2025 Edition. 100 copies only! In collaboration with Wax Mage, Aurora Central brings you the definitive edition of Merzbow's groundbreaking album Merzbeat. Every copy features an incredibly beautiful hand-poured colored vinyl - each one unique - housed in an archival style sleeve and gatefold jacket, plus two inserts reproducing paintings by Masami Akita created around the time of the album's recording. Remastered by Masami Akita at Munemihouse, Tokyo 2021.

Originally released in 2002 on Important Records, Merzbeat stands apart in Merzbow's monumental discography. Recorded and mixed at Akita's Bedroom studio in Takinogawa between 2001-2002, this is beat-oriented Merzbow at its most hypnotic and visceral - tracks you could almost hum along to, if humming weren't drowned out by the sheer sonic force on display. Here Akita playfully dissects drum-infected dance beats, slicing them wide open with sampled swathes of razor-sharp guitar riffing.

The title itself - a sly nod to the British Merseybeat sound - hints at the rhythmic foundations underpinning the chaos. Five tracks of relentless forward motion: from the opening assault of "Promotion Man" through the sprawling psychedelia of "Forgotten Land" and "Shadow Barbarian," to the closing bliss of "Looping Jane." The album's cover - featuring Minazo, a male elephant seal from Enoshima Aquarium - signals Akita's deepening passion for the animal kingdom that would define much of his 2000s output.

Merzbeat marked a pivotal moment in Akita's evolution: a masterpiece that channels the raw punk energy of his analog roots while embracing digital possibilities. The noise factor is omnipresent, but rather than bludgeoning the listener with computerized power tools, Akita crafts something almost danceable - an upbeat, rhythm-driven assault that still manages to push boundaries. This is Merzbow at his most accessible yet uncompromising - a beautiful and distorted dream of drum samples, noise and pure sonic transcendence.