Satanstornade

Satanstornade
Studio album by
Masami Akita & Russell Haswell
Released25 November 2002 (2002-11-25)[1]
Recorded14 June 1999
VenueThe Abbey, London, UK
GenreNoise[2]
Length47:37
LabelWarp
Masami Akita & Russell Haswell chronology
Live at the Neils Yard Rough Trade Shop London
(2000) 		Satanstornade
(2002)
Masami Akita chronology
Merzbeat
(2002) 		Satanstornade
(2002) 		Fantail
(2002)
Russell Haswell chronology
Live Salvage 1997→2000
(2001) 		Satanstornade
(2002) 		Blackest Ever Black (Electroacoustic UPIC Recordings)
(2008)

Satanstornade is an album by Japanoise musician Masami Akita (better known as Merzbow) and British multimedia artist Russell Haswell.[a] It was released by Warp Records on CD and vinyl on 25 November 2002.

Recording

Apple PowerBook G3
Apple PowerBook 1400c
Sony MDM-X4
All of the equipment used to record the album

The album was recorded on 14 June 1999 at "The Abbey, London", actually the home of Haswell's friend.[4] It was recorded two days after the recording of the duo's only other album: the digital-only Live at the Neils Yard Rough Trade Shop London,[5] released in 2000. Two Apple PowerBook laptops equipped with various software were controlled simultaneously to digitally generate sounds, which were then mixed with a Sony MDM-X4 four-track mixer and recorded onto a MiniDisc.[b]

Artwork and packaging

Note: Headphone listening at maximum volume is suggested.

— Satanstornade liner notes

The album's artwork is a photo of a store display with various knives, daggers and katanas for sale. Liner notes are written over the image with a clear varnish, which only allows the text to be read when shone under a light.[6]

The vinyl version disc has no labels; track titles are etched directly on the record between audio grooves. This results in all tracks on side B ending in locked grooves, which force the listener to manually move the stylus onto the next track after the previous one has ended. Some critics see this as an attempt to highlight the physicality and limitations of the vinyl format, especially considering the album's digital nature and comparing it against the CD version it was released alongside with.[7][6]

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Drowned in Sound[1]
Pitchfork Media5.9/10[3]
Uncut[2]

Because of Warp Record's relatively mainstream roster, Satanstornade received more attention than the expected for a noise release, which lead to publications such as Uncut[2] and NME[8] covering it. It received mixed reviews. Comic artist and music journalist Edwin Pouncey (a.k.a. Savage Pencil) of The Wire called Satanstornade an "ugly yet totally thrilling express ride to Hell and back, with the devil lurking in the detail";[9] however, Christopher Weingarten of CMJ New Music Monthly considered it to be "one of the most difficult listens since Lou Reed's Metal Machine Music".[10]

Track listing

CD version (WARPCD666)

No.TitleLength
1."Fend Off Your Miserable Grief"3:00
2."Unlock the Mysteries of the Sun"17:23
3."Track 5"13:50
4."Testicular Fortitute"13:24
Total length:47:37

Vinyl version (WARPLP666)

Side A
No.TitleLength
1."Unlock the Mysteries of the Sun" 
Side B
No.TitleLength
2."Fend Off Your Miserable Grief" 
3."Testicular Fortitude" (edit) 
4."Track 5" (edit) 

All tracks on side B end in locked grooves.

Personnel

Masami Akita (top) and Russell Haswell (bottom)

Satanstornade

Technical personnel

  • Oswald Berthold – MiniDisc transfer
  • Russell Haswell – pre-mastering, editing
  • Denis Blackham – digital mastering
  • Rashad Becker – vinyl mastering

Notes

  1. ^ Although the album is widely credited to Akita and Haswell's real names,[1][3] their previous online-exclusive release Live at the Neils Yard Rough Trade Shop London (Falsch, 2000) and other miscellaneous appearances on compilations credit the duo as Satanstornade or Satan's Tornade. The project was originally supposed to be Satan's Tornado, but it was misspelled by Akita and Haswell decided to keep the misspelling.[4]
  2. ^ The liner notes only specify the mixer as a "MD Sony four-track", but the MDM-X4 is the only four-track MiniDisc-based mixer Sony ever released.

References

Citations

  1. ^ a b c Anonymous, Adam. "Review: Satanstornade – Masami Akita & Russell Haswell". Drowned in Sound. Archived from the original on 25 December 2002.
  2. ^ a b c "Masami Akita & Russell Haswell –Satanstornade". Reviews. Uncut. January 2003. Retrieved 5 November 2025.
  3. ^ a b Shannon, Kim Fing (7 February 2003). "Masami Akita/Russell Haswell: Satanstornade: Pitchfork Review". Pitchfork Media. Archived from the original on 19 February 2003.
  4. ^ a b Bächer, Hanna (27 August 2015). "Noise Artist Russell Haswell Breaks Down his Many Projects". Red Bull Music Academy Daily. Red Bull Music Academy. Retrieved 13 December 2025.
  5. ^ "Live at the Neils Yard Rough Trade Shop London". Falsch. Archived from the original on 20 June 2000.
  6. ^ a b Hainge 2007.
  7. ^ Hegarty 2007, p. 159.
  8. ^ Segal, V. (23 November 2002). "Masami Akita & Russell Haswell – Satanstornade". Reviews. NME.
  9. ^ Pouncey, Edwin (January 2003). "Masami Akita & Russell Haswell – Satanstornade". Reviews. The Wire. No. 227. p. 61.
  10. ^ Weingarten, Christopher R. (December 2002). "Weird Record: Throwin' Them (Merz) Bows". CMJ New Music Monthly. No. 108. p. 10. Retrieved 6 November 2025 – via Google Books.

Bibliography

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