NAKED CITY

Non-Metal / Metal Related / Grindcore / Drone Metal / Avant-garde Metal • United States
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Naked City was formed in 1988 by NYC Downtown sax player John Zorn as a vehicle to explore the boundaries of compositional & improvisational music with a traditional rock set up. Joining him in this endeavor was Fred Frith (Henry Cow, Massacre), Bill Frisell, Wayne Horvitz, Joey Baron, & occasionally Yamatsuka Eye (Boredoms) & Mike Patton (Mr. Bungle), the latter only contributing for live performances during the Grand Guignol & reunion eras.

Naked City released their self-titled debut on Elektra Nonesuch Records in 1989 which featured a photo of a dead gangster borrowed from Weegee's book Naked City. After running into trouble with Elektra on account of the controversial S&M bondage pictures Zorn intended to use as the cover for their sophomore effort Torture Garden, Zorn turned to Shimmy Disc & his own labels Tzadik & Avant to harbor Naked City.

Naked City continued to be prolific up until 1993 when Zorn
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Thanks to triceratopsoil for the addition and xaxaar, adg211288 for the updates

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NAKED CITY Discography

NAKED CITY albums / top albums

NAKED CITY Torture Garden album cover 3.58 | 6 ratings
Torture Garden
Grindcore 1989
NAKED CITY Grand Guignol album cover 1.71 | 8 ratings
Grand Guignol
Avant-garde Metal 1992
NAKED CITY Leng Tch'e album cover 4.00 | 7 ratings
Leng Tch'e
Drone Metal 1992
NAKED CITY Heretic album cover 2.62 | 4 ratings
Heretic
Non-Metal 1992
NAKED CITY Radio album cover 3.00 | 5 ratings
Radio
Metal Related 1993
NAKED CITY Absinthe album cover 2.70 | 5 ratings
Absinthe
Non-Metal 1993

NAKED CITY EPs & splits

NAKED CITY live albums

NAKED CITY Naked City Live, Vol. 1: The Knitting Factory album cover 0.00 | 0 ratings
Naked City Live, Vol. 1: The Knitting Factory
Metal Related 2002

NAKED CITY demos, promos, fans club and other releases (no bootlegs)

NAKED CITY re-issues & compilations

NAKED CITY Black Box album cover 0.00 | 0 ratings
Black Box
Grindcore 1997
NAKED CITY Naked City: The Complete Studio Recordings album cover 0.00 | 0 ratings
Naked City: The Complete Studio Recordings
Grindcore 2005

NAKED CITY singles (0)

NAKED CITY movies (DVD, Blu-Ray or VHS)

NAKED CITY Reviews

NAKED CITY Grand Guignol

Album · 1992 · Avant-garde Metal
Cover art Buy this album from MMA partners
SilentScream213
An interesting development in the discography of the mad maniac John Zorn. While the previous Naked City albums were pure Avant-Garde Jazz and Grindcore, this one has a healthy dose of Classical and Ambient sensibilities. Of course, these are all created with the same ensemble of instruments as far as I can tell, so it’s usually a dissonant hum, but certainly interesting to hear this group cover composers such as Debussy.

The rest is classic Naked City, and I’m not sure giving this the Avant-Garde Metal title is truly deserved. It’s a bizarre affair, that’s for sure, but as most tracks are short, different elements are usually kept separate as opposed to woven together, making this a very eclectic collection of songs rather than a unique genre that ties them all together.

If you like John Zorn’s mad rambling music, you’ll surely like this. If not, you might appreciate some of the Classical stuff, so it’s worth a shot.

NAKED CITY Leng Tch'e

Album · 1992 · Drone Metal
Cover art Buy this album from MMA partners
renkls
Painful, abrasive stuff here. A musical companion to the torture by a thousand knives that is a notorious blemish on Chinese history, and the pain that Naked City associates with it in this 'song' is extreme. Beginning as a drone doom piece that evolves with some dynamic drum work, with feedback driven guitar and bass lines - which run through the whole 31 minute piece, then leading at its exact middle point to screams, of pain and agony, which depending on how solid your appreciations for avant-grade are, are either in a league of their own, or the reason to turn the song off right then and there and abandon the CD to the dusty corner. It's first and foremost an endurance test, which for some, myself partially included makes it lose some of its potential. It's also quite a simplistic idea, and indeed if it had been any longer I doubt I would treat it with the positivity I do. But be warned, it is not enjoyable, but it is original. So if you're looking for something extreme that you don't intend to play often, but occasionally will indulge in the challenge, this may be for you. If not, stay away.

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