artist: Cracksteel title: Look Homeward, Angel: Cracksteel Chronicle 1994-2008 Volume 2 format: CD-R label: Chi Omega Institute Cracksteel: http://www.myspace.com/kingdomofmusicalaccidents Chi Omega Institute: http://blog.livedoor.jp/chi_omega_institute/ review: J. Hamilton

Kazuhiro Matsuyama has been recording as Cracksteel for quite a few years now. This CDr, the second volume (if the cover is to be believed - references to volume 1 seem a little thin on the ground) of what appears to be a career retrospective, announces itself as Cracksteel Chronicle 1994-2008, which is somewhat misleading as the pieces included are all 1994-96. Taken from three cassette releases, the music here reminds somewhat of Merzbow in the late 80's-early 90's, though not of the same calibre - harsh but muddy collage of sounds, abused metal, electronic modulations, the usual. While there is a certain dynamism here and there, the overall effect is quite numbing after awhile, and there really isn't much variation to be found outside the quiet feedback intro of 'Greed' and the much starker 'Crustacean Speedster'. Of course, these are early recordings, probably reissued more for historical than musical value, but overall there's not much that makes this stand out from many other similarly-minded artists of the period. For Cracksteel completists only.