Industrial music reviews

WOW! Going back to old EBM IS GOOD! From first listening I was hooked. During the first few days of owning this album I think I listened to it at least 15 times! Great harsh dancy beats, robotic voices, and machines like you wouldnt belive. Deffinitely check this one out if you're a fan of the whole Ghostly family or even if you're just an industrial fan in general.

This 1993 re-release of The Whip was originally produced and compiled by Dave Roberts of Sex Gang Children in 1983 as a testament to the active Batcave Generation. It includes two versions of the title track "The Whip" care of Carcrash International, Dave Robert's solo band, which is perhaps better than anything to be found on Carcrash International's full length "Fragments of a Journal in Hell." Also featured is Andi Sex Gang with Marc Almond (of Soft Cell) in a moody "The Hungry Years," as well as Sex Gang Children's Charlie Chaplin spoof "Oh Funny Man." Other artistis include: Dave Vanian, Rosetta Stone, Christian Death, Spahn Ranch, Play Dead, Brilliant, Kommunity FK, Usherhouse, Superheroines, Screams For Tina, U.K. Decay, Nosferatu, Naz Nomad and the Nightmares (a thinly disquised The Damned), and Mephisto Waltz. Another great benefit to this Cleopatra goth-comp is the cover layouts featuring Paris (formerly of Shadow Project), shirtless and grimacing while a blonde bombshell in fetish gear whips him with a lash. The Whip is a must for any goth collection, and is great especially because it is not the same rehashed material that Cleopatra primarily puts out now. Some tracks are rare or never before released. Buy this one.

This is such a cool album! At first i only bought Hea Hoa (the one made before this) to see how Flake and Paul sounded before Rammstein. After i got that album i just got sucked into the frenzy of this band. it is a great cd and if you like cool, fun music i think you should buy it. i doubt anyone even looks at this but hey, at least i tried to spread the word.

Think The Fall interpreted by a Scissor Girls / Arab On Radar supergroup fronted by Blixa Bargald (without all that musical aptitiude to get in the way), remixed by one of those Fat Cat bleepbleepsters and played alongside an early Swans of Flux Information Sciences record. Dense, swirling and curling, Wolf Eyes have made one of the most innovative records of the casio kitsch age, with more than a nod to punk rock dynamics and celebratory ineptitude. A work of art.

Digital Poodle were one of the truely great industrial/techno band to come out of Toronto in the 1980's. "Work Terminal" is a a very good example of the diversity of this band, the two versions of "Soul Crush" being a prime example. When Zoviet France played in Toronto at the Rivoli, Digital Poodle were the back-up band and one thing lead to another and lo and behold we were given a wonderfully innovative version of this originally very abrasive track.

Well, here are Digital Poodle in all their glory before they crossed over into the murky waters of tecno-ambient land with their new band Kinder Atom (which is still pretty good as far as that goes...). Digital Poodle rock, so go and buy this album!

The best remix album I Own. If your reading this and dont own it you [should buy it]!

It would be a hard decision to make - this album or The Downward Spiral. But I think I would come down on the side of The Fragile if I could only pick one Nine Inch Nails CD for my collection. It's not perfect, but it's damn close. The soft, lyrical Trent is in here, but so is the harsh, angry Trent. They alternate taking control, not so much duking it out as engaging in a dialog - a kind of dialectic of pain and loss, serenity and redemption. (To be fair, the "serenity" and "redemption" parts are still rendered in pretty dark terms.)

I have read criticisms of The Fragile that focus on individual songs, and while there is utility to a track-by-track review of this kind, I think The Fragile really has to be taken as whole, because it sounds as though every track was cut from the same, solid piece of creative raw material ("Sta****ers, Inc." being the one glaring exception; it sounds like a Wierd Al parody of Nine Inch Nails, but with foul language; needless to say it's my least favority NIN cut, and it's terribly ironic that it mars my otherwise favorite NIN album.)

Listening to The Fragile front to back (Left followed by Right) is a kind of journey. I rarely listen to isolated tracks (except for "Into the Void", a breezy funk tune that stands on its own.) This quality is probably due in large part to producer Bob Ezrin's (Pink Floyd's The Wall) involvement. The payoff is an unusally cinematic experience.

I made my own NIN CD once, re-mixing without the benefit of original recordings, but adding my own edits, sound effects, etc. It came out pretty well. Most of the cuts were from The Fragile, which has the kind of coherence once expects from a "conceptual" album. What the experience taught me was how much integrity and thought went into making this album in the fist place. It was difficult to disturb the original track order without harming the core of the music. Almost everything fits together like an intricate puzzle.

Overall, well done and worth your time. Some have said that it should not be your first NIN album if you're new to the band (well, to Trent Reznor, who more or less IS the band). But I disagree. The Fragile is fairly representative of everything that makes the Nine Inch Nails sound unique - the good, the bad, and the scary.

I am a huge Nine Inch Nails fan, and I will be for life. But it really doesn't take a fan to recognize good art. The biggest problem with The Fragile is that on the first listen, it can seem like the least accessible peice of work that Trent Reznor has ever done. To be hoesnt, yes, if you aren't a serious fan or if you've never really listened to NIN, it's most definately not what you'd be expecting. Every critism of The Fragile that I've read (and I have read many) has said the same thing: not as good as The Downward Spiral, Trent Reznor is trying too hard, this album shows Trent's limitations, etc. Don't let that fool you.

Granted, it's always a matter of taste, of course. I've also heard plenty of fans tell me that this album is their least favourite. But if anyone is to critisize this work, let it be based on personal taste, not artistic nitpicking. Personally, the first time I heard this album, I was utterly enthralled and completely absorbed in its intensity. I was rendered quite emotional. But for most people, as far as I know, the album requires at least two or three good listens before you really "get it".

It's a complex work. It's Nine Inch Nails, so it's not a simple guitar + bass + drums equation. Even more than previous NIN releases, this album is so intricately layered, you find sounds in each song you've never known were there each time you listen. Some may argue that the layers are to cover up a few not-so-well-written songs. It's quite the opposite. The songs themselves are beautifully written (as Trent Reznor is one of the greatest songwriters of all time), and the layers enhance the listening to the point where your ears become so taken by the sounds, you find yourself zoning out. If lack of simplicity is your concern, listen to "I'm Looking Forward To Joining You, Finally". That song is devistatingly simple and the lyrics are heartwrenching.

The length of the album is often in question. I've heard many people ask why, if Trent Reznor is such a fantastic musician, he needs to create such a lengthy peice of work. And, no, the answer is not that he's drawing it out for sales purposes. Contrary to those beliefs, the immense length of the album does not hinder the album, nor does it make each song seem less important. It's not a rock opera. Each song is its own masterpiece, each one completely different from the others. The length does nothing more than cover an immense range of emotions. Hearing this album, you will feel something, if not everything.

If you hear this album and are somewhat disappointed on first listen, try again a couple times. Really listen; don't put it on in the background while you do the dishes. Really listen hard. It'll hit you eventually. At least give it a try.

This is my favourite album of all time, and it's worth owning whether or not you're a heavy NIN listener.

This album should be in any industrial/ synth pop collection or any music collection. Deffinately Trent's finest hour. Reminds me of a futuristic version of Pink Floyd's The Wall, but in an industrial since.

Out of all of the NIN albums downward spiral is the best throughout the whole cd it makes me want to cry, "Heresy" "A Warm Place" "Eraser" "March of the pigs"
But all i can say is that if you think kmfdm is any good check out NIN because you wont regret it.

The Downward Spiral reminds me of The Wall by Pink Floyd. The music is much heavier than any of Floyds stuff and way more Industrial, yet it has that Wall feel to it. You need to listen to the whole thing in order to really get the feel for it. Every track has a part to play. I hate to point out particular tracks, but if you've been in a cave and have not heard "Closer," it is amoung the very best industrial songs you will ever hear. Truly a masterpiece. Some of the wanna be music critics like to say this is not true Industrial. Well, this is what Industrial SHOULD be if that is the case. Anyone who gives this ablum a bad review is not a fan of NIN or this type of music. One of my favorites ever.

Trent Reznor's masterpiece The Downward Spiral is a concept album about pretty much all the naughty yucky stuff in the world that you don't want to think about. The album isn't for everyone. The relentless industrial noise and the heavy use of profanity is enough to turn many listeners away. But if you're not a little girly man, it's definately worth a spin. Critics can say what they want about Trent Reznor's hateful goth poetry, but the fact is, there are a few pretty good lyrics on here, especially on the first and last tracks. Meanwhile, no one can deny that Reznor's production skills are top notch. Even after years of bands trying to imitate him, Trent's 1994 album still towers over them all with it's catchy, dancey synths and heavy walls of distortion. If you think you are man enough, buy this album. You can either sit down with the excellent artwork and dark lyrics for a journy through the industrial soundscapes, or if that's not your thing, you can just put the heavy tracks on shuffle and rock out. Be careful though, or else you might find yourself dancing like a little girly man too.

This cd has always been something of a frustration for me as a Manson fan, as I believe there was a lot more potential here than this album achieved.

To begin with, this album came immediately after Antichrist Superstar, which was then and always will be the definitive and greatest Manson album. Manson therefore wisely decided to alter styles slightly, and go for more classic rock 'n' roll and ballad sounds on this album.

Some of these songs are absolute classics, such as the anthem for the masses "Rock Is Dead", and the AC/DC-esque "New Model No. 15." This cd also features two of the most beautiful songs Manson has ever written, namely Coma White and The Last Day On Earth. For all those who say Manson is a one-trick pony, whose only good music is hard-as-hell head-banging tunes, the emotion and and nostalgia/romance evident in these tracks may be very surprising. This cd also features one of Manson's highest selling songs of all time, "The Dope Show", which is a glaring indictment of 20th century society and the Hollywood lifestlye that artists and performers are able to live. This is also reinforced by the track that is perhaps Manson's tongue-in-cheek justification of his own lifestlye, "I Don't Like the Drugs (But the Drugs Like Me)."

However, included with these offerings are some of the more disapponting tracks that Manson has released. The title track "Mechanical Animals", "Disassociative", "The Speed of Pain", "Posthuman" and "I Want to Disappear" all fall short of the standard set by the better songs on this album. What is even more disappointing is that the message or themes of these songs seem largely confused or even irrelevant, which is a real let-down following on from the deep, significant meanings behind almost all tracks from Antichrist Superstar.

I think the main problem this cd has is that the persona created by Manson for this album, that of rock-star Omega, was never going to be as monumentally significant as his previous personification of the Antichrist Superstar. In many ways, this cd suffers from comparison to its peerless predecessor. It deserves three and a half stars, as there are real moments of Manson brilliance in this album, but as I cannot include half-stars in the gradings I will settle for three stars.

PUT THE CD INTO THE COMPUTER.YOU WILL SEE ARTWORK AND A CONTINUING LOOP OF SPOKEN WORD AND MUSIC

marilyn mAnSoN whether you love him or loathe him[i was the second one for years] till i decide to pick up a greatest hits "lest we forget" and i was introduced to the warped beautiful world of brian warner aka Marilyn manson

i bought holywood a couple of weeks ago and i was besotted with the songwriting and metal brutality and acoustic deliverence
and i thought he wouldn't be able to top that album i was wrong
this album caused a stir when it came out with the P.C parade
of conservitive parents in the U.S.A branding M.M as obscene and a torch burning for all that is wrong with their society just because he wore a feminine bodysuit and
slaughtered god in his lyrics[i'm a christian and i don't find what he says to be offensive..it's his opipion and we live in a liberal world of free speech don't we? well..]

this album has two of the best opening a closing tracks ever
"great big white world" and "coma white"
this also features the single "the dope show" where he wears the feminine body suit and bashes "cops and queers"

it also features the super charged "rock is dead"
a observance on the state of rock music in 1998 after the demise of grunge four years before.

other top notch songs were "mechinical animals"[title track duh"]
"i want to disappear" "user friendly" "i don't like the drugs[but the drugs like me]

in a final summary
a classic album that some might be put of if their expecting the barnishing metal of it's predecessor..
but if you like david bowie and T.rex with a hint of adam ant then you'll lap this up as i have.

Boy,Cleopatra sure knows how to put a good compilation CD together,don't they?The sixteen cuts here features music from industrial,electro wave and goth bands.Tunes I liked the best were Psychic TV's "I Believe What You Said",Switchblade Symphony's "Clown" and Christian Death's remix of "Lost Minds".'Wired...' runs over an hour so you can be sure of getting your money's worth.Not a bad find.Nice cover.

I love this entire CD. It's well worth the listen. The remixes are very well done, some even better than the original; the "I Hate You" remix is easier to understand and gentler on the ears. No music has ever been more suitable for the word "art". It evokes emtions like nothing I've ever come across.