Decimation Cycle is another older Bastard Noise 7" that recently resurfaced through one of our suppliers, apparently unearthed from somewhere in the depths of Eric Wood's closet. I never had the chance to pick this up when it first came out way back in 2002 on Japanese label Utsu Tapes (run by Guilty Connector's Kohei Nakagawa), and it's been out of print from the label for years, so BN-freaks who've been hunting for this record should probably move quick if they want to get their hands on this. The two-song EP was part of an ongoing line of collaborations between Man Is The Bastard offshoot Bastard Noise and Japanese noise outfit Guilty Connector, a partnership born of a similar sonic aesthetic and attitude that has resulted in a number of recordings; this is definitely one of the more aggressive collabs that the team produced, both sides radiating some pretty vicious electronic hatred.

Each track is a roughly five minute long maelstrom of frenzied oscillator abuse and extreme electronic noise, roaring distorted static and caustic high-end skree all bleeding together into a mind-melting blast of abstract sonic violence. This definitely finds itself firmly footed in Bastard Noise's signature brand of psychedelic locust-blast electronics and lysergic effects-chaos on the first track "In The Face Of So Vast A Threat", which relentlessly scratches at your cranium with its torrent of sputtering, shrieking noise. But on the second side, the title track shifts into a much more evil sound, with Wood shrieking his horrific visions of apocalyptic extinction over a low, chirping noisescape, this creepy atmosphere punctuated with sudden blasts of extreme glitch, crazed synth squelch and waves of rumbling low-end frequencies that transform this track into a kind of toxic, monstrous power electronics.