title1 = Tokyo Times Ten

| length1 = 11:08

| title2 = Extract 1

| note2 = bonus track

| length2 = 5:01

}}

{{Track listing

| headline = Side four

| title1 = Worms Plastic Earthbound

| length1 = 24:52

}}

• All composed by live noise concrete. No over dub.
• Mastered at SAE Mastering, Phoenix, AZ, January 1996.

• Masami Akita – metals, EMS, audio generator, shortwave, noise electronics, tape, voice
• Colour Climax – visual
• Bill Yurkiewicz & David Shirk – mastering

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Category:Merzbow albums

Category:1996 albums