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2XM (Self-released) |
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The band was founded under the name COOL RAZOR in 1991. During the years they have been a couple of name changes. The one they stuck with was DEUX EX MACHINA which they shortened to 2XM. This Swedish electro act create alternative electronic music in an own style which they like to call "electropump" and their new EP is filled with strong danceable EBM tunes. While translating their feelings into music, they create good tracks like STABBED or CRASH with guitar sounds and samples added. Four songs is too little for music that is this great. We are really looking forward to hear more modern EBM by 2XM. Danceable melodies, catchy tunes, good song structures. What do we need more? www.2xm.com PJVD |
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Afanassi Viebeg - Karawanenmusik V (Moloko+) |
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A vibrating collage of tunes offering middle-east sonorities, made with electronic and traditional instrumentation, complete with vocal samples grabbed from the radio and that lo-fi feel, or vinyl crackling that seems mandatory in these kind of releases. The percussive work is enchanting and the atmospheres do vary throughout the disc, though maintaining an mystical, meditative vibe. Of course MUSLIMGAUZE springs immediately to mind here and to a certain extent to good reason, so this disc is a good hint for BRYN fans. ralf_friel@ferrostaal.com Gianfri |
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Anatoly Pereslegin - Fastgod : E-psalms (Electro Shock) |
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When you see the title of this album you can assume that the inspiration for this disc is taken from the bible and handles religious matters. And indeed, electronic music composer ANATOLY PERESLEGIN is inspired by biblical themes on this album. TURN THEE INTO ME is the opening track and this song already brings tunes that mix modern electroacoustic music with melodies you expect to hear the organ play in the church. A strange combination indeed, that is hard to explain to you out there. You will have to listen for yourselves but if you like experimental music you will not be disappointed. You can also discover passages by tenor IVAN JMAEV and baritone YURIY VALENKOV. www.electroshock.ru PJVD |
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Andreas Berthling - Tiny Little White Ones (Like Handfuls of Salt) (Mitek) |
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True to his "traditional" experimental vein, ANDREAS BERTHLING, all the way from Sweden, proposes another work featuring pure computer music with ultra minimal crackling loops and patterns, clicks, glitches and noises. The tracks and atmospheres range from rhythmic to ambient to spooky to noisy, bearing in mind that those terms are very much relative to ANDREAS own microscopic way of experimenting with dissected samples. To the average listener TINY LITTLE… is all in all a quite pleasant listen, while fans of ultra stripped down electronics will simply love this sonic journey. www.mitek-web.net - berthling.cjb.net Gianfri |
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Ashes You Leave - Fire (Morbid) |
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FIRE is the fourth release of goth-metal band ASHES YOU LEAVE. I don't know how the other releases sound like but it couldn't be much worse than this! The record company talks about a highly talented band and a great new opus, maybe I got the wrong CD?!? ASHES YOU LEAVE are 100% talent-less! The record sounds like drunken rook musicians and a woman who tries to sing like LIV KRISTINE from THEATRE OF TRAGEDY; sorry but this sounds like if a cat stepped on her back! So I wonder why this band has a recording deal and talented bands sink in the sea of the namelessness. This is music for those who like ear pain and penis cancer. Sorry, but listening this record is waste of time! www.morbidrecords.de Toby Hartmann |
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Autumn - Taciturn Tales (Triton) |
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The opening track immediately sets the surroundings for a beautiful introduction in the world of AUTUMN. This instrumental track brings calm, peaceful sound structures that will form images for you if you close your eyes. Other instrumental tracks on TACITURN TALES are SHATTERED, LALYRAA III and the last song LEAVING. Many people are part of this band, each bringing his influences and this results in a CD with a lot of variety that never gets boring. Twelve tracks good dark and gloomy music with beautiful vocal parts like in COMMAGENE, POND and SOULS, great to listen to and relaxing. PJVD |
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Boole - Pheromones (Dancing Bull) |
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Flirting heavily with the eighties electro and all the rather dull nineties kiddie-techno sonorities readily available in any modern digital synth, BOOLE return with another album, filled, I suppose, with humour. Between a wink to KRAFTWERK or NEW ORDER and hi-tempo technoid tunes, the album unfolds against my ears generating very little excitement. Not that I am much qualified to get such kind of humour, mind you; last American band I found amusing were THE RAMONES. www.boole.org Gianfri |
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Blind Before Dawn - Promo Sampler (Self release) |
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BLIND BEFORE DAWN began life as THE ANNEX CHAMBER PROJECT. After changing their name into BBD, they started to write songs quickly. The band's first album, DISTANCE, will be released soon on the band's own label, if they are not offered a better deal first. Problems with the artwork have delayed the release until now. We received the selected promo tracks for their debut album. Four synth pop electronic songs are presented on this disc. HAPPINESS is another cool poppy EBM mid tempo dance track. WHITHOUT YOU and the CLOSE MIX of FAR AWAY make you want to hear more. So we are really looking out for the album release. If you like light EBM synth pop tunes with gentle melodies, this will be something for you. PJVD |
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Blue Harvest - A Day Like Any Other (Self-released Demo) |
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The muffled quality of the sound of this recording prevents me from forming a fair opinion about this English three-piece equally flirting with electronics with a slight industrial flavour and more classic instruments such as guitars or piano. They seem to be into soundtrack music for horror flicks as well. Some passages, including the vocals, are reminiscent of early CRANES, but it's all too short to say more. The six tracks also appear to be in a quite embryonic stage, so we'll have to wait for some more solid release for a more realistic understanding. Given the premises offered by this disc, I'll look forward to that. Blue Harvest, Flat 4, Matthew House, Brunswick TSE, Torquay, Devon, GB-TQ1 4AE Gianfri |
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The Caretaker - A Starway to the Stars (V/Vm Test) |
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Another oddity running through my hands, A STARWAY TO THE STARS is about 50 minutes of haunting, atmospheric ambient whose audio is totally derived by obscure and forgotten pieces of ballroom music from the thirties. The result is striking in that the pieces editing achieves a sort of retro feeling not commonly to be found in ambient pieces. "A soundtrack of memories" is what this recording is defined in the accompanying notes. But it is additionally a piece of dark ambient on its own right that will easily appeal to fans of LUSTMORD and the likes. www.brainwashed.com/vvm Gianfri |
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Chandeen - My World Depends on You (Kalinkaland) |
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Before the next full-length album, CHANDEEN release this 4 track single of MY WORLD DEPENDS ON YOU. The line up is ANTJE SCHULZ (vocals), STEPHANIE HÄRICH (vocals) and HARALD LÖWY (music, production). CHANDEEN is a word from an Indian language, there is no simple translation. It is a religious term which describes an "out of this world" experience. Heavenly voices are mixed with electronic sounds and drums and mid-tempo rhythms. Besides two versions of the title track, this disc contains an extract of the song REACH ANOTHER DAY and a live version of TO THE WILD ROSES. www.chandeen.com PJVD |
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Cordell Klier - Apparitions (Ad Noiseam) |
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Micro electronics, click noises and fashionable glitches make up half of APPARITIONS. The other half is ghoulish ambience, slowly droning or simply developing in the background, but also coming forward to share the prima donna throne from time to time. The two halves interact (rather than overlap) nearly all the way through the disc but never seem to climax to some unforgettable passages as they probably could (and should). APPARITIONS is interesting electronic experimentation, only letting you down if you happen to expect something more from it; if you really get into it, I mean. www.adnoiseam.net Gianfri |
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Crowhead - Frozen (My Kingdom Music) |
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CROWHEAD is the offspring of former goth metal icons THE SHADOW DANCERS. Interesting is the fact, that former members of APOPTYGMA BERZERK join this band too. CROWHEAD play goth-rock with electronic elements like ZEROMANCER and the latest THEATRE OF TRAGEDY. The story is told short, the songs are about loss and love. The painful male voice of JO-INGE SLANGSVOLD gets destroyed by deep growls. The well played gothic rock includes also half hearted electronic arrangements. FROZEN isn't an untalented album, it is depressive and cold atmospheric with three good songs but it isn't the great quality of music we are used to know from Norway. The kick on this album is missed! www.crowhead.com - www.mykingdommusic.net Toby Hartmann |
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DACM - Showroom Dummies (Mego) |
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This CD features the soundtrack to the latest production from the Grenoble based dance company DACM, which is entirely composed and recorded by prolific Mego recording artist Peter Rehberg aka Pita. Well known and esteemed in the circle of contemporary electronic musicians, Peter offers a sound collage that on its own will titillate the senses of experimentally inclined audiences. Ranging between mid-tempo clean rhythmic patterns, darker and less reassuring, basement-like ambiences, and more chaotic passages, the eleven tracks featured on the disc are by no means easy listening, even by experimental standards. Increasingly brain hammering as it progresses, SHOWROOM DUMMIES seems to progressively become a soundtrack to alienation. www.mego.at Gianfri |
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Danse Macabre - Matters of the Heart MCD (Hammerheart) |
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DANSE MACABRE get into the remix game too and propose a 5-track MCD featuring remixes from their successful album EVA (cmp. review in Darklife VII) and a new track, AND I BLEED, true to their eighties goth rock style. The remixes tend to smoother the hard-guitar edge of the band in favour of a slightly more electronic sound. Also the leading track DANSE MACABRE, which could be an eighties goth-rock dancefloor filler, is proposed in a re-mastered version. Nice add-ons (well, for the fans at least) are the video to DANSE MACABRE and, listen, listen… even the making-of the video!! See your heroes in action in MATTERS OF THE HEART.!! A slightly different face of the band is presented in MOTH, I guess this is a nice goodie for the fans and also a good introduction for those who've never heard of them: Hard rhythmic guitars, but never too annoying, low tone vocals, female high-pitch backing and nice melodies, even danceable. www.hammerheart.com Gianfri |
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Dark Age - While Angels Watch (Cynfeirdd) |
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This limited release CD has been taking the Dark Folk scene by storm. Featuring London based multi-instrumentalist DEV, alongside MATT and JANE HOWDEN from SOL INVICTUS and SIEBEN with IAN READ of FIRE AND ICE taking lead vocalist on one track. DARK AGE use standard end time metaphysical reference points as expected, but develop and stretch the standard sound of the genre. Comparisons have been made with NICK CAVE and MICHAEL GIRA, the song writing is really passionate and distinguished. www.falling.org.uk Mike Shankland |
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Dark Muse - Sounds From Beyond The Silver Wheel (The Fossil Dungeon) |
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The prime medium of sound for the DARK MUSE is voice, though other sources have included synthesiser, drum machines, guitar, whistles, bells, gongs, water, wood, nails, and other found objects. PHYLL SMITH brings gloomy sound sculptures in the form of long tracks. The sound is ethereal to minimal, ranges from dark ambient, folk, and noise to tribal and experimental. Furthermore it can be described as calm and relaxing with hints to harsh industrial and sometimes ritual. Many people will appreciate this soft ethereal wave with distant heavenly voices. Seven dark peaceful songs can be found on her debut CD, SOUNDS FROM BEYOND THE SILVER WHEEL. The more you listen to this disc, the more you will like it. Aside from music, PHYLL is also an accomplished jewellery maker and is a photographer. www.eyescreamjewelry.com PJVD |
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Darkwell - Conflict of Interest MCD (Napalm) |
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In order to like DARWELL you have first to be a fan of so called gothic-metal. Additionally you have to come to terms with the peculiar high pitched frequencies offered by vocalist ALEXANDRA PITTRACHER which are unfortunately way too flat and too loud in the mix of the seven tracks featured in CONFLICT OF INTEREST. This makes this clichéed effort of female fronted gothic metal practically unbearable. Checking out the two live video tracks included in this CD, one discovers, that, would the vocals be mixed rightly, one probably only had to be a fan of basic gothic-metal to like this. www.darkwell.org Gianfri |
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Data Raper - Carbon Flora (Brume) |
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It is said that DATA RAPEFR's music sounds the way music should at the beginning of a new millennium, full of energy but not too aggressive, danceable but not complacent, modern but never contrived. The album begins with raw industrial orientated music but moves on to danceable electro. After songs like DARK PROPHET, SHAME FOR HAPINEESS, WHEN I DOUBT and INVASION you will find a break with NECROSE that splits the album in two pars with a dark atmospheric sound. CARBON FLORA is an album that combines atmospheric, melodic phases with dark rhythms, industrial sounds, dark wave rhythms and electro melodies. The last two tracks are remixes by MLADA FRONTA and E.S.R.. PJVD |
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Doc Wör Mirran - Soundtrack of Death (Moloko+) |
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The title of the CD says it all really. Macabre industrial, atonal, noisy, surreal, creepy. Enveloping the listener at moments with goulish ambience, hitting their nerves minutes later with saturated frequencies, sentencing their death with a bomb attack (so fashionable these days for the few empty heads that rule the planet) soon after. DOC WÖR MIRRAN is back in full force with some death industrial at its best. The CD includes 5 tracks that make sure you won't remain indifferent. As you won't remain indifferent to the CD packaging, a replica of a film can you can only fall in love with. As they say, this matches the concept of soundratck. Moloko+, Gommernsche str 7, D-39245 Pretzein, Germany Gianfri |
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The Drowning Season - Hollow (Morphenic Release) |
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Eleven tracks of retro styled gothic rock for Baltimora based three piece THE DROWNING SEASON. They employ mostly clean guitars with great leads and intriguing rhythmic, male voice, thank god not of the clichéd grunting variety and complement this with traditional bass+strings+drums out of a programmable box. It all sounds pretty much light-weight throughout, as if the adrenaline hidden in their compositions would somehow be refrained by arrangements which are perhaps too straight, lacking a bit of courage, energy and, why not, some experimentation. Fans of MARCH VIOLETS and the likes should like them. There's some potential there waiting to be exploited. www.drowning-season.com Gianfri |
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Eric Aldéa - Saturno o Cipolla (0101-Music) |
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A melting pot of stringed soundscapes, electronic textures of the minimal variety, drones and clicks, a flavour of orient thrown in at the beginning, this is essentially the enigmatically titled SATURNO O CIPOLLA. Oscillating between cinematic soundscapes and click'n'glitch electronica, the album is quite disorienting. The explanation can lie in the fact that the music featured on the disc is extracted by some works created for a contemporary dance company. Eclectic and arty, by no means easy listening. 0101-music.com Gianfri |
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Etoile Noire - The Breath of Kali (Equinoxe) |
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THE BREATH OF KALI is the first official full-length release for ETOILE NOIRE, produced by ENZO RIZZO (MANU CHAO, MANO NEGRA). On this disc you will find seven songs plus a cover version of CHRISTIAN DEATH's THIS IS HERESY and a club mix of the title track. ETOILE NOIRE stand for gothic rock, death rock with a punk attitude. The title track reminds me a bit of THE SEX PISTOLS or perhaps you prefer a ballad like FORT OF SAND. Furthermore ASCENSION and SLEEPING BLACK EYES could sound familiar if you also listened to their demo before. This three-piece Italian band will appeal to fans of gothic rock in the style of CHRISTIAN DEATH and MADRE DEL VIZIO with punk roots. www.etoilenoire.net PJVD |
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Flëur - Flëur (Prikosnovenie) |
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FLEÜR come from Odessa, a city from south Ukrainia, near the Black Sea. I noticed that a lot of bands started to use the first track as an introduction to the album. Also FLËUR uses the opening track as an intro. After that there are still twelve songs that were formed with piano, guitar, flute, cello, bass, percussion and beautiful vocals. FLËUR create melancholic pop with classical elements and folk influences. This untitled album brings good dreamy, romantic music. All their songs do not sound the same, yet they are all fantastic. www.multimania.com/prikos PJVD |
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GD Luxxe - Vendetta EP (Suction) |
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GD LUXXE is the main projetc of GERHARD POTUZNIK from Vienna, Austria, who's heavily engaged in the electronic pop scene also as label owner and as producer. His latest output, VENDETTA features five tracks of greatly produced, eighties style electro pop. Fat sounds and thick production are a plus, indicating the large experience of GERHARD in the field. Synth, electro poppers would be easily intrigued by the tracks included in VENDETTA, probably prompting them to dig the vast back catalogue of Mr. POTUZNIK, should they be not familiar with it. www.suctionrecords.com - www.mego.at/potuznik.html Gianfri |
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The House of Usher - Engrammaton (Self- released) |
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While THE HOUSE OF USHER are busy preparing two releases for the coming summer, they have thought to offer their fans the chance to experience through their own stereo their live experience. ENGRAMMATON was recorded in Lorient, France in November 2002 and capture the essence of THOU sound "as it is", as no studio post editing was employed on the recording, which retains the feel of a most classic bootleg,, albeit of very good quality. This is clearly a fans-only item, as it is limited to 200 copies, still I find it quite courageous for the band to release such a product in this era of over-produced-studio-manipulated-specially-enhanced-surround-boosted DVD releases of what are simply average concerts, when you strip down all of the above mentioned bullshit from the actual recording.. Perhaps it's worth mentioning that the disc includes their acclaimed live cover version of JOY DIVISION's TRANSMISSION. To the fans of gothic rock with taste and substance: get the disc or go see their next show. Or both! www.the-house-of-usher.com Gianfri |
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Hybryds - Electric Voodoo (Daft) |
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Primitive ethnical and contemporary industrial influences are blended to create a unique style. At the beginning of the eighties, MAGTHEA, the male side of the HYBRYDS was involved in THE KLINIK. Since the mid eighties he worked on his own personal music style in the ritual, mythic industrial, based on ancient influences and modern technology. At the start of the nineties YASNAÏA joined the HYBRYDS concept adding her clear vocals and acoustic instruments. Now this Belgian project is back with a new line-up and with guest contributions from CODE TRIPPA, MAÏDE, CORTEX JOY, MISS POLY-ESTEr and ANDRE LAUSCH. The sound and approach that made HYBRYDS so recognisable did not change. The CD starts dark and ritual but becomes more dark ambient orientated to the end. Sultry vocals, ritual sound structures, industrial rhythms and hypnotic electronic sounds are brought together into material that has potential to reach a wide audience. www.hybryds.com PJVD |
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Hypo - Karaoke A Cappella (Active Suspension) |
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Being absolutely not familiar with ANTHONY KEYEUX project HYPO nor with the label Active Suspension, I can't really put in context this release nor its rather unattractive title. I'll put it down by numbers then: take a bunch of catchy tunes, twist them across any boundary of pre-defined electro-pop composition, add a good dose of neurotic elements, voices and voice samples, spice them up with chaotic interludes, synth them up consistently, industrialise them a tad. Twist, shake and there you have it. Not that this procedure is easy job for the average electronic musician, it's ANTHONY's favourite playground, though. While you scroll through the 18 tracks, you might find yourself liking or loathing them depending strongly on your mood. Perhaps this would have been pop music if there were no charts nor music press. www.activesuspension.org - www.hypo.fr.st Gianfri |
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Idlo -Trans Level (Self released) |
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IDLO have been around since 1983 but in 1994 they decided to stop their activities to finally retake them today. A return marked by a new CD recorded in their home studio. This duo brings instrumental (or with samples) mid tempo electronic songs. CONTAIN ME, TRANS LEVEL and REVERSE are some of the songs on this album. Furthermore the disc contains two versions of the songs RESET and 13/12. Eighties orientated sounds and forms, not very danceable, not renewing but interesting and, in a way, unusual. If you are looking for something different than what today's scene has to offer, this might be what you are waiting for. PJVD |
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Off - Try Out EP (Self released) |
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Abstract and experimental sounds are essential, staying rhythmical is the main aim in his work. Monotone rhythms and distorted sounds are combined into hard and weird electro. One rhythm goes straight ahead, it is hard and extreme, confusing and chaotic at the same time. This is a real try out, what explains the title of the EP. The disc contains four tracks, good for nearly 23 minutes of power electronics. PJVD |
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Oophoi - Bardo (Electro Shock) |
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BARDO is the first non-Russian release on Electroshock Records. BARDO is the transitory state between death and resurrection. The Italian OOPHOI combine layers of synthesisers and electronics with flute, gongs, Tibetan percussion and voices. This minimalist music for meditation should be played at high volume. This album by this one-man project is again an example of music that is right on the edge. Some people will love its calmness other will not like the peace in the music. The album contains four long tracks and all songs are longer than ten minutes and CHONYI is even almost half an hour. www.electroshock.ru PJVD |
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Professor Smalls - Out Of Body Experience EP (Iris Light) |
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New output for MARTIN STOVEY aka PROFESSOR SMALLS whose previous release under the SYKES moniker I had badly dismissed as chill out jazzy tunes. OUT OF BODY EXPERIENCE sings a slightly different tune as the jazzy overtones are altogheter replaced by over 60 minutes of breakbeat driven tracks. As much as I am unattracted to breakbeats, I must say that the dark tones of the production do the job quite effectively. Flavoured by saucy basslines, some tracks are more in the drum'n'bass vein, in fact. These very elements have since long invaded the rhythmic industrial scene, much to the disapproval of many people. Here you get the bare contaminating ingredients, in case you need them. www.irislight.demon.co.uk Gianfri |
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Quídam - 4-track demo (no title supplied) (Self-released) |
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Not many news under the Spanish sun from Barcelona based trio QUÍDAM, who demo here four tracks of pretty linear guitar/synth rock with a few vocal twists which are the most interesting element of the disc. Overall not dark nor atmospheric and not experimental elements to be found either, they seem to direct their efforts towards a more easy listening audience. quidam.cjb.net Gianfri |
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Room With a View - First Year Departure (My Kingdom Music) |
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They hail it as the avant-garde side of gothic metal but I'm lucky enough not to find many metal elements, at least in the "mainland" meaning of the term. Even when affairs get heavier, like in END OF SEASON, it's all very balanced towards accessible listening. ROOM WITH A VIEW are mostly very dark pop and progressive, quite depressing on the whole, while the occasional use of trumpets or accordion gives a touch of retro to the proceedings. Vocals verge on the languishing, sort of halfway between SILKE BISHOFF and SUEDE if you want. Arrangements are not banal, showing that this Italian 4-piece has something in the drawer. Maybe some extra characterisation would do the final product some good. I would call this on the engineering maybe, as the mix could use a little extra punch to have the different instruments more laid apart and standing out from the others. FIRST YEAR DEPARTURE shows good introductory statements from the band, will look forward to future developments. www.mykingdommusic.com Gianfri |
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Scary Bitches - Lesbian Vampyres from Outer Space (Island of Damned) |
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You must have been grown up on a interminable desire of appearing on top of the pops or any other family oriented British TV show in order to enjoy this parade of improbable scary-theme tracks from the SCARY BITCHES whose the ultimate goal could possibly be to show how cool goth bands are nowadays. The subject matter has been already extensively exploited by much of the ancient psychobilly or garage punk bands with better grace and energy altogether. But if you think that what you call goth be ruling all over the modern planet and you want to justify yourself appearing in silly clothes than check this out. Strictly for Brit goff completists. www.scarybitches.com Gianfri |
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State of Being - Implosion (Reverse Image) |
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Guitar rock flavoured with saucy electronics is the essence of this second full length release by Cleveland based STATE OF BEING who have meanwhile moved from dominating electronics to more traditional instrumentation. The ghosts of THE CULT or PETER MURPHY styled vocals appear from time to time. It's pretty much easy listening overall and not much of an exciting item, until, upon repeated listening the electronic arrangements and synths become more evident, pumping life into an otherwise tired exercise of traditional rock. Nothing staggering under the sun, rather a background, however pleasant, listening. Until the last track, a version of the track INSTINCT already appearing earlier on the disc, treated electronically by ANDY KUBISZEWSKI of STABBING WESTWARD fame. And doesn't RED FRONTIER sound like THE NARCISSUS POOL? www.stateofbeing.com Gianfri |
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Suicide Commando - Anthology (Dependent) |
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Belgium is a small country but damn it has some great EBM and electro bands. Just think of FRONT 242, DIVE, IMPLANT, HYBRYDS and of course SUICIDE COMMANDO aka JOHAN VAN ROY. Way back in time success kissed him with the smash hit SEE YOU IN HELL. Afterwards came SAVE ME, DESIRE, HELLRAISER and many more. With ANTHOLOGY, the band's back catalogue is introduced to a new generation of fans. Otherwise it's a nice and compact compilation for all the SUICIDE COMMANDO lovers. ANTHOLOGY comes in a double CD. One disc is presenting an overview, the other one features deleted and unreleased tracks as well as remixes. Typical are the different layers that are used in every song. Of course you can listen to songs like BETTER OFF DEAD, SEE YOU IN HELL, SAVE ME and HELLRAISER over and over again. On disc two you can enjoy the 2002 remix of SEE YOU IN HELL, another remix of BETTER OFF DEAD, THE ULTIMATE MACHINE and SICK IN YOUR MIND (MARC VERHAEGHEN/DIRK IVENS). This album is a must for every electro fan and deserves a high score. www.dependent.de PJVD |
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Sulpher - One of Us (Dependent) |
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This limited edition single introduces new work by SULPHER. After two minutes of the first song you get this NINE INCH NAILS feeling. ONE OF US features quiet electronic parts are mixed with powerful, heavy aggressive industrial riffs. The second song is somehow quieter but with a chaotic ending. MISERY is the third song that puts again more power in the music. Up-tempo beats, samples and industrial sounds create a very own style for SULPHER. The last song is the long version of ONE OF US (more than seven minutes). www.dependent.de PJVD |
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Symbiont - Ology (DSBP) |
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Songs like Ology, Evilation, Step Child, Tear In Justice and the long Tri-Polar contain raw vocals, samples and electronics. We are talking about the debut release of Symbiont. Symbiont are a Salt Lake City based band that brings harsh industrial, steady beats and good electro. Well chosen arrangements and strong melodies create dance floor tracks that you just have to move to. Ten tracks on Ology try to convince you of their capability to create catchy and strong electro beats. www.thishell.net/symbiont PJVD |
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Thanateros - Circle of Life (Andromeda) |
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Second album for THANATEROS who essentially combine Irish-Celtic folk with traditional rock structures. Frankly I'm very much not into these sorts of hybrids, which I find quite uninspiring, specially when hard guitars pop up in the cauldron. Luckily enough, they don't abuse them full-time and end up sounding like NEW MODEL ARMY instead, from time to time. Vocals are tasteful and well placed in the mix. Also a handful of guest musicians from related bands appear. If you are into Celtic mythology and spiritualism and you can do with rock contamination, check TANATEROS out. The best tracks are by large in fact those where the spiritualism knocks rock out of the way, such as GODDESS and GAYATRI to a lesser extent. andromeda@vielklang.de Gianfri |
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Twine - :recorder: (BiP_HOp) |
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TWINE are two chaps from the States collaborating mostly over the internet which saves you lots of money you'd otherwise spend on flights. :RECORDER: strays away from what I've become accustomed to hearing from BiP-HOp. We have no bleeps and clicks here nor many microscopic sequences, rather a quite eclectic bag of different approaches to modern electronics that offer continuous variety throughout the disc. Maybe a bit too much, to the point that might lead the listener to loose focus, as it has happened to me, even after many listening sessions. We go from beat driven pieces to dark ambient, from abstract electronics to drones, from noises to broken pieces of deconstructed sequences. I am solidly for variety, but I have to confess that his time round I've been slightly put off by the apparent lack of focus resulting from the rather nervous pace of the recordings. www.bip-hop.com Gianfri |
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Untoten Vs. Soko Friedhof - Dresssscode Black II (Sonic Malade) |
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Mixing guitar sounds and electro is the main characteristic of both UNTOTEN and SOKO FRIEDHOF. DAVID A. LINE belongs to both projects and must therefore be the most important part in this music. With SOKO FRIEDHOF and WILLST DU?, they set a very strong beginning for this album. These powerful melodies and catchy tunes make you want to dance immediately. After that they continue with other danceable attacks like DIE OUT BY THE SEA and THE FINAL REMORSE. Furthermore you can listen to other mid tempo electro tracks like BLUTHEXE, OPIO RELIGIO and CANNIBALI, which has a strange ending. The last song, THE LOOK OF BLASPHEMIE, makes me think of SWEET DREAMS by EURYTHMICS in one way or another. I you are new in the scene you might want to start with this release to get to know electro and industrial sounds. Otherwise, this disc is a nice extra for your collection. www.untoten.com PJVD |
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V/Vm - Sometimes, Good Things Happen (V/Vm Test) |
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Being newly introduced to V/VM I'm slightly puzzled, but the liner notes point out that also who is familiar with them is in for a surprise. That surely relaxes my frustration (?). This release consists of 2 discs with the same tracklisting and with identical artworks, one being printed with the complementary colours to the first one. As far as musical content goes, one disc (the one with the artwork in real colours) features dark ambient, droning atmospheres, weird electronics with quite a psychedelic feel to it. The other disc features instead some quite harsh noise industrial mayhem of the razor blade sharp variety with some defined rhythmic structures mixed up with chaos. Quite how and if the two works relate to each other is a mystery I'm not willing to delve into. Surely chaos is complementary to ambience, were it to be an actual concept behind this release, but that's too banal to hold. I do however believe that those into creative music experiences won't bother with that and would appreciate both sides of this unusual work, each of them at the appropriate time. That's the way I take it anyway. For further details, pester the band! www.brainwashed.com/vvm Gianfri |
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Vidna Obmana - Spore (Relapse) |
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The moniker VIDNA OBMANA was chosen by this Belgian composer for his musical persona because it means optical illusion. After 18 years of activity, VIDNA OBMANA personally considers his latest solo album TREMOR, initiating a new trilogy and first for the American Release/Relapse Record label, as an essential re-birth of inspiration and spirituality. This CD holds more subtle industrial hints mixed with electric guitar and ambient elements. This self-taught electronic musician, recognised internationally for his solo and collaborative work, is very good in minimalist sound-sculpting while expanding the range of rhythms and performance on various acoustic instruments, like the Slovakian overtone flute FUJARA. MARC VERHAEGHEN (KLINIK) plays trumpet on RESONANT GORE and JORIS DE BACKER plays double bass and strings on other songs. The music holds a lot of rhythm and yet it is also good for meditation. As we impatiently wait for the last part in this trilogy we can read in the booklet: Please handle the playback of this CD with care while most effect is gained at a medium volume with headphones. www.vidnaobmana.org PJVD |
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VV.AA. - Blackend (Dekontruktion) |
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BLACKEND is a compilation CD by Dekontruktion records that offers a lot of variety. The album begins with the dark folk guitar ballad, BLADESONG by TRANSLUCENT and moves on to the chaotic DANCE OF THE DEAD by NATION OF DISORDER. Sixteen tracks and more than one hour of music can be listened to. Among the many bands you will find heavy industrial music from SANITARY REFUSE and DISTORTED ELECTRONIC IDOL, rather poppy tunes by IF THEN and HIDEOUS INPUT and chaotic minded music by NOKTURNAL BLISS. The song SECOND SKIN by TWO TON FLOOD starts rather slowly by changes into a mid-tempo danceable track. Furthermore you can listen to the DAS ICH minded TOGETHER WE WILL ROT from SPEORG. A strange thing is that all tracks are mentioned in the booklet except the EBM song number 15. PJVD |
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VV.AA. - Electroacoustic Music vol. VII (Electro Shock) |
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This is the seventh volume of the electroacoustic music compilation series and it is a double album. On these two discs you will find genres like experimental, ambient, noise, electroacoustic music, songs for meditation and chaotic tracks. Contributions from all over the world come from LUKAZS SZALANKIEWICZ from Poland, JOSE MATALONI from Argentina, OOPHOI from Italy, GEERT VERBEKE and VIDNA OBMANA from Belgium and many others. Two times ten bans for a quiet evening with music from CLAIRE LARONDE, RODERIK DE MAN, RODRIGO SIGAL, JORGE ANTUNES, MIRJAM TALLY or ARIE SHAPIRA. www.electroshock.ru PJVD |
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VV.AA. - Gothabilly Razin' Hell 3 (Skully) |
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This compilation series delves into the darker, more morbid side of contemporary rockabilly and related music. This is graveyard surf and rockabilly music with a ghoulish twist. Twenty one songs from well known bands and others that need some attention make this kind of music or are stepping aside their normal path to introduce scary themes, creepy tunes and Halloween fitting music. You can listen to artists such as BIG JOHN GATES, GHOULTOWN, JOHNY DARK, THE HAMMERDOWS, THE INTOXYCATS, THE COFFINSHAKERS, FRANKENSTEIN, MR. UNDERHILL, MEMPHIS MORTICIANS. Some of these bands are featured with two songs. PSYCHOCHARGER bring the song INVASION OF THE BALL SNATCHERS that reminds me of THE CRAMPS. PJVD |
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