Hanatarash

The Japanese unit Hanatarash were notorious for abrasive, weird music and violently industrial concerts. Prior to founding the Boredoms, Yamatsuka Eye indulged his abrasive, experimental side with this noise troupe. The venture was based in extremism, and tracks were often produced using such noisemakers as power tools, heavy construction equipment, turntable deconstruction, and tape manipulation. The song titles were often explicitly sexual or scatological. The project also resulted in live albums that are rife with machine-shop discord and shattering glass. The group's concerts have become clouded in legend due to Yamatsuka's exploits; in fact, he once sustained a serious leg injury from some equipment used in an on-stage set up. There is also photographic evidence of a legendary show in which Yamatsuka drove a small bulldozer into the performance space and proceeding to wreak havoc on the place, fortunately with audience members appearing to keep their distance. The group debuted with the album 'Hanatarashi' in 1985, following it with '2' (in 1987) and '3' (in 1989). A couple of live albums (which are confusing, one-dimensional documents of the intense, warlike atmosphere that must have culminated on-stage) came out in the '90s. [SOURCE: ALLMUSIC]