3 Cold Men - Photogramm (Wave Records)

Deeply rooted in the purest traditions of both German and British electronic pop from the eighties, the Brasilian trio 3 Cold Men are not afraid to get the retro dress on and churn out some of the best synthpop ever to surface on planet earth. Part of the charm is certainly due to Mr Franck Lopez distinctive vocals, warm and unmistakably 'synthpop', that float atop the caressing synthetic sequences offering old-school patches and timbres, precision beats, geometric basslines and all the ingredients you would in general expect in this genre. High paced Kraftwerk without the robot bits. Synthpop by the book might not sound that exciting as a concept, but 3 Cold Men never come close to risk falling flat on their faces when they transpose to the new century déjà vu sounds and song concepts, while maintaining the romantic aspects of the original ventures. Rarely the genre has sounded this fresh, appealing and accomplished and it is a bit unusual that this does not come from the heart of Europe where it was all born and died within the time span of just over a decade. The trio have also matured a great deal of experience through extensive projects and, in electronic music, we all know that making good friends is half of the game. The hour long Photogramm includes only two remixes out of the twelve tracks and I am glad to a large extent that it does not include more, as it gives me the opportunity to appreciate how 3 Cold Men can hold attention spilling beans from their own bag for some 50 minutes without ever weakening their vein and risk the listener hitting the skip button at all. Having said that, I do like both efforts, by XPQ-21 and Sci-Fi Moritz. Welcome to a contemporary dive in the past, high courtesy of 3 Cold Men. www.3coldmen.com - www.waverecordsmusic.com

Gianfri

32Crash - Weird News from An Uncertain Future (Alfa Matrix)

It was quite some time since I was this much impressed by a release coming from the electronic area, although there have been a good many electronic and EBM albums valid under several points of view, coming under our humble scrutiny. I think what I really want to say is that the theme album in which the artists tells a tale, narrates a fantastic story without boring us with oppressing aggravation, pathetic tales of one-night stands, drug excesses, acne-ridden anger, gratuitous swearwords and all such amenities pointing us to the fact that the author doesn't have a life after all (for which I am not sorry either), that theme album working on the fantasy projected on earth and us as its inhabitants in charge, is absent from our decks since quite some time now. Enter 32Crash, who are Implant's Len Lemeire, former Vive La Fete Jan D'Hooghe and Front 242's own vocalist Jean-Luc De Meyer and my wish is fulfilled at once. The trio has taken the time to conceive a little fictional piece, imagining the future of humanity and our planet as far as 2107, put it into music across 19 tracks running for a bit over 50 minutes and as the title puts it, it isn't possibly all flowers and it isn't indeed. The lyrics to the little tales have a poetic edge, transpire a romantic feel of loss against a civilization that has evolved clearly in the wrong direction, but the serenity of the narrator and the upbeat and positive electronic arrangements put him in a privileged position, almost that of the wise-man that sees the problems but does not condemn while there would be large scope to. Truly, this is a showcase for Jean-Luc, his vocals squarely at the forefront, demonstrating that he really is a commending performer, able to interpret a variety of themes and vocal styles with little effort. From Merlin's Gun to Plutonian Breeders, through The War of All Against All, to the melancholic Spacemen and Poets to the brilliant dancefloor spin-off Isomodia, 32Crash unfold one little jewel after the other, armed with synths, talent and a great vocalist. Just to be clear, this is not an EBM album, although it is electronic music and it is mainly rhythmic, even upbeat for the most, in fact, the focus lays with the storytelling and the intelligent and clean electronics arrangement are just the right complement to it, while melodies abound. Tracks like Beware, for example are clearly suited to the dancefloor, but what take centre stage once more are the simple and effective lyrics which in fact remind of some of the lyrical pearls Front 242 had to offer during their fantastic career. Another well suited highlight is I Remember a well-fitting cover of a Suicide track. Inevitably, the life of the narrator seems to end on track 19, A Last Shower, going in a matter of seconds from happy whistling to a macabre square wave cut-in. More of this please, and I might fall deeply in love once more with electronic music with beats, rhythm, intelligence and energy to spare. www.alfa-matrix.com

Gianfri

Alice in Videoland - She's A Machine (National)

Alice in Videoland tighten their act up for a 27-minute spree of disposable electro-rock centered around girlie vocals pretending to sound 'bitchy' as the youth of today prefer, and little else. In fact, subtracting the vocals, the electro-pop cum rehashed synth arpeggios is less entertaining than a manufacturer demo track on any late nineties synth on the market back then. As for the vocals, or the lyrics for that matter, I suppose these come under the banner of "freedom of expression", rendering any objection to them entirely pointless these days. www.national.se

Gianfri

Alien Produkt - Ignorance (BLC Productions)

Pretty much straightforward four-to-the-floor beats, old school fast-moving dry synth lines, punchy synth bass, heavily treated vocals and a straight-to-your-face attitude are perhaps not the most original ingredients in the electro-industrial scene, but there's something about Alien Produkt that lifts this production above the crowded aggro-EBM scene. Out of Argentina, the trio add to the typical macho-styled EBM picture a female vocalist that acts sparely but effectively to add a complementary layer of down-to-earthiness to the unfolding of the dancefloor oriented proceedings. There are a few melodic twists that help pump freshness through the fourteen tracks featured and when the bpm is dropped in favor of a much needed slow-motioned number, they still manage to come across as halfway credible, even though, admittedly, the band strength lies with the high-paced compositions. But you can't churn out stomper after stomper without growing tiring pretty fast and the trio know the lesson well and make a very reasonable effort to break the pace every so often. I'm typically not thrilled anymore by EBM for the sake of it, but I must admit I like Ignorance as even though the sonic themes might not exactly be revolutionary, they are approached with high competence, and the production is overall aggressive but not overdone at any stage which is very tangible measure of credibility. Being the band first full length effort, how they will measure up to future challenges is something we will discover in due course! But the premise if very promising. www.alienprodukt.com.ar - www.blcmusic.com

Gianfri

Allerseelen - Neuschwabenland (Ahnstern / Steinklang)

This should have ben filed under vinyl really, as it refers for most to the recent double-LP reissue of the album Neuschwabenland, which was originally released back in 2000. The main difference between the vinyl re-issue and the original, aside from a complete remastering job, is the addition at the top of 4 tracks, which formed side-A of the double-album. However, this promo CD, which includes the 4 mentioned extras, lacks two other tracks of the CD and album release, ending up being a bit of a new edition on its own.  Allerseelen navigate quietly through looped compositions evoking mysterious moods and featuring a unique blend of industrial, folk and popular elements. Gerhard has always been at the forefront of innovation, steering the Allerseelen boat well clear of typification at each new venture. The mood is generally sombre and each of the tracks takes on a direction on its own, sparking a whole sonic (anti-sonic?) microcosm that dissolves at its end, only to leave room to the next one in line. The master link between all laying strongly in the format of hypnotizing repetitiveness against which Gerhard monotone narration stands out as the fragile bridge between sanity and lack thereof. There are instrumentals as well, and other tracks feature sparse and/or whispered, heavily treated maddening vocal lines, such as the free reprise of Kirlian Camera's Motionless rebranded as König and evoking an even greater amount of sweet mental disorientation than the original does. Some other tracks move more into free-form experimentation, while other stand-outs are the opener Sturmlied (MMVII) which, is very much Neubauten-like, and the title track. The latter is quintessential Allerseelen, a damned ballad with a marked esoteric and popular taste. By the end of the journey, I am left with a deep sense of discomfort, as I navigate through the bleak Blonder Wein, followed by a short, wordless race through beat-driven claustrophobia. Welcome to the new century! www.geocities.com/ahnstern

Gianfri

Attrition - 3 Arms & A Dead Cert (Two Gods Recording)

This is one of the classic Attrition albums, which originally saw the light of the day on 1996 and is now re-proposed in fully re-mastered glory and a newly designed artwork all by the hands of mastermind Martin Bowes. Attrition trademark minimal electronics and reductive beats find their full maturity in this era and in this particular album we see the introduction of viola parts and occasional veiled guitar stabs, opening the sound to newer horizons. The added string layer coupled with Julia Weller's revered operatic vocal stabs adds a sense of theatrical and drama, to which Martin's gritty dark semi-whispered narration responds, creating a mysterious and infectious atmosphere to which is difficult to resist. 3 Arms & A Dead Cert is temptation, incitement to cross that door and enter the band's own realm, which in turn is a very rewarding experience indeed. Classics like Acid Tongue and White Men Talk are some of the highest moments of Martin Bowes' artistic career, sitting well in an album that is packed full with subtle exerimentation and is a milestone both in the band's life history and in the electronic wave genre as a whole. www.attrition.co.uk

Gianfri

Attrition - In The Realm of The Hungry Ghosts (Two Gods Recording)

It's always a pleasure to re-scan Attrition priceless back catalogue and In The Real of The Hungry Ghosts is one of the most treasured highlights as far as I'm concerned. The original release for this dates back to 1986 and the album in fact collects compilation appearances and otherwise unreleased material from 1982 to 1984. There's a layer of magic dust covering these primordial electronic recordings, something often craved for in modern electronic music but never quite achieved despite the massive increase in terms of technological achievements. In The Realm of The Hungry Ghost covers a lot of ground in terms of early electronic wave and ambient production, groundbreaking on all counts, in fact. An early Martin Bowes shows his electronic muscle and sets the stage for a future progression of his project to become a leader in the genre. There's lots of ambient in this album, ghostly pieces ingeniously interleaved with rhythmic tracks, purely dreamy dark electronics, operatic and ethereal female vocals and all it takes to project you into a realm no longer frequently inhabited even by the most callous experimentalists. Yes, this Attrition is pure and bare experimentation and it's astonishing it still manages to sound as such 25 odd years down the line. www.attrition.co.uk

Gianfri

Ayria - Hearts For Bullets (Alfa Matrix)

Miss Jennifer Parkin is at it again with her third full length release under her Ayria moniker. Other than being a solid presented melt of medium weight EBM and girlie vocals, there's a sense of little excitement permeating the close to a hour-long listening experience. Keeping in mind that the omnipresent Sebastian M. Komor is sitting on the production chair, you can obviously expect his brand of overrated electronics to define the album sonically and, save the odd inspired moment, it mostly feels as a déjà vu of vast proportions. Obviously fans of scarcely credible bad-ass girlies at the vocals will most definitely think this differently and in all truth there are some elements of attraction to this album, which are more prominent while maintaining a less attentive listening attitude. In other words, as background upbeat listening I find Hearts for Bullets a possible attractive work, but do not expect memorable moments as, yes, it's all been heard before out there in one form or another. Blame it also on Alfa Matrix highly annoying digital watermarking of their proms which is bound to unease the listening experience, considerably altering the mood to the listener in just the wrong direction. www.ayria.com - www.alfa-matrix.com

Gianfri

Ballo delle Castagne - Ballo delle Castagne (HauRuck! SPQR)

A new project for Vinz, the half of the cult project Calle della Morte, joined by former members of acts such as Malombra and Recondits Stirpe (Diego Banchero), The Green Man (Marco Garegnani), and a mysterious Jo Jo on drums. A fairly obscure formation, but those who have been paying attention to the thriving Italian underground scene across the years will be more familiar with them. Musically wise, they exercise an unfamiliar blend of post-punk, new wave and progressive rock of the seventies. The post punk, even slightly gothic feel if you wish, is due largely to Vinz's distinctive vocals. The music has a very dark substrate, and lives on a post-punk foundation to which elaborate guitar and keyboard/moog parts are added to form a symbiotic unity that has that progressive edge that may take a few unprepared. But the venture does not stop here, and sitar parts add touches of exotic feel, while the drumming is as elaborate and highly defined as you rarely see in these circles these days. There is high value musicianship on display here and an obvious retro glove has been applied at the production stage, with guitar phrases being hard panned, resulting in an involved listening experience which makes the 32-minute long work appear much longer than it actually is. At each listen, new details pop out to my ear, to my delight, indicating that there's is a learning curve to walk through, before fully appreciating the subtlety of this intriguing album. No easy or trodden path is pursued by Ballo delle Castagne and their melange of styles is quite novel in many senses. Good for distracting us all from pre-packaged styles and endlessly similar productions. www.hauruckspqr.com

Gianfri

Barry Schrader - EAM (Innova)

Reading Barry Schrader notes about his compositions opens a lot to the understanding of his brand of musique concrète and the theoretical underpinnings of it. EAM (for Electro-acoustic Music) consists of nine pieces, presenting some of his work between 1986 and 2000. Sonically, Barry works in a quite subtle way, opening horizons to sound creation and treatment that allow for a wide dynamic range, thus interleaving moments of whisper quiet sound flow to passages feeling comfortable within your aural system, to sparse moments of impromptu loudness. There are parallels to be drawn between a work like this and the art of an abstract painter who derives his or her work ultimately from (or even re-conduces to) figurative elements, while the essence of the translation is willingly concealed. Barry Schrader admittedly works almost exclusively with electronic generated sound sources, so his work, technically, isn't really musique concrète, but that's all on paper, as what is left after trying to shred his intention to bits, or even interpret his own description of the tunes, is the sensation left on the listener. EAM demands lots of attention to be sat through and be truly appreciated. With that in place, it is a very rewarding experience, provided, of course, one falls even loosely in the category of those willing to open their ears and most importantly minds to this sort of experimentation. This is particularly true for the 20-minute suite occupying the second half of the work, in which the author sets out to illustrate sonically some of his theories about compositions, unleashing in the process an involving set that flows through a variety of sonic moods that are very involving and captivating. One of the things to bear in mind when approaching this type of authors is that there's no thought of evoking catastrophes or decaying civilizations, desolate landscapes or ruins. Just pure sonic research, all more valuable, while certainly quite able to evoke the listener own imagery. www.barryschrader.com

Gianfri

Barry Schrader - Lost Atlantis (Innova)

Composed and recorded between 1976 and 1977, Lost Atlantis is one of those works that can claim a timeless status. Composed on a then state of the art modular analogue synthesizer known as the Buchla 200, or more friendly, The Electronic Music Box, Lost Atlantis sounds, over 30 years later, every bit as contemporary as it was back then and this is testimony to the accomplished creative talent of the author Barry Schrader. There is an underlying concept behind the work, and it is the legend of Atlantis as accounted by Plato, but, as Barry is not afraid to confess, there's no attempt at re-creating imaginary places or landscapes and no descriptive attempt, rather a parallel between Atlantis and the concept of "the past that never was and the future that can never be". Romantic on all accounts, and very contemporary in the minds of an ever decreasing number of people of today. Truth is, if Plato were to be around these days, he would need a multi-national enterprise of his own to denounce the level of materialism and greed engulfing our continents and their mostly disgraced inhabitants, so, retrospectively, it's good he has saved himself such a delusion. The upshot would be that he would not need the intervention of any Zeus as the planet inhabitants are actively working on sinking their continents already, as if in an ongoing act of self-punishment. But I'm straying here, and instead what I should be concentrating on is trying to transmit to the reader what this just under an hour-long work transmits to me. Once more, this is one for detailed listening. In a way, it's like reading a book, where you must focus on the words and the sense they make when all joined together. Here it's similar, minus the need to make the sense of joining fragments or passages in any logic or meaningful way. Here there's room for the listener own imagination to kick in and do some work of its own, while the sounds unfolding from your speakers, or better yet headphones, mark their own course, tracing (or traced by) another route in the composer mind. As a prerequisite, you need a bit of wind down from the daily stress, or better yet, you need to sink your continent to get rid of that stress altogether. Recently re-mastered from a 4-track tape, Lost Atlantis has been released in 2004 and it sounds just gorgeous, so much that you could be forgiven if you think this was composed with a state of the art computer rig. Not so, this is the real deal, state of the art electronic synthesis as of over 30 years ago! Mind-blowing. www.barryschrader.com

Gianfri

Brotherhood Of Pagans - Only Once (Alone Prod)

A sketchy existence for this French goth rock combo. Formed in 1990, gone in 1996 after a fairly acclaimed album, Tales of Vampires, back on board in 2006, at work on this new production out in 2009, while the line-up has shrunk from a quintet to a trio. What we have is a sort of muscular darkwave with lots of obscure moments, many guitars and more than a few references to a certain brand of death rock that had flourished in France back in the days. A bit too much bite for darkwave and just not enough for death rock, though. The twelve tracks of Only Once do not trigger massive emotional involvement, nor idillic melancholy. Surely conceived, composed and executed with competence, the final product however lacks punch in either direction, and seems a bit out of focus generally. Surely there are plenty of elements to titillate the dark crowds here and also hints to a wish to innovate, but I would have thought that re-forming after over ten years would imply a stormy return and this is not. But perhaps that's just me. www.aloneprod.com

Gianfri

Calle della Morte - Gente di Malaffare (HauRuck! SPQR)

This has been the one and only full-length release by this legendary, as much as elusive, duo with roots in Venice, Italy. The original album Gente di Malaffare was originally released in 2005, while the re-release has been out this year, to sustain the interest for the band, who have officially stopped their activities (or so it was last time I checked!). Poets noir entrenched upon popular myths and traditions, lo-fi by dogma, Calle delle Morte are one of a kind, casually dressing their ballads in accordion, kazoo, or piano and organ or guitar, equally at home if acoustic or electric: each track is a chapter on its own, there's hardly the risk of getting bored here, while being transported in to a smokey tavern back in the days of the Venetian Republic (or roundabout then), whose atmosphere loosely cements the album over its full length. I have personally developed a weak spot for the track Venezia a guitar driven ballad enriched by a beautiful cello accompaniment that spells decedent romanticism at its best. This, along with the title track, were two of the early tracks by the band, already published on CDr in 2003. Seven minutes after the apparent album end, another gem is to be found: with Bambolina they suddenly move out of the mysteries of Venice and its secrets, to launch into a stripped down catchy pop ballad, guitar, harmonica and an innocent refrain that a pure minimalist delight. A glass of wine in a dimmed down room is the perfect surrounding for tasting this delightful album, of which I still hope more will come, despite the band having officially called it quits. www.hauruckspqr.com

Gianfri

Calle della Morte - Come te go fato te desfo! (HauRuck! SPQR)

This is a bonus disk that has been paired with the re-release of Gente di Malaffare, the one and only full length release by Calle Della Morte. And while they are officially not set to release any new material any longer, this disk is in itself a very valuable document of the life history of the project, including a selection of rare recordings, be them live versions, raw demos, alternate mixes or compilation appearances. For example, their take on the fantastic Le Nevi Eterne by Ain Soph is extracted from their contribution to a tribute album said to have sparked the project in the first place back in 2003. Venezia is pure winter foggy melancholy and a landmark example of neo dark folk of the new century. Another highlight are a demo version of Bambolina and a remix of Senza Far Rumore by Der Feuerkreiner who also provide vocals for it. And how not to mention the opener Song Of Margarete, a WWII inspired track featuring film samples and a neoclassical, militaristic dramatic feel. Their 'taverna' ballads like Io e Te are also another brilliant insight on the artistic value of this unique band. A folk feel, lots of melancholy, a wink to popular forms of expression, pop ballads, experimentation and a touch of drama, all in the space of a mere 40 minutes. Remarkable! www.hauruckspqr.com

Gianfri

A Challenge Of Honour - No Way Out (Vrihaspati Recordings)

Quite a departure from their best know works for A Challenge of Honour musically speaking, but a mostly enjoyable album nonetheless. Sliding from martial to a neat mix of darkwave and coldwave, with a slight neoclassicaal inflection, Peter Savelkoul and Maurice Lahoije construct a perfect dive back to the early wave days, which might let down score of aficionados yet harvest new legions of admirers in the process. The tracks are based around melodic elements, with mostly clean guitars, mono synth and organ parts, strong vocals and a bit of a let down aspect in the form of the mechanical drumming which generally lacks interest. Thinking About Ernesto features female vocals but these are most unconvincing, at least in the context of this album and it sounds like ACOH have been trying to twist the genre a bit but this particular bit of it isn't much easy to digest. These little quirks aside, No Way Out is an album that has a lot to offer, although I feel this genre would benefit from a bit more of virtuosism. Yet that's not really a pre-requisite for an album to be a good listen. No Way Out goes very well down as the sun sets and although it is not a greatly challenging release, there's little to fault it and has still the potential to appeal to the band established fanbase crew, at least the more open-minded side of it. www.a-challenge-of-honour.net - www.vrihaspati-rec.com

Gianfri

Cities Last Broadcast - The Cancelled Earth (Cyclic Law)

As far as desolation goes, there's much on offer around us, just take a random look around. But Cities Last Broadcast's message may not be one of this kind after all. Pär Boström is the man behind Kammarheit. Did I mention Sweden? As in undisputed home to the best of dark and death ambient/industrial this side of the solar system. The Cancelled Earth's source material is said to be various field recordings spanning about as decade and covering many aspects of man-made trickery, such as airports, railways, tunnels bridges, you get the idea. As the treatment is so radical, you'd be hard pressed to recognise any of the above though, as Pär works at his best to disguise it all behind a curtain of pure Nordic desolation. As it is often the case with dark ambient, the imagery plays half of the game, so I suppose the artwork included in the original gatefold book release may be instrumental in conveying the convenient messages to convey the concept through to the listener. For the rest of us downgraded to digital downloads, it's just great droning ambient of very high quality, which might as well be a colorful representation of Dante's Inferno for what I can tell. Which I am not saying is a bad thing in any way, just it fails to fully disclose the artistic concept behind the work. At least it is not digitally watermarked as to downgrade even further the listening experience. Here's some food for thought towards the false economy of digital downloads, and those who even cripple them. www.cycliclaw.com

Gianfri

D.B.P.I.T. and Xxena - Alien Symbiosis (Deserted Factory)

An "out of the schemes" collaboration between Flavio Rivabella aka Der Bekannte Post-Industrielle Trompeter and well known in post-industrial experimental circles and Xxena, who is primarily active in the visual domain, graphics, paintings, video. The result is definitely alien in substance, as the duo allegedly locked themselves away with minimal equipment to work on this project and were able to conjure up a visionary view of their time away reaching sublime forms of abstraction. Four long pieces for just over 40 minutes seeing an endless stream of sonic marvels unfold from their manipulative tools. Many of the sound sources are certainly "borrowed" by their near vicinity and that doesn't just mean pans and pots so to speak, but a whole range of indecipherable samples treated more than heavily, disemboweled, manipulated to the limits of conceivability, smashed to the smithereens and re-arranged in quasi-psychotic fashion, paying close attention not to really evoke much of a sense of music as we know it, exception made for some occasional rhythmic patterns shaping up from the pit of collective madness. Take Qo'nos Gham Va Wa'jontà Bah (told you so!), for example, which betrays it's enigmatic title by offering an industrial banging rhythm sitting beneath ghoulishly processed samples that move swiftly from faux-drones to out of space meteor interceptors (or something like that). The two can get nasty, with droning noises kept moving by underlying elaborations of multiple frequencies and bursts of visionary insertions that keep the listener attention on their toes, which is never too easy on 14-minute pieces as it were. Surprisingly, Alien Symbiosis is relatively accessible considering it's quite hard to digest sonically, part of the reason being that the four tracks offer quite different approaches, a remarkable variety given the fact that sonic manipulation is the only instrument being really played here in addition to some hard-wearing sampler and a couple of microphones possibly. Well, the famous trumpet creeps in also, albeit shortly, but I guess you get the message. I like the fact that this is not just noise for the sake of noise, not abstract just for the sake of not willing to be deciphered, not sonic psychosis just for the sake of scaring your children, but it somehow seems to broadcast the message that things aren't just equal to everyone of us and those nasty frequencies to your ears might as well be bird tunes someone else's ears. Get those alien eardrums on, will you? Then try listening over again... www.desertedfactory.com

Gianfri

Different State - Knar (Zoharum Records)

A broad melange of old school industrialism, out of the schemes outbursts of guitars and bass, psychotically dark atmospheres, post-punk for dessert, Different State seem to turn the clock back a few decades. Think rock experimentalism a-la Godflesh or old-day paranoia a-la Bad Seeds or the Neubauten even. Or full-fledged psychosis a-la Coil. Different State make no excuses for being themselves and put out a show that is as much misaligned as they could, to the modern takes on industrial and psycho-metal (whatever that might be). Plus, someone listing "German vinyls" among their instrumentation must have a misaligned message or two to convey. Being hit full-force by crunchy basslines I stagger through the track sequence, floating from a Bauhaus-type creative number to hints of progressive metal, from shouted vocal lines to psychedelic synth phrases, from percussive noises to uncomplicated yet driving drum rhythms. Two bonus tracks tagged to the end of the album, show quite a different face of the medal. An acoustic guitar (gulp!) riff underlines the first of the two for the entire duration of just over five minutes and I wonder if it is German vinyls unfolding to supoort that along with some seemingly flute lines to complement. The second moves to doom ambient grounds, creating an intoxicating atmosphere, again out of repetition and psychedelic synth mumblings.  All in rigorously pure lo-fi to round the bill. The dirty industrialists are all but gone! To my delight! www.zoharum.com

Gianfri

L'Ensemble Deux Plus Et Compagnie - Pelerinage (The Fossil Dungeon)

L'Ensemble Deux Plus Et Compagnie will satisfy those longing for sacred music, mainly A-Cappella but not only dating from the Middle-Ages up to the Renaissance and the Early Baroque. Some minimalist classic instrumentation, violin, violoncello, flute, oboe, percussion and little more, occasionally emerges among soprano, tenor and barytone voices, choirs that bear the very distinct timbres of centuries long past. Perhaps the recordings suffer a bit from the lack of proper reverberant acoustics, and the feel that the ensemble is sitting in a confined room while preforming detracts some of the impact that such artistic expression should bear upon the listener. Either than that, you obviously need a pinch for ensemble music in the first place to fully enjoy this. I am personally of the opinion that this would have a much higher appeal if witnessed live as opposed to a digital recording, which is available ass nothing more than a download. No rich artwork to flick through your hands, no CD, let alone a record. Somehow, something does not entirely add up here. deuxplus-et-cie.blogspot.com - www.fossildungeon.com

Gianfri

Falkenstein - Urdärbrunnen (Heimatvolk / Steinklang)

Falkenstein go for truly traditional neofolk with fully pagan motivations and are one of the latest additions to the prolific German scene on the subject. Urdärbrunnen is packed with folk tunes driven by an obligatory clean strummed guitar work and lifted by some serious vocal work, a number of acoustic instruments embellishing the work on spots and occasional support from martial percussion which is never going to go amiss. Allegedly, there's little room for innovation on this genre so the prizes go to those who succeed in giving a honest interpretation of it and admittedly Felkenstein are very well positioned to claim one. The low-toned, dark vocal work is much instrumental to this end and the grace of the sparse arrangements do the rest, managing to conjure up a quasi mystic feel that somehow manage to survive the hour long span between track 1 and 14. Parallels are obligatory with the likes of Sonne Hagal and Darkwood, and Falkenstein seem to have the numbers to comfortably reach up to that league with this album. www.falkenstein-musik.de - www.steinklang-records.at

Gianfri

Fluid_0 - Dream 6 (Urgence Disk)

A taste of aggressive electro industrial by Fluid_0, the brainchild of Eron, the drummer of Metal Urbain who were consigned to history as possibly the first French punk group, following on the footsteps of the likes of The Clash and The Sex Pistols. Whether that is an asset or otherwise is up to you to decide, as we will just concentrate on covering Dream 6, a well conceived album of high-speed electro that borrows heavily from the likes of :Wumpscut: while not getting too near to the quality of it. This is not to say that Dream 6 is a faulty album, in fact it is very energetic, with thigh rhythms, punching electronics and appropriate aggro vocals to boot. There's always a risk associated with modeling the own work after others and I am sure Fluid_0 have calculated this from the outset. In fact, when detached from the derivative connection mentioned above, I must admit that Dream 6 is punchy, cutting through EBM of which it is hard to find much around these days. Eron manages to pack in ace melodies which contribute to break the excessive aggression that characterises many players in the genre. The opener 8 Years Old is for example a classic example for a  classic dancefloor shaker and that Eron spills his best beans so early into the record means he's fully confident of the full impact of his work. And he is not far from the mark indeed, as there's little to get tepid about this album. An electronic stampede indeed. www.darksite.ch/urgences

Gianfri

Front 242 - Moments - 2CD (Alfa Matrix)

Is there anything more we can write about Front 242? They are synonymous of EBM. They've created it, they've shaped it, taken it to many dimensions, they have re-invented it constantly according to the onset and following developments of technology, they have taken it back to earth when needed (live drummer on live shows?), they have speeded it up, slowed it down, re-rendered in thousand different shapes, they have made it immortal. A bit like The Ramones have been for surf-punk, Front 242 are for EBM, an act who have been carrying on an astonishing career, always naturally stepping ahead of everyone else who have been following on their footsteps for ever so long. That path is far from over, nowadays Front 242 do not produce new material but their live act is still one of the few that is in constant evolution, a ritual that is capital sin to miss when they come to a venue near you. Moments sums it all up in two CDs stuffed up with their "greatest hits" from all times, recorded live at multiple venues during assorted gigs in 2006 and 2007. All their best tracks are in there, including some of the very early material, all re-worked to bring them in line with the new century onset, yet all retaining their original impact, only augmented by smashing vocal performances by Jean-Luc De Meyer and Richard 23, re-worked electronics, with a plethora of effects performed in real time, human drumming and a vibrant vibe that is so unique to Front 242 that will most certainly die with them if and when they will stop pursuing their live adventure. Im in no doubt that every single hardcore Front 242 fan will list in their collection countless live bootlegs ranging from their early performances to the latest and greatest, for the rest of us this double-CD set is a smashing opportunity to get updated over what this band are up to in case you thought they are no longer about or they do not have anything new to offer to the scenes. Front 242 have sold out by never selling out. Their strength in re-inventing their own already unique material is a quality most likely unique to them. Their sonic research goes on, it never stopped along the path, and is one that is very instrumental in keeping hordes of fans across the glob dancing as if it were their first time dancing. www.front242.com - www.alfa-matrix.com

Gianfri

Ginger Leigh - Merchant of Death (Masuno)

While much has been written at Darklife about Ginger Leigh and is unrepentant pinch for a kind of avant-garde industrial with a mysterious, quasi-psychedelic taste for the Middle-East, it appears as his generous back catalogue has sold out for good and Merchant of Death is your only option to get an insight on what innovative talent can do when let loose on a lo-fi rampage taking no risks of possible commercial contamination. This is, to the best of my knowledge, GL's ninth album and offers one of the best incarnations of the artist's visionary abilities. Noise excursions are a bit toned down on Merchant of Death, albeit not absent, while the Middle-Eastern elements have become more prominent across the full length of the work. It is impossible not to draw parallels with some of the production of Muslimgauze, but matters are taken a few steps further here, as a highly aggressive mixture of weird sonorities takes hold, unsurprisingly in fact, given the author's established boundless regime in terms of composition. Sitting cocktail bar riffs next to bursting synth noises, sitars, Arab percussion or fiendish wailings is not an art open to all, yet it seems much effortless to Ginger Leigh. Grab it as it lasts, if you long for innovation, as this is an obliquely rewarding work. Much like this talented artist's entire back catalogue for what I know. www.gingerleigh.com

Gianfri

Haujobb - Homes & Gardens MCD (Dependent Records)

The early '90s saw some groundbreaking development in some areas of electronic music. In one way it was the beginning of the end for Electronic Body Music as we had learned to love it, partly due to too many musicians enslaved by the furious development of the synth industry and way too few mastering their toys to great artistic ends. In 1993, Haujobb release their first album, Home & Garden (do you remember Off Beat???) and almost overnight a new chapter for electronic dance music was born. A long-lived one. To the point that the album got a new lease of life after over 15 years, when Dependent decided to release a re-mastered version of it, while tagging to it a MCD with 4 extra tracks, 3 of which are new versions of the title track and the fourth is the original mix of Manifestation. It doesn't take much effort to realise that this "old school" work is very much fresh and pounding all these years later and that, yes, there was and still is lots to learn from Daniel Myer and Dejan Samardzic. Although a little nostalgia is in good order, there's little denial that this has been a milestone work in the hystory of electronic dance music and this re-release is a much welcome treat from Dependent. www.planetmyer.de - www.dependent.de

Gianfri

Hoarfrost - Ground Zero (Zoharum Records)

As far as death ambient/industrial works inspired by the demise of the planet -or regions thereof- are concerned, Ground Zero is certainly not a lone contender. Here the unfolding of the catastrophe is more notional than factual though, and in fact Ground Zero seems to deal with the aftermath and it must be stressed that human intervention is not part of it. Well, sonically speaking at least. It's all too easy to associate this to the most creepily famous Ground Zero of our contemporary history, but there are no apparent references to that event in the noise-dust narration of Hoarfrost. As with most of these highly abstract sonic representations, the imagery evoked to the listener can be highly personal and to me Ground Zero is a perfectly standard apocalyptic picture, which could range from the Tour Eiffel folding onto itself to a massive earthquake in shaky Japan. A generic disaster, though, is no less a disaster and there's little doubt that all the canons of pertinence to the category are well represented within this impressive 37-minute 6-track work. From here to Ruins is the core of the crumbling action, it's where a real feels transpires of ongoing disaster, well rendered through excellent granular sound manipulation. The closing Red Alert finds hints of human presence in the form of distant confused voices and screams, but what strikes more about this work is that drama and sorrow are not achieved by means of endless drones, and the dynamism of the ruins even suggests all is well in this form after all. At least if seen from the other side of the fence. As there is obviously another side of the fence. After all, no good news for the humans does not necessarily mean no good news for what is left behind them. Now, here's where I see Ground Zero working all too well. It instigates images and fantasies, none of them that cheerful, none of them necessarily of terminal pain either. hoarfrost.darknation.eu - www.zoharum.com

Gianfri

I am Immune - Entropy EP (Line Out Records)

Entropy fit the bill for the modern electric indie-rock that leans on the dark side and is not afraid to experiment with hints of technology to raise interest. Evolving from the pure Brit synth wave of icons like Duran Duran, Entropy shift the focus back to edgier sounds while upgrading considerably the synthetic content, bringing it in line with the current decade. I still think the 4-track EP format fits these exercise very well, as there's only that much one can achieve trying to move on from icons like The Cure or Duran Duran as they've covered a pretty vast ground already anyway. www.lineoutrecords.com

Gianfri

Ianva - Italia: Ultimo Atto (Antica Fonografia Il Levriero)

Ianva continue their journey through thematics strictly related to Italian history in their second full length release, coming now to contemporary themes, covering some dramatic events of the WWII and up to the end of the previous century. The band outlook lies on the many wrongdoings that have punctuated the history of the country from many sides and across the political spectrum. Their poetic approach to the subjects is surely one of the most interesting aspects of their work, which is a direct heritage from a large portion of the country's most popular music tradition, to which the band subscribes heavily. In terms of music, we find the rich orchestrations the band has accustomed us to, enriched by the competent use of a wide range of instruments, many of which belong to the classical tradition, like trumpets, accordion, prominent classic guitar, intricate drum and percussive patterns or synth strings movements and, when compared to their long-playing debut Obbedisco! there's a clear move on from folk sonorities and martial drumming to more cinematic themes, while the melodramatic element is still solidly present throughout the work. Also notable is the mired use of samples that increase the filmic feel across the album. The virulent vocal contributions of Stefania D’Alterio bring a touch of cabaret noir, while Mercy upfront dark male vocal work is very akin to poetry recitation. There's a lot of emphasis on the lyrics and the vocal work in fact, as the album is essentially a collection of stories melancholically relayed by the protagonists in turn or sometimes by the humble observer. Italia: Ultimo Atto is musically more subtle, more dramatic and less sparkling that the predecessor Obbedisco! and it tends to reveal its sophisticated details over the course of repeated listening. The task of putting to music the fluent lyricism of each track is by no means a trivial one and I think Ianva have put themselves through a gigantic task here and I am glad to confirm that they have come across well and solid on their feet, provided you take the time to let this grow on you. Obviously the language barrier might lead to different stimula if you can't quite follow the plot, but still I think there's isn't quite anything that sounds like Ianva regardless of the lyrics and I feel that their heavy weight popular drama message still comes across sharply even if you're not able to appreciate the lyrical content. www.illevriero.it

Gianfri

Implant - Implantology (Alfa Matrix)

With a working portfolio of one album per year since 1992 and nearly as many EPs, Implant have established themselves as the band to carry the legitimate heritage of the undisputed Belgian leadership in the EBM scene. Len Lemeire, the man behind the project knows a thing or two about making good friends. Following a collaboration with Anne Clark, he's been playing live with her for five years, while Anne returned the favour by contributing vocals of a couple of Implant tracks. And what with Jan-Luc De Meyer, iconic symbol of the pure Belgian EBM with Front 242? Jan-Luc and Len are now partners in crime for the 32Crash project, while on this album get a vocal contribution by Jan-Luc which, in fact, ends up sounding like a 32Crash track! More high profile guests find their way on this album, which is not, as the name may suggest, an anthology of the past production, but more a compendium of variations on the theme as we have seen across many years of EBM a-la Implant. Scrolling through the tracklist, it is more than obvious that Implant have a very eclectic approach to the theme, however consistently based on solid beats and killer rhythmic sections. The synth and electronic sequences showcase a taste for the imaginative and it is one hat-trick after the other as fellows like Neon Judgement, Plastic Noise Experience, Angelspit and Psy'Aviah parade their vocal skills on a track each. This alone adds a huge feel of variety to the tracks, with vocal treatments to match. But it's in the extensive and creative use of samples that Implant excel even more, sprinkling seemingly effortless and varied affects on number after number. At the risk of ending up creating wide inconsistencies from track to track, Len plays all his cards ranging from rhythmic industrial, to minimal less-is-more, to the golden eighties, with a wink to psychobilly and a solid foundation on the nineties rhythmic-electro which is Implant natural breeding ground. Implantology is an album that deserves a solid PA and a multicolor-lighted dancefloor first. Worry about dissecting it later on, if you've still got the strength, that is! www.implant-music.be - www.alfa-matrix.com

Gianfri

In Auroram - When Daylight Fades (Wave Records)

In Auroram fit straight into the niche gothic-ethereal-neoclassical scene that includes acts like Stoa, Lycia or even This Ascension or some facets of Ataraxia. The Brasilian duo relies on a most tender vocalist, Astéria working her magic over dreamy compositions that see piano, violas, soft synth strings and pizzicato strings and unveil a full neclassical vein that is one of the purest I have come to experience from the other side of the Ocean. The other half of In Auroram is Ricardo Santo who used to operate under the moniker of Twilight Passion, but information on the band are pretty hard to come by. Astéria vocal work spans a wide range from soft and frail to fully operatic, putting her rightly at the centre of attention and even so not detracting from the touchy musical work by Ricardo. Piano is predominant and the opener title track sets the scene straight by delivering a strong instrumental that is purely enchanting, as to show there's as much soul and passion in the music behind as there is in the vocal parts. They make sure there's no risk their creations ever becoming dull, opening a new sweet frontier on every track, blossoming into outbursts of heavenly frailty while making a treasure of established influences like Dead Can Dance. And even the best darkwave traditions find their way into their suggestive compositions. I think we have discovered a gem in the genre, or at least I have! Heading off to the Wave Records online shop, you get the chance to claim a bonus CD in ltd edition, adding 10 more tracks to the whopping 14 of the standard edition. A no brainer for goths of all sizes and formats, and all those still enjoying a good dose of simple dreamy liberation in the form of the art of music. www.waverecordsmusic.com

Gianfri

Individual Totem - Aspects of Theories And Reality (Artoffact Records)

This is effectively the first full album released on CD back in 1994 by the German duo Bernd Madl and Mathias Knopp, aka Individual Totem and has now been re-released by Artoffact. The two have been at the forefront of the electronic wave of the early nineties and a quick listen to the ten tracks of Aspects of Theories And Reality tells us immediately that the two never meant disposable electronic music! To say that this album sounds bang up to date even today is not an overstatement at any rate. Drum machine in hand and quirky and dry synths to boot, Individual Totem add one extra quality that is always more rare among electronic-wave musicians: they knew how to bang a tune out, and make it very interesting with complex yet very streamlined synth arrangements. Complete with subdued vocals, mostly treated with distortion or generally harshened for that extra "industrial" feel, and occasional distorted guitars blending in seamlessly, their wanderings are a compelling listen, while catering well for the mid-tempo dencefloor if you are into that. Add vocal samples bent beyond recognition for creepy futuristic impact, and a clear outlook on sci-fi imagery, a prototype of their manifest being e.g. Finite State Machine, which I consider a classic of the electronic wave of all times. All of the above in a mere 50 minute run, and, hear that, NO remixes! Although the real pioneers of the genre broke ground about a decade earlier, there's no denying Individual Totem did cut their own corner back then with a well defined take on the style and it is a pleasure going back today to such inspirational works and being rewarded with a fresh product on all counts. Old school, and the real thing! www.artoffact.com

Gianfri

Individual Totem - S.E.T.I. (Artoffact Records)

Aspects of Theories And Reality, which was released by the band themselves, set the ground for Individual Totem to be picked up by Off Beat which back then was the place to be if you were into dark electronics and wave. The deal resulted in a little gem in the genre, which hit the streets in 1996: S.E.T.I.. I think we are indebted to Artoffact for dusting off some of these immortal works and proposing them to fresh audiences. S.E.T.I. moves to even more downtempo and mysterious grounds, paving the way for what later in the new century developed in the dark electronic industrial, a genre that more often than not is influenced by sci-fi themes, imagery of humanity in the far future and such amenities. Yes, humans can still dream these days (although it's becoming considerably more difficult as years pass by and modern communities recede), and more easily could they in the mid-nineties when this album was conceived and composed. I think there's little surprise in my claim that S.E.T.I. is a classic of dark electronic industrial, and thus, should be prominent in the collection of the self-declared industrialists of all generations. www.artoffact.com

Gianfri

Jännerwein - Abendläuten (Heimatvolk / Steinklang)

Teutonic neo-folk is very much alive, with Jännerwein being one of the latest addition to the stream of acoustic guitar cum cello and martial snare bands out there. There are few twists to the rules by this Salzburg based trio, but a few distinctive traits emerge through the bleak ballads of Abendläuten, most notably the combined vocals by all the three band members and also the addition of many traditional instruments to the equation, which livens up a few tracks, rising the stakes from the otherwise stripped down guitar and basic synth arrangement. There's a semi-liturgical feel emanating from some tracks, also contributing to break the formula a bit more, albeit very timidly, but also some inconsistencies production-wise are evident, with some tracks featuring a poor muted guitar sound, while others offering full sonic definition on essentially the same instrument and very similar strums. Likewise, a couple of tracks stand out because of very different sonorities and although variety is paramount to keep attention above the threshold, specially in the neo-folk area of pertinence, I find Abendläuten marred by a sense of unbalance that makes it feel more like a poorly assembled collection of singles than a cohesive work on its own merit. Perhaps it is after all. I think there's much room for growth for Jännerwein who do not yet seem able to capitalise on the articulated instrumentation they have at their disposal. Loosening the formula might help, although as it stands, this work has the potential for a wide audience in the dark-folk scene. www.hiematfolk.de

Gianfri

Kannonau - Initium (Misty Circles)

Balancing themselves between dark folk sonorities, post punk and giving relevance to certain classical elements, Kannonau cast a breath of fresh air on the dark scene with an album whose appeal is certainly wider than the sum of the elements it's made of. Armed with a strong vocalist of dark and commanding tones, Kannonau employ to brilliant effect a straightforward combination of conventional instrumentation and creative talent to give life to a sequence of tracks that moves smoothly from powerful and evocative to atmospheric and melancholic with touches of classical/martial to complete the picture. The dark folk touch is predominant, but even that is tinted in blues which imparts a warmer, soulful character to brilliant tracks such as The Human Abstract, one of the highlights of the album. Addio! is another moving moment, an arty classic ballad that can evoke ghosts of damned dark souls and crypt dances in the mist and candlelight, ingeniously fading out while still int he middle of narration. Kannonau play sharply on the link between gothic and dark folk and even though this is not an highly original playing ground, they do it with class and competence. I'm sure there is room for growing for the Italian trio and I am very much looking forward to it. www.mistycircles.splinder.com

Gianfri

Karjalan Sissit - Fucking Whore Society (Cyclic Law)

Calling "modern" society by the name it rightly deserves, Karjalan Sissit unleash a brutal attack made of a brand of death industrial heavily soaked in resonating ambient passages and powerful damning orchestral phrases. Reverberation a go-go, a bleak unforgiving landscape, with Mr Make Pesonen (or whoever on his behalf), adding intelligible and disconcerting vocals, ranging from heavily treated spoken phrases to angered screamed passages dressed in overflows of anger. Just take a look around you and us, and who can possibly blame him? A veteran, Peter Bjärgö of Arcana/Sophia fame sits on the production chair, which should give you a fair understanding of the underlying sonorities offered by this 40-minute rage-ambient cavalcade. This is the project's 5th full length work and having worked with the likes of Cold Spring, Cold Meat Industry and Eternal Soul is another good quality assurance, not to mention of course their current Cyclic Law label this work is released by. With winter well underway, nothing feels better than screaming at the world from the comfort zone of our sofas and dimmed-down living rooms; better yet, let Karjalan Sissit do that for you. Carrying the quality mark of Scandinavian death/doom industrial, they have all the numbers to evoke destructive doom'n'gloom and Fucking Whore Society is the tangible proof of that. Just don't leave the CD on repeat while you fall asleep as nasty nightmares may well ensue. www.cycliclaw.com

Gianfri

Kobold - Blowback EP (Artoffact Records)

There's good dancey electronica with a modern industrialised feel on this EP, a followup to a good full-length debut back towards the end of 2007. The duo from New Mexico show to have nice ideas up their sleeves, which is nicely demonstrated by the fact that they present two versions of the title track that manage to sound like two different tracks altogether! Not common in re:version-land. The first is a electronic dance number that is somehow reminiscent of some old-school EBM. For some reason, weird stuff like Forma Tadre springs to mind. The second is a downtempo affair with lots of IDM electronica trickery that somehow makes me feel it would keep the dancefloor in motion. Progressing through the 20-minute work, we get pure instrumental electronica, complete with micro-beats, glitchy synths and micro-pads no doubt straight out of Reason or Ableton Live. Closing the EP, we get back to straight 4/4 and stay midtempo with another track addressing the intelligent dancefloor and perturbing it with infectious electronics and conveniently fitting vocals. Not a weak bar in this EP and plenty of mastered electronics that do raise the hope for a great forthcoming full length. www.koboldmedia.com - www.artoffact.com

Gianfri

Krystal System - Underground (Alfa Matrix)

Debut album for Paris-based Krystal System a duo (duo as in lad and ladette) hoping to bridge the gap between electro and rock, which is an admirable task, provided you happen to like these crossover adventures. Fortunately, they take steps to tame their electric guitar chords so that they are only just intrusive, while synths, assorted electronics and well thought of beats take a slightly more prominent position. There are good ideas on this album, but the overall feel is marred by poor female vocals which are heavily effected and mean to sound tough, but, er... they don't and end up letting down the expectations raised by the upbeat and adventurous enough music backdrop. The latter, in turn, gives the impression they could not decide whether to go for the hi-tech electronic sound or the lo-fi punkish one, ending up somewhere undefined in between, which neither enhances the potential spark of their arrangements, nor conveys the message of roughness the trashy side is trying to get across. Not that imaginatively titled either, Underground seems to tell us Krystal System have got a good way to go; but you got to start somewhere and perhaps is they narrow it down in one more focussed direction, there's going to be more good news to be heard from them in the future.  www.krystal-system.com - www.alfa-matrix.com

Gianfri

Lacus Somniorum - Tideshaper (Cyclic Law)

The soothing liberating drones of nighttime wanderers, the unsettled dreams of the soul seekers. Lacus Somniorum pursue the dark ambient path venturing on the ethereal, hypnotising, almost ritual, were it not for crumbling percussive backdrops and distant bashing providing tension and extra interest. The drones are augmented by highly reverberated flute passages, ghastly vocal choirs stretching in and out of touch on gentle vary-speed wanderings, and a generally caressing atmosphere that rarely feels menacing, but doesn't entirely lead on the way to heaven either. Lacus Somniorum brand of dark ambient sits somewhere in between a lullaby and a soundtrack from the crypt, moving very little from its main focal point yet offering very few weak spots. Perhaps a little extra adventure could have found its way on Tideshaper, but as it stands this is something that will fulfill the mood when it comes the time to rest and relax and let go of the senses. www.cycliclaw.com

Gianfri

Lark Blames - Chimney (Old Europa Cafe)

I like experiments and experiments like me. Lark Blames is a two-man project, made of Marc Blackie of Sleeping Pictures and Lloyd James of Naevus, and Chimney is a collection of spontaneous sound creations concocted by the two which is really as free-form and abstract as it can, without ever falling into the pit of being predictable or easily digestible either. There are winks to dark ambient, but also assemblies of purely abstract noises, expanded cosmic wanders and a touch of psychedelia that ever fits these subject matters. A sudden -but not entirely unexpected- sharp move to more apocalyptic ground occurs about midway into the under-an-hour work, with Black Butterfly, were abstraction turns to esoterism and Rose McDowall steps in for some otherworldly vocal job. From now on, there are names like Coil that spring to mind loosely, and the duo slides very slightly towards more concrete sounds, however slight that is,in the form of mysterious guitar drones or psychotic cut-up sampler sequences, up to until the closing track which feature a rhythm (no doubt courtesy of Mr John Murphy), vocals and distortion soaked guitar. Chimney is surely a wild beast and really not recommended for casual listening. You'll appreciate this if you appreciate experiments and have a sufficiently dark soul. www.oldeuropacafe.com

Gianfri

Massiv in Mensch - Meanwhile Back in the Jungle (Artoffact Records)

Conceived back in 1993, Massiv in Mensch started emerging with a string or releases at the dawn of the new century and have since managed to captivate a whole generation of dancefloor addicts and electro-heads. The recipe is simple in principle, yet very effective: synth bass a go-go, less-is-more yet solid electronic beats, synthetic textures and driving sequences, mostly treated male vocals and female interludes to sweeten the product, adding that welcome touch of gentleness. They make ample use of patterns of vague technoid influence, which is understandable as the projects is born off the German DJ scene essentially. Pleasingly, most of Meanwhile back in The Jungle largely dispenses with the whole techno effect, while focussing on the largely more attractive facets of the German electronic wave  scene and has a vague sense of Neue Deutsche Welle to it. This opens this release to a much wider audience than the pure danceholics, which can only be a good thing. With an electronic production that is 100% competent, there's little to nothing to fault on this album as far as the electro-waver scene is concerned. Entering a club and living room near you..., Massiv in Mensch! www.massiv-in-mensch.de - www.artoffact.com

Gianfri

Massiv in Mensch - Hands on Massiv (Artoffact Records)

No electronic band would be complete without a well catered for set of remixers/remixes and Massiv in Mensch are no exception. Of these, we have seen a whole range in the past and this latest album release is entirely made-up of remixes. Twelve tracks spanning a full hour of high quality, energy draining dancefloor electronics. These days remixing has surged to an art on its own, largely thanks to the technology employed to make music which is fully prone to this type of manipulation, so it's no surprise that reputed names bring big interest and that's not just a case of being a big name for the sake of it. Laying their Hands on Massiv we have the likes of Standeg, Implant, Headscan, Epsilon Minus among others and there's no denying the outcome is very high quality in general. The album is actually opened by MiM remixing two of their own classics, Der Kotzbrocken and Dark Rave, a very useful exercise in dancefloor driving dark electro. Following on, the various interpretations rarely fall into the banal and there's a good case for this album to provide a wealth of material to the buddying DJ, to keep a discerning dancefloor moving. www.massiv-in-mensch.de - www.artoffact.com

Gianfri

Mauerbrecher - Brightest Heaven (The Fossil Dungeon)

Mauerbrecher is the brainchild of Rane Rørdam Knudsen who is a versatile composer playing on his abilities to re-interpret traditional genres, from Medieval to Renaissance or Celtic but even Country (!!) and much more in a modern-age key yet without throwing away the original vibe. On the contrary, he makes quite a good job of retaining it and in fact he sports a bit of the edge of contemporary outfits who have worked on traditional themes for the lifetime, such as Dead Can Dance. He works primarily with traditional instruments such as hurdy-gurdy, bagpipe, flutes, acoustic guitar and loads of percussion, but integrates seamlessly synths and assorted electronic effects, to the point to make this addition seamlessly transparent. Some of the tracks acquire quite an industrial edge, some delve into goth or ambient territory, while others have a liturgical feel to them. All is in general very dim and atmospheric indeed, with openings onto world sonorities, while subtle electronic textures work their magic in the background. Given the variety of styles Rane deals with, this album is surprisingly homogeneous and if there's one aspect limiting it I could think of, this is the absence of vocals, bar a few obscure words muttered in the background by obscure characters on a few tracks. Obviously, vocal work for such styles is a very demanding task indeed and I must say that the album on the whole does not overtly suffer from the lack of vocals, as it retains a more filmic tone to it this way. Mauerbrecher work covers challenging waters and he seems to have lots going on his side to navigate them effortlessly, paving his way to satisfying "traditionalists with an edge". www.fossildungeon.com

Gianfri

Mittageisen - 1981-1986 Remastered 2CD (Mital-U)

Mittageisen is the brainchild of Bruno W who has been a pivotal figure in the Swiss punk and post-punk scene. The project ran in its original form for a mere five years and that lifespan is covered on this double-CD comprising 19 song for close to one and a half hour of minimal dark electronic wave. Mittageisen spell nostalgia, for a time when records had life and vibrancy and each of them had the possibility of accidentally change your life, and hopefully for the best. Back in 1981, bands from 40 years earlier were not reforming and cropping up at every festival in every city known to the music multi-national greedy organisations (companies?). Life was simpler, and simplistically more enjoyable, if you lived in the right side of the world. Mittageisen, and I, did. Music was simpler, but let's put it like this: music was technically simpler and more straightforward, but much more complex in its way to filter in the listener mind and hit the right nerve when it found one. Mittageisen are a prototype of this cultural trend. Their tracks are minimalist in their arrangements, using primordial drum-machines, seminal post-punk guitar work, linear and shaky enough to transmit emotional drama, no basslines (or at least none that can be heard in all but a couple of them), and obscure synth lines to complete an implementation of the dark side of music that can easily result in goose bumps, track after track. Vocals. A talented vocalist is half of the game if one plans to have an audience and Bruno W fulfills this role impeccably, even if his performance is little more than monotonic narration. The tonal character is just one of those you can hardly forget and sits so well over the minimal musical on-goings, providing interest and focus to the tracks, up to the point where guitars take over and carry on creating emotion over emotion with genial chord progressions and melodies  moving in all the right places of your brain. All in glorious lo-fi, splendidly maintained even through the re-mastering work done on the tracks featured. In a way it's ironic that Automaten, their most famous track, appears to be the only one to feature a more in deep production process, or a bassline for that matter. Being the hymn it is, I wonder what could have been of this band should they have stuck together rather than splitting on some dark 1986 day. It's hard to hide that I'm in love with the primordiality of the Mittageisen production, possibly due to the nostalgia factor, but in all truth, I rarely look at the past with all that fondness, so in this case I must conclude that Mittageisen early-day experimentation in electronic-cum-guitar moodiness is what fascinates me and will work equally well for anyone who has (had) an interest in any aspect of new-wave and/or post-punk, as they shaped a generation of dreamers and continue to do so very much in the future (except the dreams are gone!). www.mital-u.ch/mittageisen

Gianfri

New Concept - Stomp! EP (Esox Pop)

Judging by the press release, it looks like German trio New Concept have quite high expectations for this album and I can't help but wondering how serious can you hope to be taken when you're offering little more than a boy-band gasping between eighties disco, Gerorge Michael softness emulation and British slimey pop-wave of the early days. That's not necessarily to say Stomp! is a bad record, as they seem to know what they are doing in a way. But anyone offering a website playing persistent loops as soon as the page pops open, which won't go away unless you ban the site permanently has a thing or two to learn about what music could actually mean to the listener. Plus, living in a total time wrap could be a good way to escape today's humanity bad manners, but I'm afraid there are far better ways to achieve the same result than bolting ourselves to certain musical experiences that are luckily largely forgotten. www.new-concept.net

Gianfri

Nosens - The Final Step EP (Lomeanor / Wildness Records)

There's a good dose of dark experimentalism permeating this debut work by Nosens, an half-hour EP made up of six tracks and a mysterious combination of neoclassical elements, ambient noir, minimal industrial elements and a subtle touch of mystic psychedelism. Now, if the last word of my previous sentence does not actually exist in a dictionary, perhaps this is because The Final Step wanders in territories not much explored yet, venturing into the unknown using common ingredients and instrumentation and a less common combination of them, inspiring a bit of verbal adventure of my own. The six tracks are entirely instrumental and side by side you'll hear piano, strings, distressed synths and more subtle electronics to complement. Soundtrack is an obvious work that springs to mind listening to Nosens, albeit not a soundtrack to a best-seller, on the contrary, a soundtrack to mystic disturbances in space and perhaps time. What's best, this is all Creative Commons stuff, so you can just go ahead on to the labels' websites, download the lot for free and give yourself a good half-hour of dark escapism while you make sure that only art is rewarded while you get the rewards of creative art and that only. This is a no-hype production, much inspired, very competently composed and arranged and a work that gets straight to the point. Talk to the listener by means of its own strength. Of which, much is to be found on this work. www.lomeanor.net.ru – www.wildnessrecords-netlabel.org

Gianfri

Paper Gods - Woolgathering EP (The Fossil Dungeon)

The brainchild of John Fair (ex-Lycia), Paper Gods offer quick and dirty orchestral pieces moving through the neo-classical and soundtrack area of influence, with a sensibility for the obscure but also no marked gothic self-indulgence. Woolgathering however, will appeal to the goth crowd on the strength of its muscular orchestrations that inevitably evoke foggy courtyards and mansion houses and turn goths to soft targets, evan at a higher tempo than it is usual. Miss Kris Tilbury provides soprano deliveries in a couple of tracks and as fast as you get into the essence of the work, over it is! Generally, Woolgathering ends up feeling like a scrapbook of ideas which, however nicely conceived and executed, do tell the listener there ought to be more to come of this! www.papergodsmusic.com - www.fossildungeon.com

Gianfri

The Plastic Noise Experience - Reiz und Reaktion (Alfa Matrix)

Rise ann rejoice, fans of "old school" EBM, as The Plastic Noise Experience are back in all their electronic splendor with their 7th album in a long and honored career spanning two decades. Mr. Claus Kruse is back with yet another take on what he can do best, which is punchy electronics built on a backbone of surreally strong synth bass lines and matching beats. The old school approach lives in the refrained approach to layering, the use of vintage synth sounds, the straight-to-the-point dry rhythmic section all compounded by catchy melodies and upfront Teutonic vocals. The latter elements are in fact more of a wink to synthpop, but make no mistake, there's a marked edge of industrialism here overall. So this is perhaps "old school" in a new school context. Production-wise, Claus is strictly contemporary, as the crystalline tones making up the album clearly state. The original EBM has fully embraced technology, as giants liek Front 242 have testified, so all seems to be going according to the book for Plastic Noise Experience and this album will no doubt spark enthusiasm within the large legion of followers who have been waiting four years to be marched once again to a dancefloor by Claus Cruse and crew. A third of the album, whose running time is just short of one hour, consists of remixes and I fond this a bit of a let down. But with names like Suicide Commando or Laeather Strip I guess there is room for fans' approval! www.alfa-matrix.com

Gianfri

Psy'Aviah - Entertainment Industries (Alfa Matrix)

A vigorous album of electronic fueled, unrepentant, EBM-tinged mayhem. Psy'Aviah do their thing in the most assertive of ways, bringing a wave of fresh air to the harsh end of the EBM spectrum, slotting in in seamless fashion a variety of elements to liven it up and remind us there's always a way forward; just look hard enough, like the Belgian 3-piece is doing. There are clear traces of industrial rock, however well disguised, or better said, blended-in. There are the punchy synth phrases, crunchy synth bass loops. There are hints to the trance side of electronics, once more well toned down, disguised or blended in if you wish, which fully takes away their inherent boredom effect. There are vocals dropped in at just the right times, some even spoken, but mostly sung. And, yes, there are also female vocals, along male ones, for once very well suited to the genre. There is a global pop sensibility to smear the whole product, rounding edges and smoothing cusps, even though the overall harshness effect remains. With Entertainment Industries, Psy'Aviah seem to have hit just the right dose of their multi-sourced influences, which in fact only transpires if you really try to dissect this hard. For the rest of you, there's joy for the dancefloor enthusiasts, confident this not just the umpteenth variation of a theme that has been exploited to death from the four corners of the world. Rounding up the 16-track effort are three remixes, which give the like of Leaether Strip, IC434 and Diffuzion their chance of measuring up their abilities with those of the band in charge, plus one track featuring Implant. I specially like the Leather Strip impression of the catchy Tired, showing perhaps how Claus Larsen could do with a female vocalist helper. There's fresh juice flowing out of Psy'Aviah on this record, but remember, this is hardly suited for that relaxing break if you long for one! www.psyaviah.be - www.alfa-matrix.com

Gianfri

Psycho Emptiness - 5 Jahre ohne Sie (Self-released)

A self-confessed explorer of moods made of anguish and solitude, Psycho hails from Moscow and his project apparently has started has long back as 2003. Probably. Well, that's the most likely date I can decipher from the project home page which is (not very handily) written in Russian only. 5 Jahre ohne Sie features six tracks of truly dimmed and sparse synthetic atmospheres with a psychedelic touch and animated somehow by noises, groans and a female presence that stands out like a possible missing link between the composer mind and the rest of the world. Her presence is, however, sparse in itself and often rather distanced from real life as well, but that's as bright as it gets. Now, I an an eager fan of experimentation and noises but I have to confess that some of what I hear on this production truly baffles me, to the point I am unable to understand whether the ongoing noises accompanying the tracks are due to an audio defect of the CD or are genuine 'creative' features but I am afraid the former holds true. After all, who would really intend to process half of their audio with a rhythmic chopper to make it sound like a bad approximation of that vinyl you've stomped on once years ago while caught on a fit of despair? Psycho per chance? I think we should be told. www.psyho-emptiness.narod.ru

Gianfri

Robert Ziino - The Lying Dolls (Experimental Artists)

The sixth full length work by Robert Ziino, The Lying Dolls, takes a twist towards a slightly more meditative approach by he author. Still keeping the formula intact of having all tracks feature the same duration, which is five minutes sharp, Robert takes his elaborated electronic experimentalism for an almost beat-less ride that moves relatively into the the more ambient realm. I say 'relatively', as with Mr Ziino all music concepts as you've learned them are to be forgotten, as his defining work has re-engineered the meaning of many of them. All the tracks are assembled making use of abstract electronic sounds and the word psychotic is one that frequently springs to mind when listening his works. Track titles such as Mistress Indigestion or The Laughing Condoms seem to indicate that my analysis is not much off the mark indeed. There are however moments when a resemblance to more structured patterns surfaces, as is the case in the track The Blink of an Eye, which begs the question: is Mr Ziino softening up?? I think we should be told. Then again, if dissecting the track in question, it is already experimental enough, with its hypnotic rhythmic patterns and alienating repetition, yet it still sounds like an exercise in sonic correctness on the side of the author. I think you get the point. On The Devils Pleasure he approaches horror theme status, but the man's blueprint for unique electronic sounds and their pitch-bend uncontrolled madness is  sprayed all over the work. Skeletonic beats appear every now and then, supporting free-style synth zig-zags that will leave you speechless. The Lying Dolls, just as each of Ziino's previous works leaves within its own microcosm, it is a fully evasive listening and every bit as entertaining as the other works I have had the honor to review for this compelling artist. Just remember, this is not breakfast music! www.experimentalartists.com

Gianfri

Root4 - VorstellungsKraft (Sonic Boom Records)

An honest album of mostly fast-paced EBM sees a change of direction for Root4, who started their journey in the prolific German electronic scene back in 1990 as a mostly synthpop act. VorstellungsKraft goes down the harder route, with assertive beats, stronger electronic rhythmic elements, prone to appeal the large German crowd feeding on Electronic Body Music since a few decades. Despite so, the vocals remain mainly synthpop-like which is a bit of a clash with the general feel, giving the album partly that 90's feel that we can comfortably label 'retro' these days, shall we? Exception made for the cover of the legendary Eisbär, a classic that sees vocals become appropriately distorted and fully filtered for maximaised impact. This is certainly one for the dancing clogs, but I feel that a layer of extra bite could have helped at times. Otherwise, let's take it as synthpop with the extra layer of bite. Either way, Root4 are caught a bit in between and struggle a tad to bring either innovation or tunes to die for. Still honestly danceable, tough, with many enjoyable moments. www.root4.de

Gianfri

Schultz - La Mort... EP (Kultura Industrialna)

Beat driven harsh industrial is Schultz visiting card, one he has brought to many stages accompanied by fetish performer Vdrey. La Mort feature some music that was originally composed for one of these fetish performances, split in three 10-minute pieces named La Naissance, La Vie and La Mort. This special release which is in fact a net only release and even available as a free download works well as an introduction to this relative newcomer to the harsh industrial scene. The release consists of five tracks, the first of which is the full version of La Naissance, an overdriven piece of harsh-beating industrial in the purest tradition of the best era of the genre, prior to its bastardization courtesy of more or less successful divagations into a plethora of directions. But the stabbing, overdriven and brutally squashed beats and the resulting saturation of the full dynamic range, complete with nasty digital distortion, was quite where it all started. La Naissance (The Birth) is a very invigorating track, and puts Schultz on the map of the best acts of the heydays, the likes on the Ant-Zen and Hands labels. The remaining four tracks are different takes on the La Mort... (The Death) suite, the last of which is the original version. As expected, the theme is more dramatic in this track. This is no slow death though, with brutal strident tunes cutting through the aural system while a high bpm rhythm unfolds, galloping through the distorted noises serving as fitting backdrop. There's good fun on here for fans of very harsh industrial and it's good to see that there's still a lifeline in this seminal incarnation of the genre. www.ikultura.net

Gianfri

Seize - Constant Fight (Alfa Matrix)

Seize do an honest job of polished, female-fronted electropop, although it's hardly a work to get excited about. As is customary in the UK, songs are purely lyric-driven, which tends to over-expose the singer. Sandrine Gouriou is a good case in point, a very valid singer, but in the long run her performance runs tiring, as it lacks the variety and depth needed to sustain close to an hour over twelve tracks, dominated by her singing. I won't even go into the lyric content as this is electropop after all, so we can't be demanding I'm afraid. Behind her, a workout of synths, beats and basslines. The latter are not the real driver here, while beats are well articulated and synths generally quite thin although there are many good ideas and a few decent hooks. Some worrying disco traces crop up every so often and do I need to worry about this album remaining memorable to me on account of these? A few marginally edgier moments come to rescue, like If Tomorrow never Comes,  or Troubled Mind, but overall Constant Fight is pretty uneventful, although not necessarily a bad listen. It just doesn't cut through if you look for a bit of an adventurous listening experience. www.seize-music.com - www.alfa-matrix.com

Gianfri

The SlimP - Wavelands (Danse Macabre / afmusic)

It is kind of hard to dismiss The SlimP as 'yet another darkwave act' as they do have a blueprint for darkwave that is pretty personal and there's little chance to let their third full-length Wavelands go by unobserved. The Cologne-based 4-piece is a relative newcomer to the scene, having started back in 2003 with their first album to hit the streets in 2004. Having joined the parade well after the genre shelf-date, one could be forgiven for expecting they would be some sort of copycat or just a tired mix of what many before them had already churned out to loyal audiences. But sporting a welcome strength in the song-writing department, they start from an advantaged position. The second strength is their vocalist, Elisa Day, who does a good job in shaping the band sound, specifically on the slowest numbers like A Hundred Thousand Faces or Island Fog. On some more upbeat tracks like Love and Lie  on the contrary her qualities suffer and the delivery sounds more contrived. The third essential trait of The SlimP work is their stripped to the bone, lo-fi arrangements that, love or hate, them, do characterise their sound in a peculiar way. Essential, yet not trivial drumming, bass and electric guitar sufficiently dirty to give an under layer of rawness that is very well thought of. They're miles away from the luscious arrangements of masters like Collection D'Arnell Andrea just to throw a scene representative name out there, while they get closer to the raw interpretation of post-punk acts and luckily steer clear from being the umpteenth The Cure 'inspired' act, meaning that they manage *not* to sound like The Cure which is remarkable on its own right. Even more luckily, singer Elisa does not fall in the other common pitfall of the scene, namely the obligatory 'accidental' Siuouxie Sioux emulation, and that's another thumbs up for The SlimP as we've heard far too much of that. Tracks like Nightly Walk are the closest they get to formulaic darkwave, but that's four out of 54 minutes of playing time, so I guess they can be forgiven for that! I am still not fully convinced by the bare arrangements and no-frills production, which in some occasions give the impression we are listening to demos, whether by accident or by design, I don't know. On the other hand, being a young outfit, I am glad they haven't yet sold to the much en vogue concept that a polished arrangement can hide poor musical ideas and in all truth I hope they never will. But since they do have the good ideas out there, a bit of polishing can only enhance the emotional impact of their product. www.theslimp.de - www.dansemacabre.de - www.af-music.de

Gianfri

Sonic Radiation - Infinity EP (Unknown Records)

Out of torrid Dallas, Texas, Sonic Radiation is an outfit that brings a much needed chill-out experience in the form of refreshing electronica that, as they put, keeps "an eye on the past and one eye towards the future". As much common place this might sound, Infinity EP goes a long way in showing that Mr Todd Laskowicz has courage to spare and fortunately, his creations back him up fully on spot. The work in question offers three tracks for a modest running time of under twelve minutes, three tracks of upbeat electronica sitting somewhere in between modern Kraftwerk and the likes of Male or Female (of Front 242 fame). Titillating synth phrases and rhythms, diminutive yet assertive beats, industrial hints, a sense of running dynamics, atmospheres were needed, are all ingredients that make this comparatively short work rise well above the average of a full length of similar connotations. A welcome sense of freshness, one for the dancefloor or the lounge chill-out equally. More please. www.sonicradiation.com

Gianfri

Standeg - Ultra High Tech Violet (Artoffact Records)

Where electronica and mid-tempo EBM are concerned, Björn and Sven Jünemann most definitely have a say, as early members of Haujobb. This is their debut in the form of Standeg and let me say upfront that this is an above-average entry in the genre. Riding the waves of clean-cut, finely textured electronic arrangements over atmospheric synth backdrops, laid back enticing vocals, Ultra High Tech Violet is one to chill out to, although winks to industrial and heavy yet subdued guitar stabs adorn the sonic picture, adding an extra layer of dynamism to it. The mood is dimmed, the melodies abound, instrumental passages and tracks are interspersed to build mood shaping factors, proceedings never get out of control, and even the mammoth 12-minute ride of the instrumental Revol Vex shows that inspiration abounds, with breathtaking dark electronica dominating the stage unchallenged. Any lover of the best nineties EBM and dark electronics will hugh this release with gratitude, as it dispenses altogether with all the branching out on to dead directions the genre has undertaken over the last decade and keeps it simple, competent and highly enjoyable. www.artoffact.com

Gianfri

Star Industry - Black Angel - White Devil (Alfa Matrix)

Star Industry certainly feel like their belong to the stage. Following hot on the heels of their 3rd album Last Crusade released last year, they've played a serious string of live dates across Europe, taking on the most prestigious festival stages across the continent and bringing their mature goth rock act to even wider audiences than their goth status could grant. Black Angel- White Devil documents a gig in Madrid and well conveys the full body of the band's performance which really comes across as much more accomplished than their studio work. That's not to say don't buy their studio albums, but certainly go see a gig if they happen to come play a town near you! Cracking guitars, a solid drum foundation, brute vocals a certain Mr Eldricth could dream of any day, complemented by subtle electronics and finely penned synth lines, make for a sound that shows the band are no beginners and are certainly capable to take large audiences for a ride with the full impact of their anthemic performance. www.starindustry.be - www.alfa-matrix.com

Gianfri

Stray - Abuse by Proxy (Alfa Matrix)

A laid back Erica Dunham steps away from the electronic excesses of her chief project Unter Null to deliver a delicious album of dark, soulful electro-pop noir. Abuse by Proxy takes off in style with Kindred Soul, a dreamy electronic ballad that sets the tone for a string of mainly donwtempo numbers in which intelligent and intricate electronic arrangements are layered on top of luscious synth strings and pads backdrops that provide a touch of ethereal, with miss Dunham's vocals carving their way in a sensual, laid back manner. Melancholy abounds, take Fade into You for example, pervaded by a sense of sweet loss, and the vibe is kept on, moving close to goth territory in numbers like Does It Really Matter or Hold on, nodding to the dancefloor like in Intoxicate or Break Me Free, never shying away from a bit of experimentation with electronics, keeping attention alive for the length of the album. Three remixes are appended to the work, three nice exercises in their own right, but hardly fitting the general mood of the work and, in fact, not making any justice to the original tracks, so probably best left to an hypothetical EP release. However, to defeat my proposal, a double-CD edition is on sale, as customary for Alfa Matrix, with the second disc entirely made up of remixes. I haven't heard it, but based on the three samples on the original disc, I won't hold high expctataions. I must confess I enjoy this version of Erica Dunham better than her Unter Null incarnation by orders of magnitude, so my humble conclusion is: more of this, please! www.alfa-matrix.com

Gianfri

Sturmpercht - A Wilde Zeit (Percht / Steinklang)

A Wilde Zeit is a compendium of rare and compilation tracks for this distinctive Austrian folk combo rotating around the figure of frontman and vocalist Max Presch who is also known for running the Steinklang Industries label. The album covers all the band early singles from the band inception in 2003 up to their first full length which came in 2006 in the form of Geister im Waldgebirg. In addition you can find several compilation appearances, all material much instrumental in integrating the knowledge of the band's past, as these releases are cult objects for few selected these days. For the uninitiated, Sturmpercht play folk that is for the most rooted in the popular traditions of the mountain regions of Austria, where imposing Alpine landscapes dominate the scenery. Expect lots of traditional drum and percussive work, acoustic guitars, and more traditional sonic sources as accordion, harmonica and whistles or bells and flutes, and also violin, all accompanied by Max Presch's own vocals, mainly recitation to re-inforce the folkloristic element and often re-inforced by double-trackings by other band members.  There are moments of pure mountain folklore, which are very prominent, but not only and it is pleasant to find witty excursion into more world type music or swiftly moves to the traditional guitar folk ballad, and they even touch psychedelic and ambient territories, conferring a nice sense of variety to the album as a whole. Sturmpercht are an act that has a niche following and with these early works they come across as a genuine surprise for those with interest in traditional music with a twist, very much in line with acts such as Allerseelen, although the pure folk element is considerably more prominent here in many instances. www.raunend.com/sturmpercht - www.steinklang-records.at

Gianfri

Svarrogh - Yer Su (Ahnstern / Steinklang)

Svarrogh is the brainchild of Dimo Dimov, who started it the back in 2001 as a raw pagan metal project, dealing with Balkan pagan traditions and heritage. Only in 2007 he went for a sharp diversion into more neofolk and ritual ambiences and Yer Su is a splendid example of this latest incarnation. There are spare reminiscences of the metal heritage, which are luckily very sparse, as most of the album moves along paths of folk, ritualism and nature ambient suggestions. The result is a much melodramatic mixture of progressive pagan folk and a sort of neoclassical avant-garde, fueled by the sapient use of many traditional instruments, although some of the impact is sometimes lost due to a tendency to employ harsh metal production techniques which tend to blur and mush the sounds up, which is a bit of a loss indeed. When the sonic definition is restored, the album offers moments of pure entertainment, offering tempting atmospheres in which the spiritual element is predominant. The abundant references to natural elements like water, earth or stone are very instrumental in shaping the character of this album as is the marked avant-garde approach which sees the band and a selection of guest artists stitch together varieties of elements without necessarily following pre-defined structures. Electric guitars riding in the background and a plethora of traditional instruments sitting side to side is not an everyday recipe. The result is a quite rich and captivating journey into a dark realm in which legends and pagan beliefs reign. It still has that distant taste of metal to it, but fortunately a lot more to offer as well. www.svarrogh.net - www.steinklang-records.at

Gianfri

Synomorph - Recorded in Hell (Apocalyptic Radio)

In hell indeed. But not the doom hell of ghoulish darkness, rather the hell of screeching stridence, distortion, bit crunching, saturation, digital overload, suffucating feedback and what you have to hurt the listener ears in the most violent fashion. But who are Synomorph then? Your guess is as good as mine, but we know they hail from Germany which is a good reference indeed. Power-noise a go-go and the good news is this doesn't get half-boring anytime during its roughly 66-minute running time. Granted, you should have nicely trained ears to sit through this, not to mention a forgirveful speaker set and while the obvious upshot is the sheer violence of the frequency spectrum put to work in here, there are ingenious moments of hypnotic ambient-like breaks that ensure the offering of a properly wide dynamic range to which your senses are forced to adapt willingly or not. I also think there are some vocals buried within the mayhem, but I wouldn't worry about vocals or lack thereof in this context. At the risk of sounding masochist, I do find the uncompromising harshness of Synomorph rather liberating indeed, I would even hazard the adjective relaxing, after which I'm expecting a straightjacket armed crew to ring my doorbell any minute now. Imagine Haus Arafna on steroids and stashed against a brickwall limiter from hell. As said, in hell indeed. www.synomorph.de - www.apocalyptic-radio.com

Gianfri

Teatro Satanico - Black Magic Block (SteinKlang Records)

Teatro Satanico have an history dating back over fifteen years  and have remained mostly confined to the Italian scene, dealing with magical themes which is admittedly not an high street entertaining top-choice. Leaving by side for a moment any conceptual motivation, inspirational drive and all good and bad that comes with it, Black Magic Block is an highly entertaining work that taps in different measures into a few sectors of the obscure underground, namely industrial, ambient and minimal electronica and makes a good work at sounding every bit as fresh as a self-respected avant-gardist would long to. Moving from rhythmic moments that would easily please adepts to the kingdom of Ant Zen or Hymen, to visionary minimalism that easily falls out of any marketed boundary, Black Magic Block is the living testimony to the fact that a conceptual work does not necessarily mean restricting your audience to those who care what the concept was if they knew. There is an awful lot of experimentation going on on this album and there are seminal pieces of noisy electronica here that will satisfy the most demanding hears, without necessarily bringing your brain to a standstill, as the noise attacks are pretty much textured as opposed to spat to your face. This is not to say there are half measures with Teatro Satanico when it comes to attack the listener senses, it is just that the class and subtlety on hand here makes this sound so innocently torturing that by the time the album is over anything else sounds like a pussy and you don't quite know why. Tracks like La Magia quale Scienza dell'Io are quite explicative of the major impact some hypnotic avantgardism can have on the unsuspecting, but the most powerful weapon in the band arsenal is their being able to cross boundaries and bring a spate of innovation to the electronica/industrial/ambient carousel. Allegedly, they have been doing this for the past fifteen years, in fact! www.teatrosatanico.it - www.steinklang-records.at

Gianfri

Tonal Y Nagual - The Unseen Deserts (UMB Kollektif)

Full length debut for Giuseppe Tonal  and Tikki Nagual, a slap in the face of disposable industrial, rock, pop and everything in between. Tune in to the duo bizarre and eclectic wanderings and be instantly transported to a time and place where innovation really counts and occurs, as a matter of fact. Forget presets, 4-to-the-floor, conventionally distorted rhythms, the charts. Tonal Y Nagual are the negation of all the above, simply putting their fantasies to music, under the governing power of mini beats, crunchy electronics, sparse patterns and a distinguished vocal work undergoing fine-art treatments for the occasion. And a good dose of unpredictability or shall we call it controlled madness? And if you think that your girlfriend being a car and having three doors and two headlights is rather simplistic, then how about admitting taking a ride with her every night, all night long? Enter in my girlfriend from the first door? Wet inside? 190 miles per hour? Crash? Psychiatric help? Not really, ladies & gents, the duo in question are the free-form of modern transgression, so crassly obviously mad you'd be forgiven for admitting it's very enjoyable after all. Despite churning out little anthems of a minimalist industrial culture, like We Are or The End, they do not stop there and repeat their formula forever simply in the interest of filling the full 75-minute capacity of a silver disk, but move over to explore territories ranging from ambient to electric pop, ritual, folk, lounge and world, picking up a variety of instruments each in the process. A less-is-more journey to uncontrollable freedom of expression is what underpins this wonderful album of sonic free-your-mind mad innovation. Not to be missed at any rate, specially if you're still looking for that missing piece of breakthrough art to bring your listening habits forth and into some unexplored wilderness such as that of The Unseen Deserts.  www.sonicbids.com/tonalynagual

Gianfri

Venefica - Scarlet (Ekleipsi)

A mini-album consisting almost entirely of piano tracks might sounds a bit underwhelming at first, but Marko Sinadinovic (who is based in Serbia) pulls this quite in a brilliant way. Mixing in some Bach and Beethoven for good measure, Scarlet is classical romanticism, sparking toned down moods of melancholy, solitude and all that ensues. One of the tracks is actually performed on classical guitar, courtesy of Amelia Klisinski who has worked with Marko on this production, and the performance follows the stripped-down criteria of minimalist execution that underpins the performance throughout the album. While not appearing to be pretentious on any terms, this work by Venefica adds a welcome and refreshing addition to the goth/darkwave/nighttime listenign catalogue, stimulating peaceful moments of reflection in the quietness of solitude. As all on Ekleipsi, this is a free downloadable release. www.ekleipsi.com

Gianfri

Xandria - Salome - The Seventh Veil (Drakkar Records)

The female fronted goth-metal act is something of a sub-genre of its own since several years now, a bit of a one-way road really, as is it all about getting some talented cross between heavenly and symphonic nymph and prop her against anything that features overdriven guitars, a strongly-elbowed drummer and some generic synth lines, perhaps synth piano and strings or even some orchestral type patches for their added drama value. Arguably, a few acts have managed to cut through, some deservedly, some others less so, but so long as there is an audience, who am I to disapprove? Xandria are a bit of a side shot in this picture, as they do not push as hard, they feature no goth elements at all, do not feature a double-kick (or do they? sure they must!), even more importantly they do not feature the obligatory male guttural counterpart to the lady of darkness on the job. She, Lisa Middelhauve, does have charming vocals to offer, but these do not work any well when set against high bpm anonymous rock tunes which lack depth, emotional value and just do not offer a foundation for her to shine. The title track is where the band starts to come together, creating some interest with atmospheric phrases and even the guitar solos can be dismissed as just 'out-of-place' as opposed to 'ah, was there a guitar solo'? Unfortunately, this is where the interest starts and stops, and it's track 5 of 13. Well, not quite, in fact. I am not going to suggest Xandria should turn to low-bpm atmospheric work, which is where I would most likely place their vocalist, but I am surely not alone in thinking that The Wind And The Ocean is by far the best cut on the album. Piano, atmospheres, strings, chimes and shimmering vocals. Also the oriental hints in the following Sisters of The Light are another indication that a bit more side-tracking from the straightforward rock to which Lisa's vice is not suited, can lead to pleasant results. This is not to say that Salome can't in any way stand tall in the forest of female-fronted hybrid guitar combos, but I suppose there's a window of opportunity for Xandria to give some extra bite to future works and generate interest in the casual listener as I or someone like me could be. Otherwise, I think there's enough of an audience out there that would enjoy Xandria just the way they are. www.xandria-gbr.online.de - www.drakkar.de

Gianfri

SAMPLERS

Alfa Matrix Re:connected [3.0] - VV.AA. - 2CD (Alfa Matrix)

Alfa Matrix have certainly quickly made a name for themselves when eight years ago they ventured into the dark electronic and EBM scene, securing a few big names of the genre and recruiting a large base of quality acts all of whom have in common the use of electronics, synths and a pinch for the dancefloor. This sampler was actually released over a year ago, in order to celebrate the label's seventh birthday and it carries traces of all the artists making up the Alfa Matrix jolly family. The giant release features a grand-total of 32 tracks and runs for over two hours, which should be enough to convince you that they are quite a prolific label indeed! Legendary EBM and industrial names have found their way into the Matrix ranks, name e.g. Front 242, Plastic Noise Experience, Leaether Strip, Mentallo & The Fixer, Implant and Monolith, but that's not all, as even a major darkwave name as Trisomie 21 has homed in the Matrix following their return to the scene. Another branch Alfa Matrix specialise upon is the female fronted electronic acts, with the likes of Neikka RPM, Ayria, Zombie Girl, Seize, Krystal System, I:Scintilla, Unter Null, Technoir, Helalyn Flowers, Acylum and the list goes on... All of this and more, on this double-CD feast, which includes many  exclusive tracks, or remixes, in the name of the beat, showing how Alfa Matrix have created a distinctive identity for themselves and the music that they push so enthusiastically. There is lots of food for the dancing buffs on here and although there's a large fluctuation in terms of sheer quality of the various acts on display, it can be safely said that there are bits of interest for virtually everyone who enjoy a hard beat or two or think that Long Live EBM is a good slogan. Personally, I am still very impressed by acts like Star Industry who are sheer energetic gothic rock, and considerably less by the aggressive distortion by the dozen of acts like Tantrum. The girlie EBM will need an audience of their own. Your mileage may vary. Actually, there isn't a track by Front 242 but I guess that a full-bodied fan of the act would find listening to this full release a bit too much to digest anyway. Front 242, however, appear on the third part of this release, which is nothing less than a DVD holding 19 video clips to complete the celebration. So you'll be able o admire the likes of Regenerator or Nebula-H, Glis or Diskonnekted and many more. As alfa Matrix say, they refuse to be typecast into a fixed format, so there's potentially always a surprise around the corner, although this invariably leans on the very soft side and too often too blatantly in search of commercial success to prove credible at all. I think the strength of Alfa Matrix lies mainly with the dinosaurs, while a good portion of their younger acts, despite being very respectable, tend to give the impression of producing disposable electronic music. In other words, nothing that will survive the hype of the moment. Come and find out for yourself! www.alfa-matrix.com

Gianfri

Alfa Matrix Re:covered - A Tribute to Depeche Mode - VV.AA. - 2CD (Alfa Matrix)

Does the world truly needs a Depeche Mode tribute CD? According to Alfa Matrix it does, and not by a small margin, seeing as their tribute extends to over 130 minutes spanning 2 CDs and a total of 34 tracks. No to mention an extra 7-track EP which is given away to the "first orders", whatever these are. So Alfa Matrix have put their entire roaster to work hard and I doubt some acts didn't get a spot, although I didn't go and check really. So what is on offer then? Provided you like Depeche Mode to some extent, well, you get lots of covers! Depeche Mode music has a unique taste and feel made of several finely tuned ingredients, so my stance is that there's little hope to improve on that, unless you call it something else, which you don't do if you are covering it. All bands on display are hyper competent and it clearly shows on this giant release but that's something we knew before anyway, so their renditions of countless Depeche Mode classics are very well thought of and executed. The real classics, those are quite hard to tackle and there's a certain struggle in that department, with results being not always fully convincing. Komor Commando fall flat on an improbable blues version of Personal Jesus and LeatherStrip struggle to bring to the masses the true emotional depth of Blasphemous Rumours. Krystal System's version of Master And Servant is adventurous but not equally convincing, while Star Industry feel well at home covering Enjoy The Silence. Virgins O.R Pigeons struggle with People Are People, but that was not a great track in the first place, and O.V.N.I do not fully disappoint with Never Let Me Down Again, but they miss altogether the quasi-bombastic fell of the original. Tantrum have another go at Personal Jesus and frankly they seem totally out of touch with the subject matter, and so are Helalyn Flowers who propose I Feel You. Not willing to discuss each single track, yet I'd still like to mention pleasant entries such as Little 15 by Aiboforcen, Nothing by Implant or Get The Balance Right by 32Crash. So is the world a better place since the Tribute to Depeche Mode? I suppose I will have to delegate the full answer to the hordes of Depeche Mode fans out there in the wild. On my side I must say that it is certainly a neat exercise, although I would not have lost any sleep if this would have never materialised. www.depeche-mode-tribute.com - www.alfa-matrix.com

Gianfri

FabrikSampler V2 (2008) - VV.AA. (Pharmafabrik Recordings)

Pharmafabrik are catalists to some of the best dark ambient electronica around and this sampler is a tremendous testimony to their emerging status at the forefront of this branch of experimental craftsmanship. Despite gathering all the eleven featured artists under the same umbrella for the sake of categorization, the album covers quite a lot of different ground, from droning experiences to glitch, soundtrack, experimental electronica and the list goes on. Subtly shifting moods from track to track, which is ingenuously helped by actually continuously shifting from one track to the next to create a long, evolving mix to enjoy without break and ranging from the deep darkness of Henrik Nordvargr Björkk to the exuberant electronica of Left Eye Dominant to the cryptic abstraction of Dodecahedragraph and the several layers in between. There's lots of food for those feeding on dark experimentalism and electronica on this album, which will lead no doubt to checking the label catalogue and the featured artists for a deeper excursion into the depths of their dark sonic research. www.pharmafabrik.com

Gianfri

Interbreeding 09: Kuru - 2 CD - VV.AA. (BLC Productions)

Intrebreding is an ongoing series and I must confess this 09 version represents my first contact with it, for which I'm grateful to BLC Productions. A mammoth compendium of 37 artists providing two and a half hours of vivid beat-oriented dark electronic music, much of which in the form of very valid takes on the EBM concept. Think of the stark electro (elektro?) that has flourished in Germany since the nineties , made of punchy beats, solid synth lines, a great taste for dance-triggering melodies and a fair amount of experimentation to spice it up even further. Only very few of the names featured are actually well known this side of the ocean, XP8, Run Level Zero, Alien Produkt and perhaps Frightdoll, meaning this sampler is actually a very effective tool to get introduced to a large number of bands that seem to hold the potential of delivering very valid dancefloor suited dark electro. The quality is in general surprisingly high, and although I would not probably sit through 37 albums of dark electro EBM in a go as a result of listening to this, there is certainly lots of food for the genre enthusiasts on this double release. Given the generally traditional electro school approach featured through this saampler, I must conclude there is a very prolific derivative scene out there in the US, which winks at acts like Suicide Commando and tells us the game  is much in the up over there, while this branch has somewhat dried out across Germany or Belgium, where good new productions do not abound by the numbers. None of the forcedly pop approach that seems to obsess everyone and their producers over in Europe seems to be affecting the protagonists of this electro cavalcade and, while having nothing against pop or electro pop (when well conceived and performed of course), I must admit that it is a bit paradoxical that shifting a few years back in the calendar seems like a refreshing move in this case. So dancers and dark clubbers unite, it looks like Interbreeding has good news all along! www.blcmusic.com

Gianfri

Wave Sampler 2009 - VV.AA. (Wave Records)

Wave Records is based in São Paulo, Brasil and is said to be the only label in the country to cater for dark music ranging from goth to synth to darkwave and industrial. I don't know if they are quiet unique in Brasil, but they are certainly the only label from there I've heard of so far, so that makes them unique enough in the context. And they sport a damned nice roaster indeed! This is in fact the first sampler they have released featuring entirely Wave Records artists, just under an hour and eleven entries, rounding up on the label catalogue quite neatly. There is mostly electronic wave which is very true to the best tradition of the relatively early golden days of the genre, but not only. In Auroram, for example, offer operatic gothic vibrancy, Opera Multi Steel cross cold electronic wave over to medieval themes, while Scarlet Leaves have guitar driven ethereal wave as their raison d'etre and Wintry close the album with dark tints of gothic. The one thing in common between all tracks is the humble (or not really so) synth, in a variety of its several incarnations. From the primordial cold-wave of 3 Cold Men to the marching beats of Nahtaivel, from the dry old-school electronics of Florence Foster Fan Club to the candid synthpop of Pink Industry, from the harder edged EBM of Pecadores to the straight electronic wave of Individual Industry or slightly more pop-oriented approach of Beata Beatrix. It is quite a relief to see that there is still room out there for music that is not hyper-produced, constructed/de-constructed/re-mixed, which only responds to the obsessive needs of saturated markets and has lost most of its immediacy while undergoing those unnatural bastardizations. Welcome back to the real thing then, it was quite time some label would bring this all back, so very well done Wave Records! Wave-heads get this and enjoy a breath of fresh air. www.waverecordsmusic.com

Gianfri

Wave Klassix Vol. 3 - VV.AA. (Wave Records)

The title says it all really, as this sampler features some of the über classics of the early 80s minimal wave, synth wave and post-punk, many of which have graced to the exhaustion dancefloors on a few continents. While names as Lars Falk, Trisomie 21, Kirlian Camera, John Foxx, Psyche are globally acclaimed, a few other names appearing have had more limited resonance and one out of the 14 is in fact a Brasilian, Kodiak Bachine, who is said to have been a pioneering figure in the field of electronic music. His track, Eletricidade is pure analog synth pop with more than a wink to the masters, Kraftwerk. Among the less known names, are bands who have achieved back then more of a national resonance, among which Krisma from Italy, NovCom from Sweden, Ceramic Hello, The Vyllies from Switzerland or Ronny from France. These in general and the latter in particular are a clear reminder of how charmingly lame some of the immortal 80s wave has been, specifically a certain branch of the electronic pop which is best remembered for being buried and forgotten indeed! However, dancefloors have (and still are) often pervaded by such perverse tracks and Wave Klassix in its third incarnation does an admirable job at gathering such a wide range of artists from al over the world. Clearly one for those nostalgic nights, all spiky hair, glitter and lipstick. www.waverecordsmusic.com

Gianfri

VINYLS

Fractional - Still Life? (The Centrifuge)

Fractional clean ambient electronica is a mood softening experience and I would advise anyone against missing it, with my only complaint here being that one needs more that just 15 minutes of this at any time. Really, Pierre Remy has a soft touch for captivating rhythmics and melodies, his layering of electronics works as if it were the most natural thing to lay down, including unconventional hooks and a feel of lounge forgiveness that is always synonymous with mental well being. Still Life? is great background music but not only, as its intricacy might seem to go unnoticed but only unless you stop being transported afar and listen to the incredible detail that is every track's treasure. There and then is when this work spins up to its own merit and reminds you that soothing rhythmic electronica demands to be enjoyed for far 1more that a quarter of an hour at any given time. www.fractional.be - www.thecentrifuge.co.uk

Gianfri

Solar Skeletons - Necroethyl (Radon Uropa / Night On Earth / Toolbox / Aïnu / Amertume / Marasm /Saucisse Lentilles / Bruit de Fond / BTK)

With a label line-up far fattier than the tracklist, Solar Skeletons are a bit of an enigma. Two French musicians hellbent on weirdness, they offer a peculiar, and surely unheard of before, twist of industrial and blues. Slow and intoxicating rhythms drag themselves through hazy basic electronic tones, supported by fuzzy hanging basslines with sketchy distorted guitar work creeping up from beneath. A sleazy narration takes place, shaped by more unconventional fx ventures, and I must confess I have made no effort whatsoever to follow the lyric content, sure in the belief there's not much I am missing from a number of point of views. Best of all, I am not sure the outfit is out there purely to appeal, or to shock for that matter. The project name alone is a hint to some kind of black humor that probably permeates the whole venture. Far from being humorless, and looking from a certain angle, there are several pieces of serious experimentations that are worth the while of the listening effort. I must admit that tracks like the opener Bottleneck Licker are far more appealing for their veiled crossing over of genres than the more explicit attempts at mental fuzzy blues such as Mr Saler. Call me "conventional", but the pulsing, ritual hypnotism of Low Inside Electric Sun are far more of interest, while being a long way from conventional anyway. So if you thought that Solar Skeletons was a name that put you off, give them a second chance, as you might either be seduced by the venture or at least pick out one or two pieces of interest in this haze inducing work. Unfortunately, due to the global cash-shrink, we are destined to never see the (apparently) marvelous marble-vinyl original, weighing at 180 gr, and had to make do with a much lighter multi-megabyte zip-ball. www.solarskeletons.com

Gianfri