Industrial music reviews

Gridlock continue to impress me.

As on FURTHER, the Bros. Grid offer us a seamless medley of reverberating synth strings and erupting/dissolving rhythmic architecture. On the one hand, comparisons to Vangelis' BLADERUNNER score seem pretty apt... As for the beats, I'm not so sure. While a standard bass drum creeps in here and there, more often the intense, processed blasts of fragmenting detritus occupy the forefront. I suppose Imminent Starvation's NORD album is a fair reference point, although the Gridlock sound is thankfully more 3-dimensional (lots of reverberant space, panning and so forth) and blissfully ignorant of the "distortion for distortion's sake" credo of the so-called Power Noise Movement. {Interestingly, on 'Estrella', an ethereal female vocalist appears -- she's merely another layer betwixt the somber strings and mechanical breaks, however.} Overall, this disc leaves me with a satisfying, orchestral aftertaste. The obligatory remix that finishes things off is by a fellow called Vcam and sounds like it might be the unreleased fifth track from Autechre's ENVANE ep. Really. And that's a compliment.

More good things to come from these guys, I'm certain. Essential listening for any and all Biosphere fanatics. I have a feeling that the Ae crowd (esp. those who long to revisit the TRI REPETAE era) would enjoy this, as well.

...In a word, NO. Anyone who argues that electronic music is devoid of feeling need only listen to the latest by Mike Wells & Cadoo (aka Gridlock)....trace. Gridlock has abandoned its industrial-esque haunting vocals and distorted, abrasive percussion for a more flowing, ambient style that's really unlike anything else out there. The rhythms are still here, but are pushed into the background as the synths take the spotlight. It's new, but unmistakeably Gridlock.

trace is perfect as background music for any number of activities, but also serves as a fantastic escape when experienced through headphones - you may be surprised where your mind takes you. The album is almost completely instrumental, but is stronger as The Synthetic Form and Further (Gridlock's two previous full-lengths) in that the emotional effect upon the listener is more profound -- lyrics are not needed for expression here, and in fact would dull the impact. As Further was a leap past Synthetic Form, trace is a launch into the stratosphere.

I feel this is one of the best electronic albums yet recorded. Gridlock has taken its innovative trademark sound and expanded it tenfold, and despite the album's title, trace is their fullest and most complete work to date. This album will please everyone from fans of Enya and Tangerine Dream to early Delerium and Skinny Puppy. Gridlock deserves to be in the upper echelon of modern recording artists (and I stress the word "artist") -- and though I hope they gain more exposure, I'm betting they don't. They've evolved into something beyond us hapless mortals. Hear what you've been missing - trace is unclouded genius.

When Chris Randall feels the need, Sister Machine Gun learns to change faces and becomes something new and, further, something exciting. Sometimes this can be as simplistic as changing a few denotations within the words and other times it can be something larger, like redesigning the structure of the album in its entirety. It has always been like this since the first album and the second album were put together, too, just as it has been evident in the last albums that have been done with the 6.5 Desert Companion and 6.6 Machine releases. Within the morphos, many things have been attempted with much success, such as the junction of funk and jazz, rock and industrial, electronic and technotronic, the use of rap and the madness of certain motions, and all with much success. Here, within the confines of Transient 5.2, the ratio of success to failure is no different.

Within these off releases, called EPs by most individuals, it must be taken into account that Sister Machine Gun is a band that graces the world of these normally-remix releases by giving its audience at least a handful of new tracks to play with and one or two older tracks to ingest with a reworked expression. Well, in this 5.2 portion of their legacy, they did exactly that, feeding the listener songs expressed through some of the most electronically grounded releases with strange effects in it (I recall hearing the Atari game Tempest in song 4, for instance), avoiding the chaotic plateaus of the wondrous 6.6 but still attracting attention through song after song. Four of these, the most electro in nature, are over seven minutes in length and the fifth new track, Dead Generation, has more of an edge to it that some of the other do within his proclamations of "belonging to the Dead Generation Now." Perhaps this was the most surprising thing of all, too, because I had expect quite a bit, but nothing that spanned over so many minutes like this did.

Although this wasn't originally designed for an addition to rEvoultion but was later released as one, it is still worth of picking up and is something that stands on its own. In fact, its rather annoying that the two are coupled together like they are anyhow, because neither shares the same soul that pulses through each of their veins. So, if you are looking for Sister Machine Gun album but have hesitated, fear not and acquire!

This Ep is friggin sweet,this just might be smg's most "electronic" album ever, great lengthy songs that really point out S.M.G's artistic growth and capabilities as one of the better, well respected industrial rock bands around. With chris randall preaching his tempered fury over some crazy/dancy tracks, u cant go wrong with this one. You have speaker crushing bass, great guitar riffs, bizarre sound fx,deep lyrics everything you need.(good cd to practice your kung-fu too) As good as this ep is,for listeners who just recently started getting into S.M.G this might not be the best place to start for you, take my word for it, if you wanna understand their style completely, go pick up their first album "Sins of the Flesh" and work your way up from there.

MR BRINKMAN MAKES SOUNDS AND THEY SOUND GOOD. REAL GOOD. GREAT MUSIC TO LISTEN TO WHILE YOU DO THINGS.

i do my work and life by this c

Attrition's music was and probably always will be unclassifiable and innovative. They are never afraid to experiment with different genres, often creating eclectic mixtures of avantgard, neoclassical, EBM, darkwave, ethereal... Originally released in 1991 on Relic this CD is still very much listenable and enjoyable in Y2K. Most of it is rather intense, dancy and dark ("Thin Red Line", "Scenario", "Right Hand Man") and then there's slower and more melodic stuff like "A girl called Harmony" or "Legitimate Sin". The lyrics are quite interesting and at times rather psychotic. Combined with the urgent music and eerie "industrial" male and operatic female vocals, they give the listener an uneasy feeling.

This is truly a cd that even people who have no idea what Gothic music is, can enjoy. The deep crooning voice can soothe the most savage beat, while the rythym's can even be considered danceable, unlike most of their prior music. A must for all Gothic fans, but don't pass it up if you are not!

It looks like this CD is OOP, which is a shame. Generally when I think of a five star CD, I think of something that breaks the boundaries of the genre it is generally percieved to fall into. This CD is straight EBM, but it is just so good it deserves 5 stars anyway. From start to finish the production is stellar, the composition is magnificent, and the beats are unbelievable. If you are into Industrial music, you should consider spending the brutal price this one is going for used. This is one of the genres benchmark albums.

When you think of dark, evil musicians, many think of Marilyn Manson. Few in this country have heard of Claus Larsen. The genius behind Leather Strip. Claus performs a dark brilliance in his music far better than most. Marilyn Manson may appear 'evil' on the outside, but Claus can deliver the same effect in a much more suttle way. Not to mention that he's also 100 times more talented. I guess the way to get attention or fame in this country has purely to do with 'image'. Apparently painting your face and lighting goats on fire on a public stage is how you become popular in this country rather than just writing good music. Perhaps that's why Marilyn Manson is more popular around here than Claus Larsen. Marilyn should take lessons from Claus on how to write truely dark, menacing music rather than feeding off America's hunger for a 'freakshow' image because that's the only thing he can do well. Anyway, that's my rant, now about the album. This is probably Claus's best work. I chose to review this one because from beginning to end each song never lets up. Every song flows into the next very well. From start to finish every song is as evil as the next. From "Turn to Stone" right up until the last beat in "White Discrace" it makes you go "wow, that was good. It's a true venture into the dark world of underground music, and then the cd ends. Oh well, just play it again.

If you've ever considered purchasing a Le?ther Strip CD, you need to pick this up. It is quintessential Le?ther Strip. This is Claus Larsen's most evil and fast paced bit of dancefloor EBM to date. Songs like 'Turn To Stone', 'Another World' and 'Don't Tame Your Soul' are classics that could get anyone revved up. However, every song on this disc is a burner, even some of the lesser tracks like 'White Disgrace'.

Any lover of EBM or industrial should have this CD included in your personal library. Anything otherwise is sacrilege.

This is the second "Unnatural History" compiliation from Coil, and in my opinion the better of the two. If only the corporate Schmucks who produced the Hellraiser series (theyre still great movies btw) let Barker do what he pleased (there are differing accounts of whether or not it was Barker who didnt want them on the soundtrack) and have this great group get their compositions on the sound track. Coil would have been seen as the next "Goblin" probably if that were the case (Goblin being Dario Argento's soundtrack group of choice and a classic band in their own right).

This is a good album, it includes all of the hellraiser originals, and some other good tracks like theme from blue 1 and 2.

This release has a subtitle that explains it perfectly, "Smiling in the Face of Perversity". Tracks 1 through 5, track 15 and the secret track following 15 are delightfully eerie, and have the tendancy to encompass your entire being. Tracks 6 through 14 are the original versions of the Hellraiser Themes, not used because director Clive Barker felt that people would concentrate too much on the music, and not enough on the movie. Definately music for the horror movie that is going on inside your head. Excellent release to the Coil newcomer and the seasoned Coil listener alike.

Tracklist: 1 X-ecutioner's Remix 4:36/ 2 Richard Vission's Vocal Injection Mix 5:42/ 3 Richard Morel's Pink Noise Vocal Mix 8:16/ 4 DJ Hyper Remix 6:57.

There is no denying the fact that Filter's vocalist Richard Patrick has a home in clubland. Remix Gods >Peter Rauhofer and >Johnny Vicious respectfully transformed the last 2 modern rock hits, "Take a picture" and "Best things", into blinding, euphoric top 10 club anthems -and the "Title of record" album was successfully marketed to a whole new audience. Now Filter are back with a brand new album, "The Amalgamut", and Reprise have wasted no time in hitting clubland with some powerful club mixes for the lead single "Where do we go from here". The best of the bunch is the dark and moody, full Vocal Mix from Richard Morel. No dancefloor fireworks here; Morel keeps it strictly low-key to huge effect. Patrick's vocals, backed sweetly with the acoustic guitar, glide smoothly over a driving bassline and the pumping beats. Extremely SEXY! Then, sounding very different to anything else that he's worked on, Richard Vission offer's up a slamming slice of dance action with his short Vocal Injection Mix. Mashed up vocals bubble over the delicious house beats and edgy synth sounds. The DJ Hyper Remix hits a lot harder but the vocals almost get lost under the fast Hybrid-like beats and trance stylings. Also included here is the metal-meets-hip hop X-ecutioner's Remix; a stripped down mix that pushes the queer, strained, almost Bjork-like vocals to the fore and excites with hard-edge metal guitar scratchings. All in all, this is a very fine remix package that successfully sets up the new album. Where do they go from here? The only way is up. Another sure-fire top 10 club hit.

There they go again. Their new album has been awaited for three years. And here we got the current single WHERE DO WE GO FROM HERE and it is a TRIP. It is pure bliss, power, melody and it rocks so much that I get chills up and down my spine. Again we got hard guitars but it?s a whole new sound which Filter created. I WON'T DOWNLOAD any of the new stuff, I will be waiting patiently until they release it. I think it?s worth waiting, since Filter resurrected with even more power and magic and Rich's voice is amazing. TWO THUMBS UP !

This collection of two classic EPs (I got them in their UK import releases back in 1991, 1992) is well worth getting for the remixes on 'On Ice' and 'Heavy Blood', let alone 'Host of Scorpions' and 'Black Ash Dub' -- the title tracks are exceptional too. NOW, I have to buy it for the Stairway remix!
Even though I already have all of the other tracks.
The beats are killer here, though not as killer as those on 'Deliverance' ... that's my favourite ... other good Scorn albums to get include 'Ellipsis' (great laswell remix) and be sure to pick up 'Logghi Barroghi' and the Laswell/Bullen album 'Bass Terror' and Scorn's 'Evanescence' and the 'Anamnesis' collection -- sh*t, just go out and buy all of em, the Painkiller Collected Works, everything ;-)
I guarantee that, with bass this brutal, you'll never need to take that E-Z-Lax again :-P

This compilation comprises the two early 12" releases "Lick Forever Dog" and "White Irises Blind" and a previously unreleased mix of "Stairway" (the original version appeared on "Gyral"). The two 12" releases are prime stuff and established their sound in the early '90s, mixing deadly grooves with heavy, but well-mannered guitar-playing and atmospheric samples. Together with the more later-era oriented sampler "Anamnesis" this is a perfectly good introduction to the innovative work of this group, who didn't fit into any musical categories.

I'll start my review by the artwork and then the music itself.

Cover art/liner notes: very cool...i like the zoom-in
effect when you go from cover to the inside pages, as
though we're looking from up above and are able to see
the small details of the world below (even the glowing
jellyfish, which is my favorite pic)

1. prisms i: somewhat churchlike feeling...mix of
light and dark sounds...perfect, seamless transition
into the next track.

2. twilight haze: love this one...very well
mixed/produced (though that can be said for the whole
cd)...has a very new order feel to it, which is always
a good thing!...still one of my faves (i heard this
one in demo before the cd release)

3. freezetime: nice transitions between different
soundscapes (i.e., more digitized/rhythmic in the
beginning, slower tempo midway)...song ends as a
moment ends (probably the point of the song!)...like
watching a short film, it has a beginning, climax,
denouement.

4. skydomes: another of my favorites...quite
haunting, melodically...there are a couple parts that
remind me of depeche mode's "behind the wheel"
remixed...as you can tell, i tend to like the darker
stuff.

5. motionstate: danceable, rhythm-driven,
synthy...i don't connect as much with this one, but
it's still very good, and it transitions into the next
track very well.

6. waves: very, very good...plot-driven (this is
another track with a movie-like feel)...very dramatic
shifts in sound, which i like tons..."will we see each
other again" is such a desolate line, so of course i
love it.

7. prisms ii: feels like the "dark night of the
soul"...a period of transformation, where pain is
inherent to the experience of changing.

8. drifts: feels like the morning after the "dark
night of the soul"...moody, thoughtful,
desolate...great shift at around the 3:00 mark,
feeling of unsure hope--hopeful that she will come
with you, unsure that she will...another favorite.

9. red glow: very digital world feel, a la "the
matrix"...dark, confused...i love the line, "wasteland
of diluted/deluded secrets"--i'm not sure if it's
diluted or deluded, but both words work splendidly and
give a compelling spin on the meaning.

10. lunatrip: also has a very movie-like
feel...echo/synth effects are very space-like, which
was probably the intent given the title.

11. distant voices: nice mix...vocals around 2:40
mark have underwater/echo sound to them, haunting
feel...nice blend of vocals/synth...very retro-80's
underground-y new wave.

12. neosymmetry: personal
transition/revelation...beginning reminds me of an
awakening, a rebirth, maybe molting of an exoskeleton
or emerging from a cocoon...body of song is energetic
and young.

13. outside static: busy, scattered, distracted,
preoccupied, impatient...love the space/air at around
the 4:00 mark and the music that follows...

14. prisms iii: melodic, thoughful, lovely, and then
the moment is gone like a switch was flipped...the
credits roll...musically, this was a nice way to bring
the work full circle, right back to the beginning...as
though despite all the shifts and changes we've gone
through, we're still who we were; part of us does not
change...

in conclusion: the album is at times apocalyptic,
sometimes dream-like, sometimes hopeful, sometimes
intimate...an intense, digital catalogue of the human
condition....

Recommended highly

I have to admit I've never been a fan of techno music, and without formal musical training, there's not much I can comment on regarding tones, beats, and hooks. But I can speak as an average, music-loving consumer to mention that I was so pleasantly surprised by this CD that I played it for every roommate, friend, or relative I could find, and haven't stopped listening to it since I got it several months ago.
A very noteworthy fact to mention is that this album is basically a one-man show. Eric Shans, the sole member of Phenotract, manages to combine beats, sound effects, breathy vocals, and his own written lyrics to create a variety of moods that flow flawlessly into one whole album.
As I said before, I don't particularly like techno, and I don't like to go to clubs to dance, but this album is so much more than the lyrically challenged, thumping, bass-heavy noise that I hear kids dance to at clubs these days. "Within a Second" is excellent to drive to, good to space out in front of the TV to, probably insanely inspiring to dance to, and pretty wonderful "mood" music as well.
A problem with categorizing music into genres is that you may love something you never would have thought you could love.

I bought this cd directly from Eric Shans, the mastermind behind PHENOTRACT and was incredibly surprised.
Why? Because this is a one man band. Mr. Shans does it all!
But the interesting part is that every song has a hook, something different that keeps you interested from track 1 to track 14. This cd will be played on dance floors everywhere....and after so many spins....will still sound as exciting as it's first play.
Tinman Records is know for signing fresh, innovative performers...and with Phenotract...they've hit the nail on the head and kept the music alive!

You have to get this cd right now if you love bands like Depeche Mode, New Order, Dirty Vegas, The Faint and anything "classic" Alternative. Forget about VNV Nation, Apoptigma Bezerk, or Covenant -- this, is what the future of synth-pop-muzik should sound like. Croc Shop have been making this unique brand of innovative electronic(A) industrial since 1994 and it gets better each & every album I buy of these guys. HIGHLY Reccommended !!!

Previous Crocodile Shop cds have been brilliant pieces of "Art" yet sometimes in sacrifice of the 'song'... it seems as if now that they shortend the name to Croc Shop (from 'Crocodile') they also 'edited' the overall style of the bands as well. There are still all the great dark melodies that the band has offered in the past; but now the vocals are laid on top of a more solid & bouncy electronic(a?) foundation. Think: New Order meets the Underworld with a dash of Front 242 thrown in for old times sake!

Dont take my word for it; there are plenty of sites w/ samples of this great new sound for Croc Shop - search around & visit the bands official website at crocshop.com for all the info on this really stellar release! Dont miss out !!

A "MUST OWN" For fans of: Depeche Mode, New Order, Underworld & Dirty Vegas, too!