Japanese psychedelic noise rock act
Les Rallizes Denudes never made an official studio recording; their entire discography seems to consist of live bootlegs. Nevertheless, they're massively influential within a certain subset of underground rock aficionados because of their undeniable impact on
Keiji Haino of
Fushitsusha, Asahito Nanjo of
High Rise, Makoto Kawabata of
Acid Mothers Temple, and basically the whole 1980s-1990s Japanese psych rock scene.
Rallizes' basic sound is primitive guitar rock à la
the Velvet Underground crossed with
the Troggs, but their simple guitar riffs are fed through so much reverb, fuzz, and echo that it's like a dub mix of psychedelic garage rock. It's genuinely disorienting, something a lot of noise rock strives for but never quite achieves. And yet, it retains a primal rock & roll throb, particularly "Night of the Assassins," which features a bassline straight out of 1950s doo wop. There's a lot of overlap between this
Rallizes live album and another one, the double-disc '77 Live. The circa 1977 tracks here are in a different sequence than on the other set, and a few are missing. But
Heavier has one thing '77 Live doesn't have: a version of "People Can Choose" recorded four years earlier, in 1973. That track is even noisier and more savage than the later material, serving as a clear pointer to what
High Rise,
Mainliner, and other in-the-red acts would be doing two decades later.
Les Rallizes Denudes are the not-so-secret heart of Japanese underground rock, and
Heavier Than a Death in the Family is essential listening for anyone who wants to understand that scene. ~ Phil Freeman