(Translated from my original Italian text by ChatGPT and Piero Scaruffi)

After two Japanese albums, documented on The Original Ultra Bide (1984), Ultra Bide, led by Fujiawara Hidenori and Jojo Hiroshige, reformed in the U.S. and released God Is God, Puke is Puke (Alternative Tentacles, 1995), a work of rare complexity and wit. Saigon Whore is perhaps their masterpiece: the trio sways dangerously between Frank Zappa-like band antics, Art Bears-style "Brechtian" declamations, and furious Rage Against The Machine-style rap, all delivered with hardcore intensity. Dude follows with full-volume rap-metal and the lycanthropic-Wagnerian intensity of early Foetus.
From the satirical punk rock of What The Hell to the galactic distortions of Get High, from the tempestuous funk-punk of Love Sucks to the sardonic pop of Lovely Day, from the whipping boogie of Vacuum to the cacophonous heavy metal of Destroy, this is an album that never gives your ears or mind a break, relentlessly attacking according to constantly shifting patterns.
Hide calms down considerably on their second American album, Super Milk (Alternative Tentacles, 1998), which is sometimes (Super Milk) an intellectual noise-rock record, and at other times (Honey So Good) a punk record that harks back to the new wave era. In the first case, they end up sounding like a clumsy version of Cop Shoot Cop. In the second, the socio-political nursery rhymes make them resemble the Residents and Devo more than Blondie. Burn My Soul and Where We Go Now perhaps find the ideal balance, but it’s too late. The abundance of tape loops and electronics only adds to the confusion.