'The Howler: An English Breakfast' is a collaborative effort by Genesis P. Orridge and Martin Atkins' Pigface including Mick Harris, originally recorded 1996-1997. Although the one-sheet from the PR outfit that provided this album contains anecdotal material by Martin Atkins regarding circumstances surrounding this recording, I will not recount much of it here save for one paragraph, as much of it lacks relevance and just falls into the category of flavor text. "I first met Genesis," Atkins says, "at the Sharon Tate house in California. I was out there working with Skinny Puppy on what would become 'The Process' album, and I needed a day away from both them, and Rick Rubin's Shangri La studio. I stopped by the house to say hit to Trent- he wasn't there, but Gen was, along with Dr. Timothy Leary. Next thing I know Gen is part of Pigface, improvising on tracks we haven't even imagined yet. Six cassette machines onstage and a bag full of tapes. Magic."

Magic for some, maybe, but I think you need to be already a fan of Mr. Orridge and Pigface (perhaps more of the former than the latter) to really appreciate this album. The work is divided into four parts, all of them names "Howler" (1, 2, 3, and 4). It has been described as "a slow, treacherous dub with a booming bass and unidentified sonic attacks flitting about. Over the top of this is the daunting Genesis P-Orridge, reciting a tale of a debauched castle’s breakfast." That's not far off the mark. Instrumentally, there is more happening on nearly any Scorn album than on this. Obviously the ramblings of Genesis P. carry the concept over the rumblings of the music. Since Genesis P. Orridge passed away in 2020, this album is likely to become a collector's item, being one of his last released recordings, something Overdrive (Italy) and Invisible (U.S.) are capitalizing on with limited edition vinyl in a variety of colors and price points. I don't see any other available formats. Four stars for fans of Orridge and Pigface, three for everyone else.