THE ELECTRIC BIBLE | CHAPTER 283

Like Sweden, Japan gave birth to a rabid hardcore anarcho-punk scene, directly inspired by Discharge and other UK bands, in the mid-80s. Amongst the wildest Japanese hardcore bands such as GISM, Ikkashinju, LSD, Bitousha, or Gudon, Osaka’s death-punk extremists Zouo stand out for their one and only 7-inch release, The Final Agony. Perhaps the first example of Satanic hardcore, this 4-track, 16-minute offering utilizes basement-level production to present a noise from Hell, with each track driven grotesquely mangled guitar tones and overlaid with deranged solos and nightmarish vocals drenched in unholy reverb. Although the record’s sleeve mainly features standard anarcho-punk imagery of genocide, the front cover and song lyrics are devoted to occult imagery, underlying Zouo’s revolutionary position at the uncharted intersection of punk and metal; those seeking the roots of black metal should not overlook The Final Agony, a truly aberrant scream of demonic destruction.