An astounding collection from this master of surrealist noise-garble and sonic acid-fuck. Government Alpha's Yasutoshi Yoshida has been at the forefront of the Japanese noise underground since the mid 90s, producing highly aggressive sonic chaos with the intensity of the loudest metal band. This colossal collection consists of four Cds that gather a massive amount of recorded work from the 90s, each disc housed in an individual full-color glossy cardstock sleeve and accompanied by a thick 24 page booklet printed in full color on heavy glossy stock; the booklet features liner notes written by Tommy Carlsson (owner of the Segerhuva label) and Yasutoshi Yoshida as well as reproductions of a bunch of Yoshida's eye-scorching collage art and covers for the various releases, and its all presented in a chunky full-color box with metallic foil stamping.

The Quickening disc features some of Government Alpha's crudest noise/sound experiments, a mix of unreleased recordings and tracks taken from the Programmed Cell Death, Missing , The Human Race Was Restored To Repeatedly, Doze, Sloping Shoulders, R=L and Funeral Procession cassettes. This stuff ranges from 1993 through 1995 and includes various percussive noise experiments, hallucinatory abstract soundscapes, bits of destroyed, Hendrixian guitar-skuzz rippling over oceans of murky ambient netherworlds, blasts of noise and synth forged into bludgeoning hypnotic rhythms, chaotic rackets of electronics and pedals that simulate the sound of large spacecraft crashing into the earth's surface, disturbing field recordings, bizarre and monstrous attempts at power electronics-style rant n' screech, and some heavy-duty junknoise annihilation that appears towards the end of the disc. Some of these tracks are surprisingly pretty and dreamlike, but just as you'll be lulled by one of those dreamier noisescapes, Yoshida will whip out some brutal feedback / scrapmetal abuse. Most of this material is pretty short, delivered in two-toi-three minute tracks, but they glom together as a mesmerizing destruction-symphony.

The material makes a sudden jump in extremity on the second disc, titled Sprout. Again presenting a mix of unreleased material and tracks from the Erratic, The Maternity Music , The Garden Of Eternity , Needle Freak and Pulse cassettes along with the Ephemeral Warmth and Distorted Sprouts Cdrs, this is a harsher, more violent din of extreme noise-collage and feedback assault. Working with lengthier tracks that attack the listener with blasting harsh noise/junk noise, awesome tidal waves of filthy garbled cassette-vomit and crushing distortion, and savage amplifier/microphone abuse while working these around his often nightmarish sample collages and field recordings, Yoshida unleashes a maelstrom of noise every bit the equal of what Merzbow, K2, MSBR and Masonna were doing at the time. Supreme chaos and violence, with only brief interludes of calm amid the destruction as G. Alpha bores deep, wide holes directly into your brain.

Disc three (titled Chaos)further develops the harsher, more extreme noise-aesthetics of Yoshida's late-90s output, collecting the material from the Bloody Slumber Party, Q, Carbonic Acid, Snakes And Ladders and Calm Sigh cassettes as well as the Drowsy Eclipse 12" lathe that was released by Harbinger Sound. Pretty much picks up right where the previous disc left off, continuing to assault the listener with ultra-violent blasts of junk noise, extreme feedback, distortion, static, chopped up samples and severe Moog-abuse. As intense and damaging as anything I;ve ever heard from the Japanese noise underground, and pretty goddamn mandatory for fans of this era of underground skull-fuck.

The fourth disc Diffusion has what is in my mind the best Government Alpha stuff. Spanning 1998 through 1999, these tracks frequently deliver a more focused and composed harsh noise attack that, while still as brutal as any of his previous stuff, is more atmospheric and dynamic, with tracks like "Depressing Sun" and "Thrombosis" allowing violent rhythmic elements to invade the piercing noise. The abrasion, the damage feels much more deliberate, more centralized when you're listening to these later recordings. This stuff comes from the 1969/1999 and Waning Shadow tapes, the splits with Knurl, Moz, Comforter, Praying For Oblivion, Bardo Connector and Prurient, and the Death Techno 2000 Cdr that American Tapes out in '99; this last track stands out for it's heavy use of percussive samples and cut-and-paste rhythmic chaos, which almost starts to sound like some crazed improv / noisecore freakout.

An absolutely essential collection for fans of Government Alpha's monstrous industrial psychedelia. Released in a limited edition of 500 copies.