Japan is no stranger to innovation and expanding the boundaries of all forms of art and society, but when I first heard Final Exit my brain melted. After listening to Seasons are Going and Going I pictured the members smoking meth and creating the schematics for something as insane as the Final Exit formula. Picture the Beach Boys fused with Noisecore legends Deche-Charge, most people would not know what to think of this but the two mix surprisingly well.
The record is 12 tracks long, forming into an 11 minute long full length. Some people will question if this is even long enough, mind you Amber Grey was just under 12 minutes long and that album was amazing. The album focuses on the concept of change and progression, each song named after a month making up an entire year, 12 songs = 12 months. Although the message and album concept is very deep, the music itself is sporadic, unpredictable, maniacal mayhem. There will be moments of random noise that can transition into a grooving riff and then suddenly skip to soft, clean picking. The guitar is undoubtedly the standout instrument on this album, whether its the surf riffs or extremely downtuned chugs, its sure to cause wretched bowel movement. The drums are pretty neat and nicely recorded as well, adding lots of cymbal variety into this beach noise mix. As for vocals, what can I say, he's either screaming like a homicidal maniac or attempting to sing but either way its awesome. Everything just sort of blends together magically and this is purely addicting, I loved every minute of it. A very good thing to bring up is that this band is not harsh noise, so if you're looking to get your feet wet in the Noise genres or just want some goofy, harsh, fun noisecore this is the band for you. Regardless of music taste or preference I think this band has something for everyone into extreme music and if you like this album, their large amount of various splits and compilations are definitely worth checking out. However, there is a Swedish Hardcore band that also goes by the name of Final Exit and they suck, so be wary if searching for downloads. Noise, not music.