It's easy to see why many listeners would be confused and bothered, at first listen by Black Dice's first release on Troubleman Unlimited. The majority of the tracks on this album are very short and run together into what may seem like the sounds of a hardcore band warming up or having trouble getting a song started. In actuality, this is the sound of a band finding its footing, but not in terms of trying to get something right; in fact, they are getting something right. On their earlier 7" releases, Black Dice blended Gravity-style hardcore (not hard to imagine, since their first release was on Gravity) with an over-the-top extremity reminiscent of former D.C. terrorists Void. These tracks are brutal and hit hard like bricks pelting the skull, but they sound somewhat derivative at times and don't move much past a lot of pre-established notions. Here, Black Dice are discovering themselves and setting out on their own unique direction, one informed not only by violent hardcore of the past but also by the stylings and sentiments of some of the other bands that have crept out of the Providence, RI scene, like Lightning Bolt, Mindflayer, Arab on Radar, and Mr. Brinkman, as well as Japanese noise artists, no wave, and other varied forms of abstract music. It's almost as if they're deconstructing hardcore; if not philosophically, at the very least, they're blasting it to pieces on a sonic level. Most of the album moves in fits and starts, punctuated by extremely brief moments of clarity before everything falls apart again. Squawking, overdriven vocals, broken jackhammer beats, guitars alternating between piercing and thudding, peppered with agro-noise effects that would make Throbbing Gristle proud. One can almost imagine the band literally at war with itself, or preparing for war with itself for sure. The last three pieces evoke more of the earlier Black Dice motifs of crushingly powerful hardcore, although one, which, clocking in at nearly four-and-a-half minutes, is easily the longest track on the album, degenerates into a numbing, tweaked-out drone reminiscent of Lou Reed's Metal Machine Music. Although not as striking as the rest of the pieces on the album, these last three pieces are no less brutal or punishing than the rest of the album. It's all part of a whole, so to speak, evidence of growth from a band that seems to be groping for something beyond its own collective history or knowledge and here establishes itself as one of the forerunners a new breed of noise rockers aiming for art and not perfection or acceptance. This is ugly, difficult music that dares you to come up with some idiom or category to describe it, the sound of American noise -- analog, organic, alive. ~ Josh Eppert, All Music Guide
Hailed as sonic groundbreakers or derided as alienating and pretentious, Brooklyn's Black Dice push the limits of hardcore and noise rock. Taking their cues from Melt Banana, Merzbow, and Harry Pussy, Black Dice fixate on a few notes per "song" and focus on producing a sound that's as abrasive and distorted as possible. The group debuted in early 1998 with a single on Gravity Records and released Semen of the Sun on Tapes Records. They then appeared on Troubleman Unlimited's Mix-Tape and were picked up by Troubleman, run by Unwound. Black Dice released its debut full-length in 2000, followed by a split with Erase Errata and Cold Hands in 2001. The following year Black Dice abandoned their rock leanings and embraced the electronics that had previously peppered their avant hardcore approach. They moved to the DFA label for their 2002 album, Beaches & Canyons. A vinyl only collaboration with Wolf Eyes came out in 2003 on the Fusetron label. That same year DFA also released the almost dancefloor friendly Cone Toaster 12" and followed it in 2004 with an EP, Miles of Smiles, and another album, Creature Comforts. ~ Ron DePasquale, All Music Guide
Black Dice formed in spring 1997 soon after guitarist Bjorn Copeland met drummer Hisham Bharoocha at the Rhode Island School of Design. Joined by Bjorn's brother Eric Copeland on vocals and bassist Sebastian Blanck, their early sound has been described[by whom?] as thrash-influenced noise. They released several 7"s and embarked on a few brief tours before Blanck left the group and was replaced by Aaron Warren. In 1999 the band moved to New York City and began to experiment with their sound, with Warren and the brothers incorporating more pedals into their setup and slowly leaving their earlier hardcore-leaning style in favor of more rhythmic music similar to motorik and dub music.[1]
Albums with DFA and Fat Cat
The release of the album Beaches and Canyons on DFA/Fat Cat and its follow-up, 2004's Creature Comforts saw the band reaching a worldwide audience. However the band was set back with the departure of Bharoocha and their cancellation of a heavily-planned tour co-headlined by their friends Animal Collective. Nonetheless, reduced to a trio, Black Dice recorded Broken Ear Record in Australia in early 2005. Without a drummer, their music took another turn towards Afrobeat and breakbeat. Having been together almost ten years, the group has performed shows in five continents sharing the stage with artists including The Residents and Godspeed You Black Emperor.
Animal Collective's member Noah Lennox said about Black Dice in an interview with The Milk Factory in 2005: "[...] I feel like the wisest things I’ve learned about being in a band I learned by watching them."[2] In early 2009, he confirmed in an interview with Magic that he looks to Black Dice "as a model for a band. [...] I feel like as a band, I can't speak for the other guys [of Animal Collective], but certainly for myself, like I modelled the way I approach to everything with the band watching the way Black Dice did it."[3]
