High Rise

A name that says it all

The name Psychedelic Speed Freaks was extraordinarily descriptive for the Japanese musical project led by bassist and singer Asahito Nanjo and guitarist Munehiro Narita. Music that is certainly psychedelic, in its heaviest and most spaced-out sense, but also fast and unhinged. The band was formed in Tokyo in 1982 and was heavily influenced by Anglo-American music of the Sixties and Seventies: Pink Floyd, Blue Cheer, Hawkwind, Grand Funk Railroad, Stooges, Mc5 and Jimi Hendrix. But punk, free improvisation and noise-rock also entered their formula, almost naturally and organically: deafening volumes, explosive jams and expressive urgency to make the final result even more powerful. But Psychedelic Speed Freaks would go down in history as the name of a cult label run by Hideo Ikeezumi, whose impact on the Japanese scene is partly summed up in the splendid compilations "Tokyo Flashback P.S.F. – Psychedelic Speed Freaks" (2017), and for an official debut something different was needed, if only to avoid confusion. The name would still be used by Asahito Nanjo and Munehiro Narita for a brief live release in 1984, a disorienting noise-rock whirlpool.

Psychedelic noise-rock against drugs

For their second album, Nanjo and Narita changed their name to High Rise, taking inspiration from J. G. Ballard's 1975 novel of the same name, published in Italy as "Il condominio" or "Condominium". The title would simply be "II", even though there wasn't actually a first album credited to the band: it's that touch of chaos that runs through much of Japanese psychedelic discography. The drummer also changed, with the arrival of Yuro Ujiie. His role in the album's sound is at once marginal and essential: buried in the thunderous mix, he still gives the tracks direction and lets the other two musicians' interplay and explosions stand out. His groove is an essential point of reference that never becomes the star, a place left to the bass and above all the guitar. There are six tracks, making up a ferocious, intoxicating assault, often teetering on the edge of total derailment. A later reissue added two bonus tracks that somewhat dilute the record's impact, and which we won't be considering here.

In just 53 seconds, "Cycle Goddess" sets the powder alight: a whirlwind of drums, an acidic guitar towering above, and a bass driving everyone into a frenzied sprint. It's a great introduction to how the whole album will sound, and with "Turn You Cry" it more clearly defines a noisy rock at harmful volumes, curiously topped by a melodic vocal made even sweeter by a gentle reverb. Whenever there's a chance, though, the guitar sets the arrangement ablaze with frenzied solos. It's an extremely distorted bass, instead, that introduces "Cotton Top", another showcase for Narita, with the most biting, aggressive vocal yet.

A machine-gun burst of drums sets off "Last Rites", a terrifying, totally instrumental rock'n'roll at insane speed. In the relentless assault of "II", the last two tracks still deserve a place of honor: "Wipe Out" is perhaps the most memorable, in the sense that its riff has the simplicity and power that define heavy classics, and above all Narita's noise digressions are worthy of someone possessed by the electric guitar; "Pop Sicle", at 13 minutes, is instead the classic "grand finale", a long boogie that explodes like "Sister Ray", pushing the volume to the extreme while the vocal calmly, hypnotically intones its melody.

This deafening rock bonfire ends in just 29 and a half minutes, its brevity offset by its intensity. The fact that the lyrics seem to send out anti-drug messages, and are essentially incomprehensible because they're buried in the arrangement, adds something magnificently unexpected to the whole thing.

Other acid visions: the following albums and a devastating live release

The following studio album “Dispersion” (1992) contains Narita's show piece “Sadduccess Faith” (15 minutes), but also the more docile “Sanctuary” and the more choral “Mainliner” (ten and a half minutes), with its obsessive bass line. Slowing down on “Eucharist”, they reveal a link to Black Sabbath and their offspring that wasn't easy to spot on “II”. These are the nuances that make their music more complex: while the previous album sounded like a deafening acid assault, this one closes with a schizophrenic trip like “Deuteronomy” (13 minutes), half lulling melody and half guitar explosion at impossible volume. Still, it lacks the impact, the raw power and the unstoppable energy of “II”. To find that again, you have to turn to the live recordings instead, above all the impressive heavy-psych agglomeration of “Live” (1994), probably one of the most powerful examples of ultra-rock'n'roll ever recorded. It closes, of course, with an apocalyptic version of “Pop Sicle”.

After the archival recoveries “Acid Vision” and “Play Gaseneta”, “Disallow” would follow (all three in 1996). It's yet another occasion for orgiastic rock explosions like “Whirl” or “Ikon”, but it's a relatively more restrained album, though still frighteningly heavy, closing with a “Grab” that recalls the experiments of Keiji Haino combined with Peter Brötzmann's “Machine Gun”: noise and free jazz.

Among other releases, including numerous live albums, the story of High Rise virtually comes to an end in 1998 with “Desperado”, a minor studio album, with jazz detours, for instance on “Effing”, which by now retains little of the energy of that “II”, which stood as one of the peaks of the most deafening psychedelic rock. That unstoppable style would then be carried forward into the new millennium by other bands fond of harmful volumes and overwhelming improvisation, first and foremost their fellow countrymen Acid Mothers Temple and Boris, but also the American Comets On Fire.

Ride the wave of great music

Add OndaRock to your favorite sources on Google Discover. Don't miss our reviews, milestones and latest news straight in your feed.

Follow on Google

06/04/2026