I want to get more into Noise Rock. Any recommendations?

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BreakfastMan

Scandinavian Jawbreaker
Jul 22, 2010
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Hey everyone. I am a big fan of the heavy metals and the hardcore punks, and as such, I want to branch out and explore other extreme rock genres. Noise rock seems like the next logical area to explore, but I don't really know where to start. I have already listened to Big Black and Unsane, and I quite enjoyed both. I listened to early Swans, and I found that I don't enjoy much of that. Looking at more modern noise rock bands, I found I quite like Death From Above 1979 and Lightning Bolt. Not really sure where else to go from here, though. I would prefer to listen to some more classic bands to get a better feel for the genre, but good new bands are sweet too. So, any recommendations for albums or songs?
 

R.K. Meades

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Oct 1, 2014
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Give post-reunion Swans a chance-- look for live footage, as you'll find that the recorded material cannot capture the enormity of their presence on stage. Boris are another excellent band, with a deep catalogue and an excellent live show. The 'essentials' are bands like The Jesus Lizard, Flipper, Melvins, Sonic Youth, Melt-Banana, Dinosaur Jr., Polvo, Boredoms, and Pussy Galore.
 

TheRightToArmBears

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Dec 13, 2008
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I was just going to suggest Lightning Bolt... Nice. Check out Black Pus too, it's Brian Chippendale's side project.

R.K. Meades said:
Give post-reunion Swans a chance-- look for live footage, as you'll find that the recorded material cannot capture the enormity of their presence on stage. Boris are another excellent band, with a deep catalogue and an excellent live show. The 'essentials' are bands like The Jesus Lizard, Flipper, Melvins, Sonic Youth, Melt-Banana, Dinosaur Jr., Polvo, Boredoms, and Pussy Galore.
All of these! Melvins are essential for everyone. Other than that you could try Helmet, Butthole Surfers, The Locust or White Zombie.

Not really noise rock, but it sounds like you'd get a kick out of Turbowolf too.
 

crimson5pheonix

It took 6 months to read my title.
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Jun 6, 2008
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Sounds like you need an infusion of Butthole Surfers!



And remember, music is best enjoyed at 90 db :D
 

Sleepy Sol

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Feb 15, 2011
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I was going to try to recommend a few bands, but all the ones I actually know of were already mentioned.

I'm not so much into noise rock myself, but like the stuff I've heard, at least. Melt-Banana's crazy as hell.
 

BreakfastMan

Scandinavian Jawbreaker
Jul 22, 2010
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TheRightToArmBears said:
All of these! Melvins are essential for everyone. Other than that you could try Helmet, Butthole Surfers, The Locust or White Zombie.
Well, I didn't really mention the melvins, because I had always considered them to be more sludge (at least from what I listened to). Similar deal with Helmet (big fan of early work, In The Meantime, Unsung, and Milquetoast are permanently on my playlist, but I consider them more alt metal) and White Zombie (they really only had that one noise album, to my understanding). Also, I already knew about the Locust too... but I thought they were shit, so I didn't bother. :p
 

BreakfastMan

Scandinavian Jawbreaker
Jul 22, 2010
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crimson5pheonix said:
Sounds like you need an infusion of Butthole Surfers!



And remember, music is best enjoyed at 90 db :D
That just sounds like straight up rock. Like, that second song is basically Motorhead.
 

BreakfastMan

Scandinavian Jawbreaker
Jul 22, 2010
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R.K. Meades said:
Give post-reunion Swans a chance-- look for live footage, as you'll find that the recorded material cannot capture the enormity of their presence on stage. Boris are another excellent band, with a deep catalogue and an excellent live show. The 'essentials' are bands like The Jesus Lizard, Flipper, Melvins, Sonic Youth, Melt-Banana, Dinosaur Jr., Polvo, Boredoms, and Pussy Galore.
I remember liking Boris, but they were much more drone, from what I heard. Melt-banana was good too, I have listened to them. I liked Sonic Youth, but I think I listened to some of their later stuff, not the early stuff...
 

Dizchu

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Sep 23, 2014
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I'm not very well-versed in noise rock but I listen to a bunch of grindcore/powerviolence bands that were influenced heavily by the genre.

But as mentioned before, post-reunion Swans are excellent.
 

BreakfastMan

Scandinavian Jawbreaker
Jul 22, 2010
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DizzyChuggernaut said:
I'm not very well-versed in noise rock but I listen to a bunch of grindcore/powerviolence bands that were influenced heavily by the genre.

But as mentioned before, post-reunion Swans are excellent.
Well, I quite enjoy powerviolence and grindcore as well, and I have been looking for more good powerviolence bands to listen to... So suggest them, why the fuck not. :D
 

Ferrocyanide

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Apr 14, 2015
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Week-old thread bump, but okay:

I'm guessing as someone well versed in The Heavy Metals you've most probably heard of bands like Nine Inch Nails and Ministry. I know noise and industrial are somewhat different, especially nowdays, but industrial has so many meanings in its current state. If you ignore stuff like industrial techno and the like, the rest has a lot in common with noise.

You should definitely check out Throbbing Gristle and Einsturzende Neubauten for early proponents of the movement. It's much more experimental and often foregoes standard rock structure, at least in the earlier work. They make a lot of use of found objects and tape loops, so it's equal parts raw and electronic.

Aforementioned Industrial Rock groups like Nine Inch Nails use plenty of nasty guitar fuzz, distorted drums, white noise and found sound to create a really thick, violent sound. Not so much in recent years, but The Downward Spiral and the previous Broken EP are exceptionally noisy.

If you want to go down the more modern route, I guess you could try some aggrotech (though that fits in the industrial techno section). 80s/90s synths clashing with white noise, heavy beats and screaming vocals. Sometimes guitars get a bit of a workout too. It can be a bit cheeztastic, caught up in the whole cybergoth community, making it a bit tongue-in-cheek, but there are a few standout groups with unique flair (who also put on a kick-ass show) like Combichrist.

Strayed a bit from the original request, but it might just tickle your fancy.