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Extreme Noise Terror

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Extreme noise terror

"ENT [Extreme Noise Terror] were amazing. So were their fans. Any track more than 20 seconds long was greeted with derisive cries of "too long, too slow" or "fucking prog-rockers" from the faithful, most of whom looked as though they had but recently risen from shallow graves alongside the A12, the arterial road that runs from London to Ipswich. The only disappointment for Sheila, William and me was that the band weren't loud enough. We wanted to leave the show with blood trickling from our ears." (John Peel, Introduction to 'Choosing Death - The Improbable History of Death Metal and Grindcore' by Albert Mudrian (Feral House, paperback). Reprinted Loud And Proud, Guardian Unlimited, 2004-12-12.)

Extreme Noise Terror were formed in Ipswich in 1985, and as a band local to the area were vigorously supported by John. Along with William and Sheila, he was a regular attendee of the gigs they played with Napalm Death at the Caribbean Centre in Ipswich,[1] following a recommendation from the Stupids. They are often credited with turning crust punk into grindcore, but guitarist Pete Hurley disliked the term and stated that they were a hardcore punk band first and foremost. [2]

Suffolk_Comforts_-_John_Peel_about_Extreme_Noise_Terror

Suffolk Comforts - John Peel about Extreme Noise Terror

"Their songs are brief, ear-splitting, played at a desperately fast pace and characterised by the use of two vocalists." Peel wrote about them in the Observer, "Extreme Noise Terror play so fast and with such fury that I found myself turning to Revelation (sic) for suitable comparisons." ('Extreme Noise Terror,' 05 June 1988. Reprinted in Olivetti Chronicles, pp.113-5, Corgi edition.)

During the second Peel Session, they recruited former Napalm Death drummer Mick Harris, although he left soon afterwards and was replaced by Tony "Stick" Dickens from Doom. On their return from Japan in 1990, they were invited to record a third Peel session, and vocalist Dean Jones gave Peel a clutch of records he had purchased there. Dean also visited Peel Acres and later sang with Raw Noise.

The original second vocalist Phil Vane died in his sleep in 2011.

3 A.M. Eternal[]

The_KLF_vs._Extreme_Noise_Terror_-_3AM_Eternal

The KLF vs. Extreme Noise Terror - 3AM Eternal

KLF vs Extreme Noise Terror at the Brits, 12 February 1992.

Towards the end of 1991, Bill Drummond of KLF heard ENT on the Peel show (when he was having a bath, apparently) and decided to approach them with the idea of a collaboration, having first considered Motörhead. The result was a fast, brutal version of KLF's techno anthem 3 A.M. Eternal, the premiere of which was intended for the Top Of The Pops Christmas special, but the BBC bailed out, considering the song unsuitable for daytime TV: consequently, KLF boycotted the show for the remainder of their career. The song saw a limited release on their own KLF Communications label, but, despite Peel's dedicated support of it (including a competition to win copies), it failed to chart. The two bands worked together on The Black Room, but all recordings of the sessions were deleted when KLF broke up.

The song had one last memorable hurrah, however. KLF won the Best British Group award at the Brits (ironically, jointly with Simply Red), and were booked to open the show. ENT performed 3 A.M. Eternal with Bill Drummond (who was suffering from a broken leg) and he closed the act by spraying the audience with blank machine gun bullets. Their publicist / announcer Scott Piering stated, "Ladies and gentlemen, the KLF have now left the music business" (despite the fact that conductor Sir Georg Solti walked out of the show in disgust, Billy Bragg can be seen in the audience applauding enthusiastically). This was indeed the end of KLF. 3 A.M. Eternal made the 1992 Festive Fifty (see below), and was simultaneously the only entry for ENT, the KLF and extreme music as a whole.

Festive Fifty Entries[]

Sessions[]

  • The band recorded four sessions for Peel's show, the last two being separated by a considerable gap (11 years). All except #4 available on Grind Madness At The BBC (Earache).

1. Recorded: 1987-11-10. First broadcast: 17 November 1987. Repeated: 02 December 1987, 29 December 1987.

  • False Profit / Another Nail In the Coffin / Use Your Mind / Carry On Screaming / Human Error / Conned Through Life / Only In It For The Music Part 2

2. Recorded: 1988-05-01. First broadcast: 11 May 1988. Repeated: 06 June 1988, 15 August 1988.

  • Murder / Take The Strain / No Threat / Show Us You Care / Propaganda / System Enslavement / Only In It For The Music Part 3 [3]

3. Recorded: 1990-02-06. First broadcast: 08 March 1990. Repeated: 03 May 1990.

  • Work For Never / Subliminal Music (Mind Control) / People Not Profit / Punk Fact Or Fiction / I Am A Bloody Fool [4], In It For Life / Deceived / Shock Treatment

4. Recorded: 2001-02-28. First broadcast: 27 March 2001. No repeats. No known commercial release.

  • When Gods Burn / Awakening / Screaming Bloody Murder / Being And Nothing / One Truth One Hate / No Longer As Slaves [5]

Other Shows Played[]

(The following list was compiled only from the database of this site and Lorcan's Tracklistings Archive. Please add more information if known.)

1986
1987
  • 04 May 1987: Only In It For The Music (shared LP with Chaos U.K. - Earslaughter) Manic Ears
  • 15 May 1987 (Radio Bremen): Only In It For The Music (shared album with Chaos UK - Earslaughter) Manic Ears
  • 23 November 1987: No Threat (shared LP with Chaos U.K. - Earslaughter) Manic Ears
  • 30 November 1987: False Profit (shared LP with Chaos U.K. - Earslaughter) Manic Ears
1988
1989
1990
  • 17 January 1990: Subliminal Music (Mind Control) (album - The Peel Sessions '87 - '90) Strange Fruit
  • 25 January 1990: Punk: Fact Or Faction? (shared album with Filthkick - In It For Life) Sink Below
  • 26 April 1990: In It For Life (shared LP with Filthkick - In It For Life) Sink Below
  • 23 August 1990: 'Work For Never (LP-Peel Sessions)' (Strange Fruit)
  • 07 September 1990 (BFBS): Work For Never (shared LP with Filthkick - In It For Life) Sink Below
  • 13 September 1990: Punk: Fact Or Faction? (LP - The Peel Sessions '87 - '90) Strange Fruit
  • 14 September 1990 (BFBS): Subliminal Music (Mind Control) (LP - The Peel Sessions '87 - '90) Strange Fruit
  • 28 September 1990 (BFBS): Punk: Fact Or Faction? (LP - The Peel Sessions '87 - '90) Strange Fruit
  • 15 December 1990: Shock Treatment (v/a LP - Hardcore Holocaust II) Strange Fruit
1991
(JP: 'Ipswich should be proud of them. We should be proud to have them live amongst us, as a matter of fact. That's Extreme Noise Terror, and nobody does it better, they really don’t.')
1992
  • 03 January 1992 (BFBS): Just Think About It (12" EP - Phonophobia) Vinyl Japan DISC 1T
  • 04 January 1992: '3 A.M. Eternal' (private cassette)
(JP: 'It seems about 3 or 4 weeks ago Bill Drummond was listening to this programme, in his bath it was the way it was told to me, and he heard me playing a track by Extreme Noise Terror, and he had the idea of getting them to work with him and the KLF, to rerecord 3AM Eternal for the Christmas Top Of The Pops. Now if you watched the Christmas Top Of The Pops, you'll know that this actually never got shown, but I was sent an acetate of it, which disappeared into the internal Radio 1 Christmas post, and has not as yet resurfaced. So this afternoon before the match at Portman Road I met up with Dean from Extreme Noise Terror and he gave me his tape of it.')
(JP:"A great moment. Only 2 minutes and 45 seconds of it, but it was excellent stuff.")
1994
  • 05 March 1994 (BFBS): Another Nail In The Coffin
  • 18 June 1994: 'False Profit (12"-Peel Sessions)' (Strange Fruit)
1995
1997
1999
2001
Other

See Also[]

External Links[]

Footnotes
  1. ↑ See Margrave Of The Marshes, p.390-1 (Corgi) and 30 May 1988 where he refers to them as a "new force in nature".
  2. ↑ Glasper, 2009, 279.
  3. ↑ This track was omitted from the listing in the Peel Sessions.
  4. ↑ Unusually for the band, a cover version, of the Cockney Rejects' I Am Not A Fool."
  5. ↑ Ken Garner's The Peel Sessions (p.281) lists this as No Lomger As Sleeves.
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