Jazkamer: Metal Music Machine
CD - Smalltown Supernoise, Norway - 2006
LP - Asspiss Records, Norway - 2006

Reviews:

Jazkamer - Metal Music Machine
"Scandinavian experimental duo and one-time Merzbow collaborators John Hegre and Lasse Marhaug raise a flagon of mead to the Nordic Black Metal hordes. Bracing energy and an epic scope, from dense kick-drum frenzies to "The Worms Will Get In", a glacier-speed homage to the sludge of SunnO)))" (4/5 Uncut Magazine)

JAZKAMER Metal Music Machine (Smalltown Supernoise) cd
Savage Pencil cover art. Gothic font. Grim graphics. Black metal sonics. So this is the new Jazzkammer?! Metal Machine Music sees this Norwegian electronic noise duo changing their name (slightly) and suddenly adopting a black/death/doom metal sound. Maybe in this case we should say Metal, using the capital M for it like The Wire magazine does. Not sure what inspired this new direction, we'd hate to think it was just that in avant-experimental-indie circles Metal is now 'cool', and that they thought hey if SUNNO))) can do it, why not us? But chances are that being from Norway they're well aware of the black metal scene and dig a lot of the same stuff about it that we do, the perhaps unintentional avant-gardisms of bands like Abruptum for instance, and figured it was time to delve into it fully themselves. What matters, anyway, is how did Jazkamer's Metal Machine Music turn out? Well, we like it! First off, Jazkamer, as opposed to Jazzkammer, is not a duo, they've brought in some other folks to help out, including a real ringer -- Ivar Bjornson of AQ fave Viking black prog metallers Enslaved!! So we're taking it pretty seriously already. The first track, "Friends Of Satan" is a pretty harsh intro, and should serve to weed out listeners who AREN'T in fact friends of Satan. It's a blurred, blasting battery of drums and distortion, not unlike that sampled death metal disc by Francisco Lopez, Untitled 104. Or the Dave Lombardo track on Jonathan Bepler's Cremaster 2 soundtrack. The chorus of anguished vokills at the end of the track further nail down Jazkamer's black metal ballsiness. They'd be pleased to know that someone here asked, when this was playing, "What's that? Besides headache-inducing?" Following that, we encounter one of this album's main events, the 16:51 "The Worms Will Get In", a study in slow-motion, doom-dirge minimalism a la SUNNO))), Earth, and Khanate. Simple but effective. When it ends, it's a jarring segue into the next track, the jagged "Abomination". Probably the thing on here that most sounds like it could be from a "normal" black metal album, albeit with No Wave / Voivodian influences. Next up, the title track, that's along the same lines as "Abomination" but, like, ten times noisier. And then, the finale, the 12 and a half minute "Occult Glider" that's a menacing ambient fuzzed-drone soundscape, beautiful and powerful. We're impressed. Our doubts were quashed. Better than any Jazzkammer album we'd previously heard, as a matter of fact! (Aquarius Records catalogue)

Jazkamer: Metal Music Machine (Smalltown Supernoise) - CD
With the pretty awesome Lasse Marhaug amongst its clan, don't expect sonic half measures here. With his experimental 'The Shape of Rock to Come' album still ringing in my ears, it's quite a shock to hear that, for the most part, this LP plays it straight. Exploratory resonance on 'The Worms will get in' evokes the turgid primordial ooze of say Sunn O)))). But 'Abomination' is pure thrash; hyperspeed riffing and guttural utterances make this the star turn. But the slow skin tear of 'Occult Glider' comes a close second in the 'none more black' stakes. I don't think I could have any more fun this year if I tried. Buy now, pay later. (failme.net)

Jazzkammer - Metal Music Machine
 Scandinavian noise duo drops two consonants and reassembles familiar metal tropes inside a rigid, noise-structured LP. Despite founder member Lasse Marhaug's credentials (Norwegian male, tape-traded with members of Emperor and Mayhem in his youth) Metal Music Machine is nothing if not opportunistic. There are significant parallels between the noise genre and black metal, most are superficial and none are a revelation. (Sunflower, at least, managed to link the two without being too obvious) What's of concern here is the extreme self-consciousness on the one hand, of both bands and labels that promote music as entirely genre-applicable, bordering on parody. And on the other, of "metal" bands that cater to an audience that normally wouldn't want a goddamn thing to do with it, pushed by the kind of writers/promoters that feel they need to sugarcoat and even apologetically account for what makes metal…metal. Jazkamer lies somewhere in between: acquiring the requisite font and aesthetic only to pick the theme apart piece by piece. Faintly nostalgic tremolo picking extends into absurd lengths of time, contrasted with a very Khanate feel for space. Rumbling Jazz fills substitute for blast beats and multi-tracked growling nonsense fills the cracks. Disregarding the Savage Pencil cover art, it's all too indifferent to condescend. The album is both mercantile and intelligent, the performance organic but unemotional – its atmosphere only clinical exhibition; a novelty career moment. And that's just swell, so long as a career isn't made out of it. If anything, it sweetens the air after enduring Sunn and co. compare bowel movements for 53 minutes.
(Todd DePalma, Stylusmagazine.com)

JAZKAMER
”Metal Music Machine”
(smalltown superjazz)
0.0
Støypresident Lasse Marhaug og medskyldige har beveget seg fra gutterommets datautstyr og over på propre instrumenter. Om det har hjulpet? Ikke det grann. Jazkamer er et lydeksperiment hvori modale prinsipper og ortodoks komponering skyves helt under teppet. 6 minutter kjapp, repetitiv larm og 16 minutter med to seige akkorder på vei ned i toalettskåla er bare to av i alt 5 estetisk verdiløse spor du kan invitere med deg hjem. Jeg dyrker kunstnerisk eksperimentering, men fordrer at formen danner ekvilibrium til innholdskonstituentene. Denne rævsjiten er kun bråkete, gapestokkverdig form. Dra til sjøs! Ps: Ivar Bjørnson er én av de heldige bidragsyterne.
(Geir Larzen, Monstermagazine.no)

Jazkamer
Metal Music Machine
(Smalltown Supernoise)

Lasse Marhaug and John Hegre (aka Jazkamer) have been together for the best part of a decade, generating improvised electronic noise, minimalist droning and so on whenever the opportunity's arisen. This time round they've decided to invite some of their chums from the Nordic death metal scene to lend a (presumably leather-gloved) hand or two. As if they weren't noisy enough on their own...

It's a fierce, pitch-black racket that results; the windtunnel onslaught of "Friends of Satan" turned my frontal lobes to mush in about 12 seconds. The 16 minute "The Worms Will Get It" sounds like Extreme Noise Terror playing Morton Feldman (I kid you not) and is almost meditative in comparison. Sickest of all is "Occult Glider", where massed guitar drones morph from a high pitched dentist-drill whine to a dread-full, malevolent rumble.

Scary, brilliant stuff (and nothing to do with Lou Reed, by the way).

(Peter Marsh, BBC)

Jazkamer: Metal Music Machine (Smalltown Supernoise) - CD
With the pretty awesome Lasse Marhaug amongst its clan, don't expect sonic half measures here. With his experimental 'The Shape of Rock to Come' album still ringing in my ears, it's quite a shock to hear that, for the most part, this LP plays it straight. Exploratory resonance on 'The Worms will get in' evokes the turgid primordial ooze of say Sunn O)))). But 'Abomination' is pure thrash; hyperspeed riffing and guttural utterances make this the star turn. But the slow skin tear of 'Occult Glider' comes a close second in the 'none more black' stakes. I don't think I could have any more fun this year if I tried. (www.failme.net)

Jazkamer
Metal Music Machine
CD (Smalltown Supernoise / Dotshop.se)

Brutal hybrid af støj og black metal fra norsk duo

Det er næppe tilfældigt, at titlen på Jazkamers nye plade næsten er identisk med navnet på Lou Reed-albummet Metal Machine Music. De to udgivelser er nemlig begge ekstreme og støjende. Men hvor Reeds værk er et fritflydende orgie af guitarfeedback, er der anderledes struktur i noget af musikken her på Metal Music Machine. I de 31 år, der er gået, siden Reeds album udkom, har metal-genren udviklet sig betydeligt, og Jazkamer trækker her på en af de sub-genrer, deres hjemland Norge har størst tradition indenfor: black metal. Det er der blevet en kulsort, alsidig og brutal skive ud af, hvor gæster fra blandt andet Enslaved og Manngard hjælper til. Jazkamers baggrund i støj er ikke gået tabt, og elektronik er anvendt til at intensivere udtrykket. Friends of Satan er infernalsk grindcore, der ender i dæmoniske råb. The Worms Will Get In er en 16’51” lang, tonstung og meditativ sunn O)))-agtig skabelse. Abomination er pladens korteste, mest ordinært opbyggede skæring og bærer vokal og lead-guitar. Titelnummeret er en kaotisk larmende komposition, hvor skrig, elektronik, trommer og guitarer mikses, og Occult Glider lukker udgivelsen med en fortættet dose guitar, feedback og heftig støj. Det er yderst tvivlsomt, at alle almene metal-fans vil synes om Metal Music Machine, men er man til ekstrem musik, og har man mod på en avantgarde-bøjning af metal-genren, kan pladen anbefales på det varmeste.
(Jakob Rosenbak, gaffa.dk)

Jazkamer: Metal Music Machine
Ass Piss Records No Cat
LP

Limited vinyl edition (500 copies) of an album originally released on CD by Smalltown Supersound from this iron-clad Euro avant orchestra that expands death metal modes with alla the extended force of the best of the Battlecruiser back catalogue. Jazkamer is Iver Sandoy, Ivar B Bjornson, John Herge, Jorgen Traen, Lasse Marhaug and Olav Kristiseter. Opening "Friends" sounds like Asceticists-era Whitehouse redressed in horse-pounding double kick-drum rhythms, while "The Worms Will Get In" is an endlessly delayed almost side-long bombastic intro. Closer on side two, "Occult Glider" is some of the most ecstatically flat-lined heavy metal drift yet recorded by non-Satanists. Cover features some fantastic Sav X artwork. (Volcanic Tongue catalogue)

Jazkamer:Metal Music Machine
(2006, Smalltown Superjazzz/Rough Trade STSJ118CD)

Was das Weglassen von zwei Buchstaben alles ausmachen kann! Denn aus Jazzkammer wurde Jazkamer und damit alles noch wilder, rauer, ungestümer, irrer und – hoppla! – noisiger! Also die Anlage hochgedreht und warten, bis die Polizei kommt. Und die wird fassungslos sein, wenn sie hört, was die diesmal sechsköpfige Band um die Elektro-Archaiker Lasse Marhaug und John Hegre an Gitarrenloops, Schlagzeuggewitter und sangesähnlichem Gebrülle durch den Soundmixer jagt und klein schreddert.

Natürlich macht Jazkamer keinen irgendwie klassischen Metal. Keinen porentief reinen Rockmetal für kaufmännische Angestellte nach Feierabend, keinen Jazzmetal für hyperindividualistische Jazzfreunde, keinen Darkmetal für Verwirrte mit dem Odinhammer oder was es sonst an Spielarten gibt. Am ehesten noch würde sich das Etikett Artmetal andienen. Warum man das (dennoch) hören sollte? Weil kaum ein anderes Musikprojekt so beharrlich mit den Gewohnheiten und Selbstverständlichkeiten des Pophörens bricht. Das ist durchaus unangenehm bis schmerzhaft, führt aber zielsicher zu der Erkenntnis: Am Anfang war der Krach, ohne den die Welt wüst und leer wäre. (Frank Keil-Behrens, www.nordische-musik.de)

Jazkamer: Metal Music Machine CD
Formé des norvégiens John Hegre et Lasse Marhaug, Jazkamer/Jazzkammer est un des duos les plus intéressants de la galaxie électronique expérimentale et effectue depuis 1999 un parcourt sans faute, se remettant en question sur chaque album. Pour preuve, ce Metal Music Machine qui n’est pas un hommage à l’album éponyme de Lou Reed mais un essai de musique métal (et de ses ramifications), transformé par la machine. Boucles de guitare et de batterie, ultra répétitive sur "Friends of Satan", doom reptilien à la SunnO))) sur "The Worms Will Get In" et ses 16 minutes, ou l’enragé et trash "Abomination", ont tous été enregistré avec leurs compatriotes guitaristes des groupes (black ou death) Manngard, Enslaved & Toy. En revanche, composé uniquement au laptop "Occult Glider", sculpté de samples de guitares superposées bourdonnantes, atterrit après 12 minutes dans un malstrom final des plus furieux. Cet opus qui réactualise tout un pan de la musique métal pourrait plaire à tous les auditeurs, habituellement, allergiques à ce style d’expression.
Jean-Marc Clogenson, octopus-enligne.com

Jazkamer: Metal Music Machine CD
Støyimprovisatører i parløp med ekstrem-metallere? Det høres høyt ut, det høres brutalt ut og etter å hørt «Metal Music Machine», så høres det ganske fornuftig ut også. Norske bråkebøtter må gjerne samarbeide mer. For Jazkamers Lasse Marhaug og John Hegre har hentet inn en vegg av hjelp fra blant annet Enslaved og Manngard for å nærme seg metalsjangeren.
Det resulterer i så mangt. Grunnideen er thrash, death, monotoni, repetisjon, aggresjon, drønnende elektronika og feedback.
Videre er det tydelig at Hegre/Marhaug klarer å ha to tanker i hodet på én gang. For det naturlige valget er å legge til rette for en musikalsk kamp for livet mellom metalelementene og den elektriske støyen, noe gutta også gjør. Men like ofte lar Jazkamer med venner de to sjangerne spille på lag og sammen bryte lydmuren. «Friends Of Satan» er metalstøyens svar på Henry Fords samlebåndsdrømmer (eventuelt mareritt). «The Worms Will Get In» tar tittelen musikalsk bokstavelig, der gitarene sakte, drønnende og nådeløst borer seg inn i hodet ditt. «Abomination» har metal i førersetet med skrikevokal og gitarsoloer før elektronikken leverer et intenst støyklimaks i tittelsporet «Metal Music Machine» . Avslutningen «Occult Glider» er mer lavmælt, men desto mer truende i sin pågående 12 minutters versjon av hva metal og elektronika kan gjøre sammen.
Jazkamers siste forsøk lykkes fordi de to sjangerne tilfører hverandre nytt innhold.
Metaltriksene gjør den overveldende støyen langt mer dynamisk, og dermed langt mer tilgjengelig. Samtidig leverer Marhaug og Hegre en sonisk brutalitet som metalgutta vanskelig hadde klart på egenhånd. Og det bør glede alle metalfans.
Jazkamer viser at summen kan være større enn delene. (Lars Eiriki Eide, Dagbladet, terningkasst 5)

Jazkamer: Metal Music Machine CD
Metal Music Machine» er improvisatorisk metalmusikk som får neser til å blø og ørene til å summe som transformatorbokser. Sist Lasse Marhaug og John Hegre i Jazkamer (de har droppet en z og en m) ga ut plate, besto den av lavfrekvent støy. Den nye plata innspilt er definitivt ikke lav, men støyimprovisatorenes tilnærming til metalsjangeren, med Lou Reed på sidelinjen. Det er så konkret i all sin abstrakthet at det nesten blir tilgjengelig. Tenk japansk støy, amerikanske Sunno))) og gamle Bolt Thrower, faset inn i aggresjon, repetisjon, forvrengning og sonisk metallmaskinstøy. Åpningslåta «Friends Of Satan» er et eneste stort glis av ødeleggende, pressmaskinell kraft, som går over i «The Worms Will Get In», en sannsynlig hyllest til Crispin Glovers «Oak Mot». Låtas intensiverende seige slagkraft utgjør de tyngste 17 minuttene som noensinne er festet til en platerille, og gjør påfølgende «Abomination» og til en «ordinær» støyversjon av den typen thrash metal som oppsto på 80-tallet. Så mens Lou Reed gjorde sin «Metal Machine Music» i ren protest, er det Jazkammers intensjon å vise at jordrotasjonen virkelig kan kile seg fast bare man vil det sterkt nok. (Mode Steinkjær, Dagsaviden, terningkast 5)