Industrial music reviews

ATTRITION The Jeopardy Maze (Projekt) It has been fifteen years since the release of Attrition's first album. Instead of sounding like a tired band at the end of their career, The Jeopardy Maze is the culmination of everything the band has built up before, sparked with a fresh vitality and a sense of calm confidence. If anything, I would go so far as to say this is probably the strongest release we have seen yet from this British outfit. Martin Bowes is the main force behind Attrition, as he writes everything, programs it, mixes it and sings on it. Aiding him is Julia Waller, who adds her beautiful voice to most of the tracks, and Frack Dematteis, who does an equally superb job blending his viola into the mix. The interplay between Martin's deep, ashen vocals and Julia's operatic approach is the main appeal of Attrition, as they work together to drive home memorable tracks like "Waste Not, Want..." and "The Illuminator."

Musically, The Jeopardy Maze is all over the place. From dark ambient instrumentals, filled with menace and beauty, to more up-tempo (but still eerie) dance songs, Attrition handle all the styles with precision and sequences them in a logical and eminently listenable fashion. The diverse elements are even brought together in one song, "I Am a Thief," with equal aplomb. The band somehow manages to incorporate elements from gothic, industrial, ambient, and techno music without coming close to being pigeonholed in any particular style.

This isn't the kind of album you're going to properly enjoy cruising down I-90 or cleaning out your refrigerator. You need to be able to sit down in a darkened room and really listen to it, feel it. If you haven't heard Attrition yet, but are a fan of bands like Die Form or some of the Projekt bands, The Jeopardy Maze is a definite must. [Daniel Hinds]

While I like and appreciate "piece and love", I love the hell out of this album. Meg's creativity and talent is unrivaled. Call it art, poetry or whatever. The woman has the right chemistry to flatten and gain the attention of the masses. "Bottle" and "Bittersweet and Sour" could wake the long dead. Buy this album, but be sure to double up on your diaper, cause you're in for a great ride.

my freinds, i must say that this albume...(although single) is by far one of the best works of art i have stumbled across recently, former pigface diva truly reclaims her title through "peices of love" and this single. As a single this paticular one outstands others for its unique diversity its not just a hundred slight veriations of the same song but several divine reapproachments? (thats not a word is it?) of many songs soo deliciouse soo true, if you dont want to dish out the money for the full albume pick this up!!!! but i warn you this you will indeed lust for more...

The only CD I can listen to when I am really really tense, sad and gone... or when I feel very strong and blind. Always thanx to Paul and Chris.

This song sums up my life. Teeeerrific stuff. I've just gotten in LOE, and I love everything I hear!!!

Fans of Electronic ranging from Ikon to Depeche Mode will adore Lights of Euphoria. With J. Machon's vocals and Torben Schmidt's instrumentals, this album is nonstop groove-it-up-party! Want to dance? Check it out! There's no time to brood or pause. Once this album gets going, you're up and rocking! Ron Harris from VNV Nation even does vocals on "Consequence (Face Yourself)" so how cool is that?

This is a must have for any Rave lover. The music is quick and fun. The mixes on this album are just great to listen to. Also a nice mix here of different styles, so it isn't boring to listen to again and again like some other rave I've heard.

Imagine a combination of the voices of Iggy Pop, Ian Curtis and Birthday Party-era Nick Cave. Now imagine a combination of the music of the Stooges, Joy Division, Public Image Limited and Killing Joke. The result is Ausgang. With tribal drums, shrieking guitars and insane lyrics yelped and spat, Ausgang will either captivate you or drive you away.

I watched Ausgang morph from Kabuki, they had some shared factors with Alien Sex Fiend in terms of theatrics. Yet they carried with them a slice of post punk anger and aggression that made them excellent live. It's great to see a definitive collection & I am sure that this will bring more fans not less. Shame that 'Is That Your Bat?' isn't on this DVD! Vinyl hounds seek it out

People wonder about the Batcave, almost making it a Cavern for Goth's counterculture. I marvel at the diversity of it all now, from The Virgin Prunes, oddly rocky, oddly compulsive, oddly odd, to Sex Gang Children, whose involvement with Ausgang is well known, to the kitschness of The Specimen. I love them all.

C'ept Ausgang were a little more than 'Goth'.

Thank you Mark (Max) thank you Paul(Cub)for the showmanship.

with love & affection Neonheart

This has become one of my absolute favorite cds. It took some grow on me, as it's quite off the wall. Ausgang were one of the best bands to come from the highly influential "Batcave era" of the early British Goth scene. Taking influences from classic punk bands like the Stooges as well as proto-goth bands like Joy Division and The Birthday Party, Ausgang created some seriously manic and downright psychotic sounds. The tribal drumming, screaming, yelping vocals, and almost medieval sounding post-punk guitar riffs are fairly typical of the Batcave sound (see Sex Beat, Sex Gang Children and Specimen among others), but Ausgang had a certain "something" that really set them apart. (the early Goth scene was extremely diverse to begin with)It's not all gloom and doom. There are plenty of dark, gothic themes, such as in "The Lady Is For Burning" (witch trials), but there is also a lot of tongue in cheek humour present. "My Hair" is a self-parody of the visually extreme Goth/Deathrocker look. "Hots For Christ" deals with fanatically religious women who get tarted up for church(?!) and God only knows what "I Am A Horse" is supposed to be about. But don't think these guys weren't for real. They had an incredibly impressive stage presence that would put most current bands to shame. There was a passion and a sense of creativity in their music that would be way over the heads of most Hot Topic kids. The music itself is like a darkened, tribalised post-punk rock/medieval deathabilly sound that I like to describe as The Birthday Party on helium. Definitely essential listening for anyone into Goth or Deathrock. May also appeal to punks and folks into experimental rock like the Velvet Underground.

Whether you are 27 or 87, both Nat's seamless voice and his interpretations of these romantic, evocative, and classic songs will get you where all good music should-right in the heart. From the upbeat "Ain't Misbehaving" to the the yearning and sadness of "There Goes My Heart", the listener of this CD will find a song for every mood, and new moods for every song they have the pleasure to hear.

Back around 1983 or so, when hardcore had become a completely mindless "punk by numbers" style of music, (though nowhere near as stale as the nineties variety, new skool, cash crop variety) bands that were cool had to rediscover just what the hell made rock 'n' roll exciting in the first place. Most discovered the glory that is the Stooges, and then went back in time from there-- MC5, Velvets, Elevators, Watchband, Sonics, Chuck Berry and earlier... Discovering these sounds, and reinventing them with the energy and irreverence that punk rock brought to the mix in the late seventies, The Dwarves (along with a few others that kept music alive in the drought of the late eighties underground scene) were able to make a lasting contribution to the raw American Rock n Roll tradition. The covers here are brilliant, and are mostly revamped Pebbles' cuts. This is the Dwarves/Suburban Nightmare in their early days (daze), before all the blood, guts and pussy. More like Booze, ludes and fuzz pedals here... Essential.

This album is greatly produced. It displays many different musician's styles within the genre. I find this album to be a pleasant listen. Many elongated synth tracks are used. A lot of 4/4 drum rhythms are used, but these guys vary the music enough to keep me interested. This album is a great buy!

Absolutely one of the most incredible albums of all time. That is all I have to say. It is magickal on a soul-level and takes you PLACES! Trust me. Bless�d Be,
~Raven~

"Revolution" and "renewal" are the keywords that can be used to describe the newest Lights Of Euphoria release, "Kreig Gegen Die Maschinen" (War Against the Machines). Running the full electronic music gamut, the album exhibits elements of Electro, Synthpop, Futurepop, EBM, and Trance. "True Life" is already a club hit, and the rest of the album is sure to follow. The thumping bass, quirky sounds, well-timed crossfades, and sweeping synths, lead the incredible power of the arrangements to new highs. Featuring guest appearances by Ronan Harris of VNV Nation, as well as appearances by Grendel, God Module, and Davantage, "Kreig Gegen Die Maschinen" is destined to be a classic.

This was the first ZF album that disappointed me. Earlier releases were remarkably organic-sounding -- the sound manipulation was done so well that you didn't think about process. "Illusion" almost demands that you notice the technology. Also, there's a reliance on harsh machine sounds that are looped endlessly for no reason. If you're new to this band, focus on the years 1983-1988, when they were making evocative, mysterious music like nobody else.

Rummaging around in a chain record store in Hollywood I was fortunate enough to find this cd tucked away in the import section. Zoviet France is hard to categorize. I'd heard this band played occasionally on a local public radio program specializing in avant-pop and esoteric music and sounds, so I took a chance via a twenty dollar bill, and was I glad I did! It's audio noir -a melding of ambient, industrial, ethnic music and hypnotic sounds. Think Throbbing Gristle, Holger Czukay, Non, Eno -but really it's all it's own. Here, I'm taken from the furthest reaches of Tibet to the darkest recesses of the industrial subconscious. Kind of like Eraserhead one minute and Shangri-la the next. I've never heard anything quite like it. The band is shrouded in mystery. Hard to find much information except that the band members changed around a lot. (I use past-tense..are they still producing material?) The material here was done in 1989 so this was an early or middle period. Great for deep trance states or just washing the dishes, if you can find this, snap it up! Highly recommended for anyone with a taste for the far-out or scary. The more I listen, the deeper it goes... if you're brave enough, try listening with good headphones late at night in the dark. But don't fall asleep to this stuff -it could cause intense nightmares!