K.K. Null is a living legend in Japan, and approaching that status elsewhere. He started out playing punk noise in the early 80s (akin to early Boredoms), but found his first run of fame with the alt-prog trio YBO2, a group that also gave an early limelight to Ruins leader Tatsuya Yoshida and SSE labelhead Kitamura Masashi. However, as a guitarist, vocalist and electronic musician, Null very quickly learned to multitask, often playing in two or three projects simultaneously. In addition to dozens of solo recordings (working with Western luminaries such as Steve Albini, Jim O'Rourke, John Zorn and Fred Frith, and Japanese artists such as Merzbow, Otomo Yoshihide and Seiichi Yamamoto), he's been associated with almost as many bands as a member (the aforementioned YBO2, Zeni Geva, A.N.P., the Hanatarash, Terminal Hz) or producer (Melt Banana, Lewd). Now he's the head of his own label, Nux, and to cover that important indie credibility issue he's also toured in support of Sonic Youth.
Similar to his former bandmate, Yoshida, Null works so frequently and with so many people, you might wonder if he hasn't occasionally spread himself a little thin. Also like Yoshida, he tends to compartmentalize his projects; that is, he works with O'Rourke, Frith or Merzbow to record live guitar improvisations, goes it alone for his electronic releases, or plays with his rock trio Zeni Geva when he wants to get a little heavy. This might explain why his releases maintain such a consistent level of interest and creativity-- when focusing on one thing at a time, but over several brainstorming sessions each year, Null's discography has come out looking as far-reaching and convoluted as, well, those of O'Rourke, Zorn and Albini.
Zeni Geva has been active since 1987 from Tokyo (though he toured with American thrash and grindcore bands such as the Melvins and Pain Teens very early in their careers), and is Null's answer to grindcore and the eternally heavy. Although a pessimistic, intensely dark mood pervades just about all the band's music, they balance it with super-rock along the lines of mid-70s King Crimson and a love of extremities. Think prog as S&M; accessory, and you're in the ballpark.
10,000 Light Years, the band's 12th album, begins with the title track, and the group's modus operandi of all things loud, tricky and black doesn't appear to have changed much. The music isn't less complex than like-minded American bands like Don Caballero or Boud Deun, but it's infinitely more monstrous-- mostly due to Null's overdrive guitar and Steve Albini's ever-raucous mix tendencies. This tune leads to "Implosion," featuring Null's horror-house, death-metal vocal stylings. Most people might dismiss this stuff as overly complicated Pantera-lite, especially if they aren't familiar with Null's more experimental work. Truthfully, I don't see a big difference between this and your workaday death metal act, but perhaps it's all part of the concept.
"Interzona 2" (a revision of "Interzona," from their Freedom Bondage album) makes some of the album's most effective use of dynamics, and not coincidentally makes the best case for this music being more than death metal. The riffs are all still there, and while the overall feeling of claustrophobic doom prevails, after close to 15 years of making records, the band knows how to channel their power. "Last Nanosecond" travels along similar routes, but adds a tad more dexterity to the mix, with ostinato basslines and muted guitar figures helping to bring the distant, inevitable frenzy to a boil. New drummer Masataka Fujikake gets heavy props here (and throughout the album) for being precise where a thud would've sufficed. And though thrash drum kingpins like Dave Lombardo and Mick Harris may be the archetypes for this style, he has the drill down.
There are four more songs on this album. I'd love to tell you how they complimented the heavy metallic discourse already presented, but that would be misleading. See, my only complaint with albums like this is that they can tend to be a tad monolithic. Yes, all of the tunes rock and most of them even manage to keep the technical musician inside of me happy, listening to the manic, elephant-footed drumming and Null's riffs from hell. But these tracks all sound a little similar to my ears. While that works for some of his projects (the excellent New Kind of Water with O'Rourke being a prime example), it gets pretty mind-numbing here. Null has a history of changing directions and playing music you wouldn't have expected him to play, but for now, only those about to rock need apply.
