Showing posts with label Industrial Metal. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Industrial Metal. Show all posts

Wednesday 6 March 2024

Mnemic "Mnemesis" (2012)

 
Disbanded not long after, Mnemesis is the Danish outfits final chapter. Initially Bideau's expanded vocal range caught my attention, feeling like a departure from their distinct "Future Fusion Metal" sound. With familiarity the rough cleans, burly shouts and tuneful inflections nestled in, however an underlying shift remains. Subtly toned down aggression leaves space for melodic flavors to capture ones attention. These songs run into frequent stretches of dulled world building stints. Mediocre in intensity, they fail to arrive at gratifying destination. The result is a set of songs that amble through the motions, landing only a handful of memorable riffs or vocal hooks.

Illuminated by subtle eerie synths, the dystopian tone is withdrawn from its previous extremities, creating a luke-warm atmosphere, rarely broken out from. Its mood is a sluggish, sunless, shadowy trek, emotively depressive when aggressive guitars depart on melodic refrains. That's not to de-mark its merits, Mnemesis is a competent set of songs ruminating on burdensome emotions. A listen, of which I've had many, passes by entertaining yet uneventful. Its closer, Blue Desert In A Black Hole, gets a thumbs up for fantastic song writing that steadily brews its sense of finality to close upon.

Rating: 4/10

Tuesday 5 March 2024

Ministry "Hopiumforthemasses" (2024)

 

This sixteenth chapter, proclaimed as their second to last record, Al Jourgensen's Ministry strive onward with their current temperament. Similar in tone and aesthetic to AmeriKKant and Moral Hygiene, the band issue another set of disgruntled social political observations. With vocal snippets and dystopian instrumentals, the hot topics and events of the last few years in American life get a familiar treatment.

Thudding, punchy, repetitive drum beats guide groovy mid-tempo metallic riffs through the barrage of Al's shouted snarls and keen sampling. A subtle collusion of deranged synths and odd instrumentation line the core elements on occasion with a distinctive flavor. Mostly, it falls within expectations, Cult Of Suffering ventures boldly off the track with soulful singing and dreamy guitar chords over a warm crooning baseline.

Otherwise, its been business as usual, fun, predictable but lacking the bite of its predecessors. Aryan Embarrassment struck a nerve with an astute point aimed at paranoid antisemitism. As to be expected, not all messages resonated. Just Stop Oil's fun anthem couldn't stir much compassion for their ridiculous message. Hopiumforthemasses is fair but milder, ending with the tacked on Ricky's Hand. A stiff piece sounding like a re-recording of a lost composition from their Synthpop days.

Rating: 6/10

Thursday 8 February 2024

Mnemic "Sons Of The System" (2010)

 

Having established that Passenger carried on with Mnemic's glorious throws to youthful nostalgia, Sons Of The System swiftly verifies itself as a gradual departure. The pillars of Industrial tinged Djent chugs remain, yet become part of the scenery, a rhythmic current to transition into roars of sketchy heathen "clean" vocals. Singer Bideau sheds skin, establishing his own vocal style, often stretched over mid tempo breaks lined with softly dystopian ambiguous synths. The rhythmic chops divide the flow as aggressive riffs frequently exchange with these disenfranchised breaks.

This artistic direction subdues the bands original charm, scaling back complexity and trying to elevate its atmospheric angle. The result blemishes their uniqueness, giving Sons Of The System a generic leaning sound for the European Metal scene of the era. Despite this step back, they still reside with strong footing. The record has its helping of banging riffs, mostly obnoxious shuffles of low end fret work. Its moody vocal led counterparts aren't terrible either, just a tone I am accustom too.

The record lumps its hardest hitters at the front doors. As it progresses, the tempos steady, its aggression tempers and more atmospheric passages open up, reminiscent of Prog Metal in moments. Songs shuffle through the motions with little in the ways of peaks or valleys, just a consistent tone. The inclusion of bonus tracks that didn't make the cut was a nice addition, the grinding Claus Larsen remix a missed opportunity.

Rating: 6/10

Thursday 25 January 2024

Mnemic "Passenger" (2007)

 
Laying the ground work for this post, yesterday I wrote of The Audio Injected Soul, a now timeless record from the latter of my formative years. Their follow up, Passenger, was passed up upon release. All I recall was a dismissal based on the departure of Michael Bøgballe. Now a maturer listener, I venture back with an open mind.

My first observation was one of confusion. Bøgballe's replacement, Guillaume Bideau, has such similar tone and demeanor that he could be mistaken for the same guy. Singing with mirrored intensities, rhythmic cadences, dropping in snarls and quirky shouts akin to the record prior, he lands a seamless transition for the band.

Passenger can never compete with the immortality of youth. My growing familiarity with this record yields the same emotive stimulus though. At this stage, the iron is still hot for Mnemic, forging another array of chaotic fusions. Chugging jolted grooves collide with passionate dystopian melody across a post-industrial wasteland.

Playing with a touch more sludgy rhythm and distorted dissonance in the low end, the albums production admittedly sounds aesthetically like a minor step back. The prior tightness is lacking, its mostly the drums that feel looser. Guitars lean more towards aggression with a notable tilt in sharp edged riffs and slabs of shunting power chord noise. It aids an overall flavor that doesn't steer far from their established identity.

I'm going to continue chewing through these songs but so far a couple of favorites have emerged, usually where flushes of color and lead guitar compliment a song. Carcass's Jeff Walker drops brief but fantastic demented snarls onto Psykorgasm. Passenger doesn't pull any big surprises but competently builds on what they were known for. I'm gutted we passed this one up, these songs could have easily stuck too.

Rating: 7/10

Wednesday 24 January 2024

Mnemic "The Audio Injected Soul" (2004)

 
Here lies an ecstatic throw back to the days of youth. Discovered through Nuclear Blast Records magazine, this Danish outfit captivated our attentions with rhythmic grooves adjacent to Meshuggah's records of the time. Residing in the infancy before Djent took on its current sanitized form, Menmic's gritty Industrial polish and flashes of electronic textures morphed them into a memorable metallic beast.

Born in the hangover of Groove and Nu Metal, roaring shunted riffs collide against subtly dystopian melodic leads in search of new ground. I recall this particular scene once being referred to as "Future Fusion Metal" but despite the endless iterations of sub-genre, this name never took hold. One can hear echos of Melodic Death Metal and Industrial Metal but its most notable distinction are the elasticated "poly-rhythmic" guitar arrangements that make for frequent headbangers break outs. Chunky assaults on the fretboard that frequently flirt with a choppy, charactered ferocity.

The band don't overstate any component but weave together its most aggressive assignments and tuneful tangents. These arrangements emerge chopped and changed, not through complexity but variety. The pace at which an average track cycles through its sections is refreshing. It gives them character, as its swings and sways feel unpredictable, even after the album has been etched into ones memory.

Its offering can't be overstated, a fantastic range of soaring melodies to rhythmic slabs of low end force, melding through a creativity that never felt forced or intentional. The bellowing roars of front man Bøgballe often illuminates the energetic trajectory the instrumentals traverse. It could be passion of youth but I think this record is a lost gem, a cracking collection of momentous songs that any fan of Metal could find a favorite among its ten lean cuts. Still a favorite after all these years...

Rating: 9/10

Friday 22 December 2023

Health "Rat Wars" (2023)

  

Housing four cuts from Ashamed, Rat Wars has been a swift brake in. Retaining their distinct flavor of broody, downtrodden dystopian atmospheres, Health navigate morose and self defeating emotions through the soft, sullen, effeminate voice of Jake Duzsik. Lyrically dark and dejecting, they eerily drift in the cracks of fiery Electro-Industrial pounding. Its inebriating, an alluring chemistry, entrancing and gripping yet on examination, a glum reality composed of crumbling urban sprawl and self abuse.

Many of its thudding kick and bassline grooves feel reminiscent of youthful days, hellbent on escaping ones demons through drugs, enjoying the dance while ignoring the imminent suffering. These entrancing drives of rhythm often feel like falling down a rabbit hole of self delusion. Only (Of All Else) and (Of Being Born) take the foot off the gas, the later sobering up its magnetic march with a grim groan of reality from an earth acoustic guitar to conclude the song. The other explores an acoustic limbo, the plucked strings hold off a frenzy of tense distant synths, ready to unleash in an instant.

 The record is finely crafted, its instruments oozing with texture and intensity, matched wonderfully to serve this nihilistic vision. I fumbled on first listen as Demigods struck me with Deja-Vu. Although not perfectly similar, the same melody can be heard playing out on Old Tower's Moonchamber track. Its amusing how memory works, instantly plucking it out of the darkness. Just a curious footnote for my experience with this darkly persuasive record. Its impressive, will have to seek out more from Health.

Rating: 7/10

Thursday 23 November 2023

Health "Ashamed" (2023)

 

Jumping around their discography, looking for an entry, it was this latest single I really latched onto. Health are a Californian trio that have been at it for almost two decades. Having many remix albums intermingled among their main efforts, its a dense wall of releases venturing in collaborative directions. This four track Ashamed has a balanced mix, two originals and two features. Their sound aligns with Agrro-Tech and Industrial Metal. Its similar to Author & Punisher, deploying meaty slabs of noisy synth over subtle distortions like an assault vehicle guided by tight, hard hitting, snappy drums.

The mood is doom and gloom, a synthetic cyberpunk dystopia traversed at night under neon light. Vocals bleed dour, plain and monotone, then ascending with breezy respite when musical chemistry shifts and a little reverb carries them away. This is the transition of its first two songs, a complimenting shift that lines us up for Sicko.

A sample of Godflesh's classic Breed slips into this one, nestled among its rebuilt core bass and drum groove. Recycling its charm, dreary flat vocals drift by in a haze, lining up an alarmist descend of hellish synth to dazzle one in its sudden urgency.

 The last track, featuring Sierra, bustles with a dark dance floor energy, stepping up its pulsing energy to match the likes of Carpenter Brut and Mick Gorden's Doom Eternal soundtrack blueprint. It retains Health's distinctness, a dense wall of harsh synths turned to a gloomy outlook with its softly pessimistic singing. A powerful introduction to a band who's coming full length I am likely to enjoy!

Rating: 5/10

Thursday 19 October 2023

City Morgue "My Bloody America" (2023)

 

Still one to check in with, City Morgue return recycling a familiar flavor of feisty aggression. Fusing Trap with Horrorcore and touches of Metal, the duo deploy harsh percussion aesthetics again. Rattling hi-hats and distorted base kicks thump no longer a novelty. Meeting spooky samples and lean distortion guitars, beat production paints ghoulish, nightmare scenarios for their unapologetic lyrics to reign a boisterous noise. Priding its content on death, hate, gunplay and machismo, a lack of depth is hardly a surprise. Most verses simply load in vile obscenities on aggravated flows spat hard.

Among its various leanings, a sense of something curious lingers but never arrives. Despite being a rather dull thirty minutes, the record has a certain foul charisma fit for horror but lacks substance. Its instrumentals fail to lean into its intriguing elements. Only Wicked elevated this unsettled energy to a catchy level. A banger among mediocrity. Its short looping melody illuminates when all instruments fire together. I still think this duo have something great to offer but currently I'm just not feeling it.

Rating: 4/10

Friday 6 October 2023

3TEETH "EndEx" (2023)

 

Competently entertaining yet lacking a defining feature, 3TEETH returns, armed with a force of subdued aggression that gets wrapped up in its own mechanical dystopian aesthetics. Their fourth effort, EndEx, plays out a string of songs, ambling through intensities, wandering aimless along a disgruntled landscape of urban decay.

 Collaborating with Mick Gordon of Doom soundtrack notoriety, their combined chemistry yields little obvious beyond the siren likes synths that blare distress behind chunky guitar riffs. It feels like a missed opportunity to elevate the musical blueprint. Perhaps his influence goes beyond its credits as the whole record feels cohesive.

On first listen, EndEx felt like a flop, passing without grabbing my attention. Repetitious listens unveiled a lack of hooks and "bangers". This record has mood, aesthetics and atmosphere. It lacks songs, memorable moments and biting lyrics. Riffs are found within its arsenal, often disconnected from the music it emerges from.

Its most memorable moment goes to Ho99o9, the duos energy injecting much needed novelty to latch onto, their shout raps fitting the distress of the guitars. I'm left with little to say, a fun listen but lacks a command of ones attention to force its artistic intent.

Rating: 5/10

Sunday 3 September 2023

Frank Klepacki "Initiative" (2023)


 Frank Klepacki is back! Not the first post-Remaster release, but one that caught my eye! Picking up his battle axe and throwing down stompy thrash grooves alongside dystopian synths, Frank revives classic Command & Conquer vibes and aesthetics for another metallic romp of his janky Electronic Industrual funk! This outing comes steady, lean and refined, a consistent burn with anything in the way of experimental or out of the ordinary arriving through his guests Glenn Kachulis & Connor Engstrom.

 Gunslinger mashes his cyberpunk Disco thump with slick Mexican guitar licks. An unusual union that somehow persuades despite its dramatic shift in tone. The following Dark Assault showcases Connor's flashy lead guitar talents, a dazzle of steely blazing melodies to act as a voice. Unfortunately it spells missed opportunity, as Frank ditches his unique Industrial sound design for a high speed metallic fodder. The result is a rather generic splash of pacey fire and fury. Slick but again shifting tone.

The rest of the music finds familiar face, an unravel of detached melodies, woven through a web of hard hitting instruments. Arrangements whirl with sequenced mechanical activity as pulses, zaps and industrial clank rub and rattle against its organic tones. The contrast can be enjoyed with little effort. Flushes of Prog Rock leads and Metal guitar accompany its varying temperaments. A solid listen to stir up a colorful dystopian vision of futuristic proportions but lacks anything truly special.

Rating: 6/10

Monday 24 July 2023

Godflesh "Purge" (2023)

 

Six years on from the remarkable inspirations of Post-Self, the Industrial duo return lacking a refresh in creativity. Purge echos their early 90s output. Harsh bounce oriented drum samples loop incessant. With a thud, thump and hammer, simple kick snare patterns drone in repetition. Over top, burly shouts ripple into the void and dissonant guitars toy with distressing chords wedged between chunks of dense meaty groove. Its forty four minutes explore these ideas rigidly, with little to break the norm.

This gives Purge a keen sense of self. A moody, downtrodden, alienated and grim tone to wallow within. Highly repetitious, barely shifting tempo or switching gears, each song grinds out its point. The later tracks delve into atmosphere with expansive reverb casting shadowy spells and offering respite from its aggressive counterparts. Its a subtle diversity yet never leaves this deeply troubled musical space.

Army Of Non raises an eyebrow for its inclusion of a classic Hip Hop sample "Check it out yall". Its nestled quietly in there, a throwback to Pure and Let The Rhythm Hit Em. Broadrick's affinity for Hip Hop never quite manifesting into something radical, remaining a warm peculiarity for fans like myself. This moment gave a glimmer of what might follow but as laid out its a consistently dark and dismal record retreading old ideas competently but leaving one with an appetite for revived freshness.

Rating: 6/10

Saturday 13 May 2023

Frank Klepacki "Rocktronic" (2004)

 

Following on from Morphscape, It seems Frank was left in the lurch, a period of sweet stagnation for this fan. With C&C Generals, the shift to 3D left me behind, as did Frank's involvement in the games music. Released two years on, Ive found this dusty Rocktronic album firmly resting on the Red Alert 2 mindset. Its production a shade more robust, the janky assembly of Electronic-Industrial and Metal guitars comes mostly consistent with punchy, unabashed charges of gittery melodies and snappy grooves. These songs play with restless energy as its instruments know no subtlety.

Two tracks, Take Me and Bring The Fight, take a distinct turn, ditching the drum machines and electronics, they take on a rock band aesthetic clearly reveling in Rage Against The Machine inspiration with Tom Morello guitar riffs front to back. The change in tonality is jarring, the lack of originality leaves it a stale footnote among an otherwise decent collection of C&C style hits. In The Tunnel resurrects soft atmospheric touches reminiscent of the first Red Alert, yet forces in some clashing obnoxious elements too. Rocktronic is a fair listen, unsurprising but fun for this fan.

Rating: 5/10

Saturday 29 April 2023

Frank Klepacki "Morphscape" (2002)

 
 
Frank Klepacki, creator of the timeless Command & Conquer soundtracks that have obsessed me since playing the classic Westwood Studios games in my youth. His debut solo release Morphscape is no unknown entity. Yet despite discovering it many moons ago, it seems this musical gem never really registered. Released after Red Alert 2 and Yuri's Revenge, this is clearly a collection of leftovers from those sessions.
 
The unabashed aesthetics and niche stylistic framework remains intact. A jiving fusion of Industrial grit, futuristic Electronic, Funk bass grooves and on occasion, a slab of Metal through distortion guitars. These elements meet on bold ground, punching stiff melodies and rhythms into the fold. Controlled chaos emerges as layers of crowded sound compete for dominance, a familiar yet strange charm resonates again.

On its surface much of Frank's compositions seem tacky and unhinged. Despite its crude union of snappy instruments, immersion emerges through the various pivots that signal intention and direction. Best are the plastic sweeping synths, often arriving unexpected, manipulating a lively adventure with a soft passing emotional depth.

Quality is reasonably varied, as are the particular styles explored. Although I enjoyed all but one of these cuts, only a couple felt they could have offered the original soundtracks something extra. The other songs bore much resemblance to originals, with similar ideas, arrangements and aesthetics being spun with less magnetism.

That leaves us with one song, Gonna Rock Yo Body. Clearly his passion project, Frank pays tribute to legend Afrika Bambaataa and the Planet Rock musical blueprint. It illuminates some vague Hip Hop related influences lurking elsewhere on the record. On first listen, a comical, quirky take. With repeated listens its stark unapologetic nature becomes tiresome. An odd blemish among a fine collection of C&C songs.
 
Rating: 6/10

Friday 4 November 2022

Gothminister "Pandemonium" (2022)

 

With age comes a diminishing pace. Now five years apart from The Other Side, Gothminister makes a meager return. Seemingly stuck in their ways, this seventh outing suffers its own lack of inspiration. Pandemonium breeds business as usual. A deck of songs, recycling their Gothic brooding theatrics, still tinged with clubbing Synthwave aesthetics and built on the triumphant march of chunky Industrial Metal.

Guitar leads brazenly assail stomping power chords chugging below, a militant syncopation by the rhythm section. With darkly drive, each song lunges forth with a cadence Bjørn Brem has performed before. Lyrical themes echo past musing of outsiders embattled against all odds. Both sentiment and delivery fit an unchanged mold. Lined by rhythmically oscillated synths, both aesthetic and music is expectant.

Getting off to a rocky start, Pandemonium's opening title track toys with an experimentation. The percussion drops convention in favor of unsettled grooves, attempting polyrhythms but seemingly out of step with the rest of this music. Its an odd impression for a record that has absolutely nothing new up its sleeves. Despite being of my liking, a lack of anything fresh lands this one as a disappointment. Although its a fair execution of the Gothminister sound, I'm left with little reason to return again.

Rating: 5/10

Monday 10 October 2022

Slipknot "The End, So Far" (2022)

 

Breaking from lengthy absences between their prior two efforts, Slipknot storm back onto the scene with haste and inspiration afoot. Reestablishing themselves on We Are Not Your Kind, the nine mature into comfortable territory, able to deliver the goods and encroach on new ground. Adderall beautifully misfires the record start, a torturous lyrical piece on drug abuse juxtaposed by gentle melancholic pianos and Post-Rock guitars. Uplifted on the march of its warm baseline, a pivot into bluesy gospel chorals tinged by shimmering, wailing guitar texture states intent for something different.

One has to await these finer wines as swiftly we crash ashore on maniacal aggressive batterings Slipknot are known best for. A smattering of triple percussionist force punches out classic grooves on uncanny familiarity with The Dying Song and The Shapeltown Rag. These are the crowd pleasers, with bite and vitriol at the ready, the hounds of frightful frustration are unleashed among bouncy infectious brutality.

As the record matures, so do its broody atmospheres and textural treats between the swaths of metallic onslaught, mostly cunning guitar riffs and stomping drum breaks to headbang along with. In this expressive space, Slipknot thicken the fabric of their identity, exploring the creepy, unruly dimension that blesses their distinction. Cracking crates ajar, unlocked are new depths of this mid-tempo, mood led focal point. Explored in degrees, an overlap with convention yields quite an enjoyable variety.

So far, The End, So Far, has been spun without a single skip. It ebbs and flows, leading to a grand conclusion with De Sade and Finale. The former proposes gratifying links between ends as texture, aggression and Corey's clean emotive singing unites different extremes. Venturing then into a string of exchanging classic Metal guitar solo stylings, the fiery energy deconstructs itself, dissipating into silence.

It sets the stage for a grand bow out, Finale offers sombre strings and graceful pianos on slight unease to brood into an emotional climax as Corey declares emotional attachment to his darkness. Its expressed through catchy wordings, to get stuck in the mind. Again, a textural experience. The song breathes alongside its creepy choral chants. Expanding and contracting, it feels like a link to the albums opening.

Consistently does one feel a sense of expression and inspiration. Perhaps loosening the shackles of expectation, Slipknot gracefully venture onto new lands. The production is sublime, a typical modern marvel, managing to cram in nine loud voices in its loud onslaughts. Best of all, I felt Sid Wilson's input was made visible. Often you can hear the turntable textures working in a little extra magic at no expense to anything else. This has been a delight. The best since Volume 3 as it stands.

Rating: 7/10

Saturday 3 September 2022

Frank Klepacki & The Tiberian Sons "Lay To Waste" (2022)

 

Author of the Command & Conquer music, a keen nostalgic staple from my childhood to present day, Frank Klepacki brought renewed excitement to his classic soundtracks during the games 25th anniversary remastering. Best of all, he united with tribute band The Tiberian Sons, breathing new life into old songs. Hearing them go it alone on The Only Winning Moon was an unexpected pleasure! Have linked up again, these four original songs feel several steps removed from the origins of their collaboration.

Lay To Waste is a mismatch of fun, energetic ideas. Swaying from the meaty Industrial grit of C&Cs assailant glory to gleaming surges of joyous metallic melody, its glossy symphonies and chunky guitars fit aesthetically like a glove. A bold complimenting force, split in direction. The misnomer lies in mood. Mischievous aggressive riffs underwrite uplifting emotive theatrics most prone to fantasy driven VGM.

 Personally, I loved both aspects, yet together a sense of ambivalence prevailed. One can hear Frank's militant ideas blazing along but frequently they meander in tone from war and destruction to might and magic fantasies as strings and tunes take reins from the rhythmic brutality presented beforehand. Its a strange dichotomy that has eased with familiarity and repetitions yet still dominates the directorial feeling. The opening Gun Metal makes a half baked attempt at incorporating explosive sounds to the mix, then its main theme gets handed off through a string of these instrumental pivots.

Its been one of the stranger encounters on this musical journey. I'm left unable to pick a favorite track as every song sways between contrasts. Its the swaying that makes me seasick. Taking the analytic hat off for a moment, its a fun set of songs pounding with energy and vibrant noise. Plenty of twists and turns along the way! A tight curation of ideas not outstaying its welcome. It will be a matter of time to see how often I return to these tracks as I do love to with their previous material.

Rating: 5/10

Friday 13 May 2022

Rammstein "Zeit" (2022)

 

Have Rammstein found their footing again? Three years on from the untitled record with a pandemic wedged in-between, they would have had any excuse for another long absence, as bands quite often do with age. Zeit is a potent return, musicians in stride, armed with new inspirations. Their classic fist pumping Industrial Metal might comes with a measure of maturity and atmosphere. The expectant stomps of chunky mechanical groove take more of a backseat alongside brooding emotive tracks. Slow, scenic strides of soft textures, pianos and synths, bubbling up into swells of expansive guitar distortion seems a common format this time out. It feels refreshing.

The eleven songs play so wonderfully for the album experience as the pacing ebbs and flows between its soft and hard edges with plenty of moody melodies and righteous riffs along the journey. The powerful, deep and clearly enunciated voice of Till Lindemann commands the ship on its voyage. I adore his presence, having not looked up any translations, his animated delivery is mysterious and draws one in like a magnet. On occasion I find my own meanings in the drama of his delivery. Then there's the blemish of Lugen, where Till experiments with auto-tune and the results seem.... out of tune? The manipulations are dreadful, untimely, distorting what seemed like moments of personal emotional magnitude. Perhaps that is the point?

Dickie Titten, a title I don't think I'll translate, has another experimental curiosity that I'm not entirely sure works. On the third repetition of its design, these anthemic horns drop in with playful circus vibes. It gives me the impression of having more significance, as is lifted from some historical German song. Anyways, all in all Zeit is a fine construct, a much more "accessible" record with a production that frequently drops the distortion guitars out, putting less emphasis on the heavy, more so on the craft and subtler synth melodies. The good news is the songwriting is fine and its sways from Industrial groove to broody atmospheres keeps one engaged from front to back.

Rating: 7/10

Thursday 3 March 2022

Author & Punisher "Krüller" (2022)

 

 Krüller is fantastic. It had me going back to Beastland to feel the difference, which is colossal. Author & Punisher is an Industrial musician with an edge. Using his own custom built VST controllers, Author manifests a physicality to his music. The punishing landscapes of weighty mechanical monotony birthed through sweat and tears. Beastland had a unruly harshness about it. With time, it faded from memory. Krüller on the other hand opens up with streaks of color nestled between its slow grudging strikes of percussion. His voice, now melodic and sustaining, gushes with painful emotions. Alongside the streaking synths that burst brief sparkles of reprieve, it becomes a memorable craft. The best of this musician I've heard to date so far.

Although this mostly speaks to the opening song, the through line is often the relation between voice and what offerings of melody come by. The record is dense in atmosphere, a wash of fuzz and static broken apart by the smashes of snares and collisions of kicks as its percussion arrives with a force overcoming any obstacle. They drag and groan, slugging with a lethargic crawl that subtly gives way to the fuzzy atmospheres as the record broods with each passing song. Through its lengthy drives, often six or more minutes, creeps of resolve briefly emerge, always fizzling back to the shadows. Its a burdensome experience. One worth enduring for its glimmers of hope.

Glorybox is my favorite song. The gravitas of pain the album encompasses initially had me hearing it as a transsexual expression. The cries of "Give me a reason to be a woman, I just want to be a woman" so harrowing and wrought with anguish. It mirrored pains of bodily identity, however turned out to be a cover of Portishead's original. Now I know it, I can hear the difference in the music, best revealed by the guitar solo. It still is a remarkable cover on a brilliant record that may be a little to weighty to remember every moment with the same thrill of its better parts. It must be said its peaks soar to a punishing and unique place you wont forget in a hurry.

Rating: 7/10

Monday 14 February 2022

Pop Will Eat Itself "Dos Dedos Mis Amigos" (1994)


This has been a wonderful "of the era" journey, now arriving at its final destination. Although it makes sense, I didn't expect them to land on an Industrial Rock tangent. Reshaping the 90s genre blending style, Pop Will Eat Itself build their eclectic on the backbone of rumbling baselines, cold distortion guitars and a mechanical percussive might. With a colorful infusion of electronic tones it otherwise sticks close to an Industrial blueprint. All except Familus Horribilus, a soap box statement shouted through megaphone raps with the Beastie Boys scent. They take aim at the royal family with political commentaries on the families affairs of the time, naming names and airing grievances at heritage and tax burdens. The instrumental is a fun surge of jive and warmth among a cold, metallic tinged record of subtle rhythmic forces.

Across its eleven tracks the music comes in various shades of intensity and experimentation with some detour into more sample oriented percussive tracks with break loops and the like. Everything's Cool has an obvious riff inspiration from Ministry's classic Thieves. Most remarkable is the opening Ich Bin Ein Auslander. Predating Rammstein by a year, its deployment of the German language and a stomping Kashmir alike riff seems like some bizarre foreshadowing of the Neue Deutsche Härte sound. Surely its just an odd coincidence right?

Either way Dos Dedos Mis Amigos is a decent record if your into the Industrial Rock sound. Nothing exception though, a couple of better songs with a few mediocre cuts too. Its undoubtedly the most consistent in tone, funneled through a production that struggles in patches with its layering of sounds. Which is notably less dense this time around, relying more on the drive of its mechanical rhythms and sharp distortion guitars. I'm aware the band reunited for another record but I'll put a pin in that for now.

Rating: 6/10

Saturday 5 February 2022

Dagoba "What Hell Is About" (2006)



After writing about this French Metal outfits latest release On The Run, I realized I had already checked in with them a few years back on Black Nova. I'd forgotten much of that record and this one too, until a couple of spins had the nostalgia jogged with memories rushing back in! This was one me and my friends enjoyed on rotation during the heyday of the Deathcore scene, which they were not part of. With ICS Vortex lending his voice on a song, I suspect the discovery was related to Dimmu Borgir.

The bands aesthetic is a sonic assault of elasticated exaggerated grooves, playing out on seven string guitars. With a rhythmic battering from the pedal clicking drums and the aggressive roaring shouts of Shawter, the band have an intense sound constantly erupting head banging riffs. The ace up the sleeve has to be the synths that frequently shift in and out of focus, often layering in simple chords or single notes to beef up the musics atmosphere with an astral coldness. The precise mechanical slugging of brutal rhythms in between help play up an Industrial Metal component too. This chemistry is ripe for the elusive Future Fusion Metal genre label that never stuck around.

These songs are well written, balancing out the aggression with an uplift and respite as melody and "cleaner" singing work there way into some tracks. It gives the record pacing as it can't rely solely on chugging stomps of low end guitar djenting and pinch harmonics for its forty four minutes duration. The production is very much of the time, clicky drums and dense guitar tones making progress in sounding clearer but still a ways to go compared to where we are now. Give it some volume and it will sound great. Revisiting What Hell Is About has been a blast! It is always nice to unearth forgotten records and get a dose of nostalgia in the process.

Rating: 7/10