While Karnage is mostly known as one of the best known figures of the Japanese dubstep scene, he’s been doing noisy experimental music for quite a while as well. His first such release was the two track cassette Death Is Above Us in 2017, but he has returned to that sound a couple of times since, including last year’s Dystopian Synthesis, the cassette/digital release out on Nocturnal Technology. But he never unleashed that darker side as much as he did here on his most recent album.

Of course even during these trips to more experimental territories, his roots in bass music clearly show and the result is an extremely bleak and dark, yet refreshing original sound, where layers and layers of brooding noise are piled upon slowly swirling and heavily distorted basslines, The album opens with a dark ambient oriented track featuring UK MC Rider Shafique (a frequent Karnage collaborator) and it sets the mood before the next track unleashes the madness. That one, Sinking Into A Spiral features the menacing whispers and screams of Michiru Yumesaki, who, under his Yumesaki moniker is responsible for some very intense noise material, reminiscent of classic Masonna releases (but with an occasional cloud rap twist!) and with moreru, he is doing mostly similar stuff, but with a full band setup and a hardcore edge. And it is very interesting to see how well his unique vocal delivery works with this kind of music, which is still noisy, but in very different way than his own.

About half of the album’s material features guest acts and some of these tunes are also amongst the highlights of the release, like the cold and mechanical Flesh Carver, an absolute banger made with Marshall Applewhite (obviously the Detroid based musician, not the long deceased suicide cult leader). Karnage also teams up with Dayzero (his usual partner-in-crime), Endon‘s Taichi Nagura (for Sanguineous Sacrilege, which returns to the sound explored in Sinking Into A Spiral and takes it one step further) and for an especially insane tune, he joins forces with US death metal band Disfiguring The Goddess and Denver-based dubstep producer Trisicloplox (who released an album a couple of years ago on Vomitspit, the label managed by Karnage and Dayzero).

The rest of the tracks range from atmospheric noise explorations (Immolation of Conflagration) and to tunes where his dubstep background clearly show (Garrotte Vil and Buried In Ice). But one of the most interesting tunes is saved for last. And unlike the previous collabs, it is not a “Karnage feat. Guest” sort of effort, but a brand new joint recreation of noise rock / hardcore band Black Ganion‘s classic tune, Method. It serves as an excellent closure to an excellent album, but also brings forth a comparison that could not be neglected anyways: that with these excursions to bass-heavy experimental music Karnage walks a similar path to Japan’s dubstep pioneer Goth-Trad. Who originally started out doing abstract noisy electronic music around 2003 before turning his attention to dubstep, but then returned to bass-heavy experimental music, working with the likes of JK Flesh, Boris and then further explored it with his Eartaker project. And Black Ganion’s first album, aptly titled First, which included the original version of Method back in 2007 also featured a remix of that track by Goth-Trad. And it is really interesting to compare their takes on this song and their releases in general and see how they take this sound to different directions despite their similar backgrounds.

Moments of Fleeting Existence is definitely the sort of music that is not for everyone and if someone comes here expecting the dubstep bangers Karnage is known for, they are definitely in for a surprise, but for anyone who is open for the dark and the experimental, this album has a lot to offer, with repeated listens uncovering whole new layers of carefully constructed incursions into the darker side of music. The album was initially only available on CD (out on Daymare Recordings, a label mostly known in the West for their Boris and Endon releases), but then the digital version hit the streaming sites and online stores later on and amongst other places, it is available from Karnage’s bandcamp.

Karnage: Moments of Fleeting Existence
2025.02.05 / Label
CD / digital
01.Dust To Dust feat. Rider Shafique
02.Sinking Into A Spiral feat. Michiru Yumesaki (moreru)
03.Buried In Ice
04.Fresh Carver feat. Marshall Applewhite
05.Damnation
06.Garrote Vil
07.Sanguineous Sacrilege feat. Taichi Nagura (ENDON)
08.Ephemeral Benediction of Existence
09.Immolation Of Conflagration
10.Terminus
11.Hymn To The Dismal World feat. Dayzero
12.Love’s Foe feat. Trisicloplox & Disfiguring The Goddess
13.Black Ganion – Method feat. Karnage (2024 Mix)