Harsh noise is a type of noise music that began in the early 1980s. It started with the Kansai no wave movement and later Japanoise. Important artists in this style include Merzbow, Hijokaidan, Hanatarash, C.C.C.C., and Incapacitants. The style was also developed by musicians in Europe and the United States, such as the Haters, Daniel Menche, and Richard Ramirez.

Characteristics

Harsh noise is a type of noise music that does not follow traditional music rules or song structures. It has little or no melody, rhythm, or harmony. Artists use tools like effects pedals, synthesizers, and custom-made electronics to create loud, distorted sounds. These sounds include static, electronic screeches, and sudden, harsh noises. Performances often use improvisation, and the style is often seen as hard to understand and not popular in mainstream music. Harsh noise is mostly linked to underground music scenes in countries like Japan, England, Canada, Indonesia, and the United States.

History

During the 1980s and 1990s, harsh noise music began in Japan through the Japanoise scene. This scene developed from the Kansai no wave movement. Early Japanese noise groups, such as Merzbow, Hijokaidan, Hanatarash, C.C.C.C., and Incapacitants, helped create the sound of harsh noise.

At the same time, European power electronics, a type of industrial music, became an important influence on harsh noise. Later, American musicians such as the Haters, Daniel Menche, and Richard Ramirez helped make harsh noise popular in the United States.

Related genres

Harsh noise wall (also called wall noise, noise wall, or HNW) is a type of harsh noise music that began in the 1990s. Artists like Richard Ramirez, Skin Crime, the Rita, and Vomir helped start this genre. Music writer Russell Williams described it as "a continuous, unchanging, and all-encompassing wall of very loud noise."

Harsh noise wall uses many sounds layered together to create a loud, distorted, and static-like sound. French artist Vomir said the genre has "no ideas, no changes, no growth, no fun, no regret." Another musician, Sam McKinlay (also known as The Rita), explained that the genre makes the Japanese harsh noise scene more refined and focused on the sound of distortion.

Gorenoise is a type of music that comes from goregrind and noisecore. It moves away from rock music and uses harsh noise instead. New Noise Magazine described it as drum machines playing very fast beats over distorted, changed vocal sounds that sound like a toilet. Album covers often show images of crime scenes and pictures of body parts. The band Anal Birth is one of the first groups to create gorenoise. Other projects known for making gorenoise include Elephant Man Behind the Sun, early work by Torture, Meekness, and Melanocytic Tumors of Uncertain Malignant Potential.