Germ - Grief (2013)

One of Australian metal's most distinct and diverse personalities, Tim Yatras (here known as Germ of Germ) has worn more hats than one might rightfully fit on a single rack, and yet shown some style with each. Generally a power/heavy metal drummer in the past, his exploration of the black metal spectrum gifted us with Austere, and inevitably this project Germ, on which he performs all the instruments while revisiting the wailing, Varg-like rasps he tormented us with in that prior group. Yet what makes Germ a truly compelling creative outlet is not necessarily its black metal roots, but how its dreamy shoegazer rock progressions and somber electronics are meshed in to plot course over an emotionally draining, vivid landscape. This isn't entirely unique, I'll grant, since other groups like Lifelover, Alcest, Katatonia and ColdWorld have wrestled with similar aesthetics, but all similarities are usually felt strictly in the vocal style and chord patterns, and there's something just so bright and 'warm' about what Germ translates through his guitars and synthesizers that it really resonates.

I had liked the first album, Wish, released the year before this, but there was the impression that he'd only begun to carve out this realm; Grief being the natural refinement and gradual evolution which might still not be the magnum opus, but takes a step closer to that honor. There are essentially three narratives flowing through this, the first being the dreamy, driving patterns of the chords which alternate between the traditional tremolo picking passages and a 90s alternative post-punk tinge; while not unpredictable, they've got this unusual sheen to them applied through both the tone and texture, and the melodic lead licks that seem to erupt through the shining rhythms on a fairly consistent basis. Then you've got a harder edge through the percussion patterns, and the dying animal vocals which are responsible for the greatest contrast against the relative beauty of the compositions. Lastly, there are the threads of ambiance ("Intro") and IDM/beats ("Departure") which are generally confined to shorter tracks, though Germ also takes some more substantial risks here like the piano piece "How Can I?" with him using cleaner vocals and adopting minimalistic beats that propel steadily to the tune's climax. He also does well to divvy up the harsher moments between a lush, languid pace ("I Can See It in the Stars") and roiling tempests ("It's Over...").

It's all awash in a clean but not despairingly plastique/polished production which gives me a comparable psychic impression to both the last record and Austere's Lay Like Ashes...that is to say steady and pressing waves of sadness on a summery seascape, or golden corn or wheat fields as far as the eye can see. Genuine emptiness would not seem to have to be a negative thing here, since the aural colors painted are not those of what you'd normally expect from the latest grimnauts on scene. These songs are like knowing that life and the world will go on despite your own personal sphere of suffering, and there's a beauty both overt and elusive to the style that I don't tend to experience with a lot of the bordering-on-boredom blackgaze I've heard. It deserves to be experienced for that reason alone, but its also formidable in how it presents the listener with a sense of cohesive variation, wonders unexpected buried in its heart, a Gemini of joy and agony. Germ has not yet reached the apex of its inclinations, but if this sense of individuality and quality persists, it will remain a pleasure to follow the project towards each stage of its escalation.

Verdict: Win [7.75/10] (I kept my broken bow)
 
https://www.facebook.com/germofficial

Aborym - Dirty (2013)

The interlocution of extreme metal and electronica/industrial elements is one I've followed for quite some time now, having worked on several such projects personally that hybridized jungle, trip hop, breakbeat and ambient with harsh guttural or snarled vocals, tremolo picked guitars or just straight out lattices of calculated chugging since the middle of the 90s. In that time, I've noticed two overarching camps emerge from the process: esoteric artists who remain alongside, or ahead of the curve, utilizing minimalistic or modernist 'glitch' concepts, meticulously constructed industrial rhythms, and those who simply seek to fold redundant techno cliches from the late 80s or 90s into the convention of metal riffing techniques, double bass and blasted drum patterns, often dialing up the speed to levels not expected of living, breathing musicians.

Italians Aborym have always interested me, since they seem to strut along the razor-thin line between these two: occasionally summoning up some inspired progressions, but just as often subsisting off some groan- inducing cyber rave bullshit circa Combichrist, Marilyn Manson, whatever. Granted, the latter can be entertaining if done well, but that's just not always been the case here. While their debut Kali Yuga Bizarre remains their career highlight for me, thriving off an apocalyptic, ritualistic foundation that was a more novel concepts in its day, I've found a lot of the intervening material (four albums worth) to be rather inconsistent in quality. Dirty, the group's sixth full-length, was a study in contrasts from first exposure. The surreal, inverted city skyline on the yellow background gave me the impression this might have been a fully electronic outing, perhaps by way of Autechre or Aphex Twin (there IS a song here called "Raped by Daddy", so that might have just been mental association with "Come to Daddy"). But, by and large, this is business as usual, a mix of the dichotomy of components I mentioned above.

Dirty ultimately amounts to a nightmarish landscape infusion of acoustic and electronic sounding drums with a heavier emphasis on blast or 'gabber' styled beats, denser chugging, power chords, or tremolo progressions on the guitars that quite often play second fiddle to the atmospherics, and wretched black rasped vocals that unfortunately often give way to some weak, clean singing. Which, in no case, ever really enhances the music or gives me any respect for the band's eclectic intentions. Several of the lyrical choices here are just too goofy to stomach, like the higher pitched, nerdy repetitions of 'Fuck you' that adorn the bridge sequence in "Irreversible Crisis"; but the vast majority of intonations here are drenched in Malfeitor Fabban's decrepit, impetuous drawl which resembles Agathon on the older Gloomy Grim records. The synthesizers definitely run the gamut from wave-rave pads, to chopped and craftily syncopated surgical patterns, to more of a freakish, sweltering post-modern orchestration. You can tell a lot of effort when into their structuring, and to evoke a suffocating sense of both factory floors and gas-lit dystopian streets, which is sort of the point.

The industrial sounds are well plotted to create a mixture of harder edge IDM and old school assembly line atmospheres, which are then slathered in the meatier, opaque pummeling guitars. Truth to be told, as I went through the first disc a number of times, interesting patterns emerged. "Across the Universe" and especially "Bleedthrough" impressed me, but "Dirty" itself lapses into some pretty memorable, crashing grooves. Then you've got a song like "Face the Reptile" where some of the speed and forcefulness is alternated with a more haunting, dissonant field of notation that gives the listener some space to revel in his/her horror. Though I would not say that this was a 'standout' record in term of catchy guitar lines, they're at least properly fixed to the electronic rhythms, so it feels as if they were all composed simultaneously rather than arbitrarily tossed onto a beat as an afterthought. Bass lines are loud and probing where they need to be, and the mix, while hostile and abrasive, is rich enough that you can detect the subtleties of the electronics. A lot of folks will dislike the choking level of detail on principle, but it's working as intended.

Alas, I just can't stand the clean vocals anywhere on this album, and it just doesn't seem like the sort of work which required anyone's 'Inner Goth' to rear its ugly head. I would have been fine with just the rasps, growls and maybe some ear-splitting screams. It also doesn't help that the two reworked pieces on the bonus disc, "Roma Divina Urbs" (from the debut) and "Fire Walk With US" (from the sophomore of the same name) remind me of how much more I liked those albums than this one. Riffs and atmosphere are perhaps less harried, but immediately more evocative of the dark mental spaces the band inhabits. Not that there's an incongruity in how they got from 'there' to 'here'. No, it's a natural progression, but one could say they haven't evolved a whole lot since the second or third effort, and that the experimentation which initially distinguished Aborym might have reached the last stop on the line somewhere in the mid-00's. This feels as if they've become a bit comfortable with the rampant, metal-injected techno-trauma, and thus it doesn't exhibit the eclectic, uncanny variation you know they are capable of.

The cover choices on the second disc are, in fact, diverse, but also some pretty safe choices. "Hallowed be Thy Name" has an interesting first verse sequence where they basically introduce Iron Maiden to a Dance Dance Revolution platform with pulsing, sweeping synthesizers, but after that transforms into a fairly normal 'extremified' rendition. Nine Inch Nails' "Hurt" is given a straight forward, if somewhat more orchestral and dramatic treatment, and it might be the one place on the album where the cleaner vocals don't make me cringe, with the caveat that they're aping Trent Reznor closely. Aborym also delivers us an interpretation of "Comfortably Numb" which is slightly more acidic and psychedelic due to the enhanced use of electronics over the original, but the interplay of vocals and instruments simply isn't as smooth and effective as Floyd did it. Don't get me wrong, it's cool that the Italians have such broad influences that they want to share, but aside from one-time curiosities these tunes don't provide much lasting impact, and the reworked originals do not necessarily supplant the older versions, even if the production feels more fluid.

In the end, Dirty definitely was not the disaster it might have been, but there are a few obstacles which hindered my enjoyment. If you're a devotee of electronic/extreme metal bastardizations, and seek heavily layered, textured and nightmarish material to dance your life away, you might find enough exhilaration here to make it worth the while. The album's like an oil rig: imposing and unnatural, with lots of working parts and rusted foundations and surfaces, and that alone is interesting enough to explore. But coming away from the experience, did it dim my perspective? Leave a scar on my psyche? Thrust me into the dystopian dreams I so often encounter through the ciphers of music, film and literature? I can't say that was the case, but to the Italians' credit, at least they dumped a lot of planning into its design.

Verdict: Indifference [6.75/10]

https://www.facebook.com/aborymofficial?ref=ts

KLLU - UpsideDownCrossRoads (2012)

Though I listen to and enjoy electronic music in a multitude of forms, almost as much as metal, the amount I receive here at the site to cover is obviously disproportionate to all the death, black, thrash, doom and whatever else. And it makes sense: I've been trying to stick with one broad aural/cultural medium to build my critique chops, and just haven't felt so comfortable delving into other spheres of sound. I bring this up, because like myself, the members of KLLU are also involved in some heavy shit: specifically the Illinois experimental doom lords Drug Honkey, whose fourth full-length Ghost in the Fire still spends a considerable amount of time in my CD player, whenever the whiskey and pills run dry. Specifically, this is a project of drummer Adam Smith and vocalist/multi-instrumentalist Paul Gillis, who throw down here with a few other experimenters in Eraldo Bernocchi and Mark Piotrowski to create a panorama of beats and noises both lush and taxing. So as hard as it might be step outside of my comfort zone, I will damn well attempt to describe what this is.

Downtempo, cerebral, haunting, and yet very often possessive of an unexpected warmth. Not the warmth of an angel's radiance, or a hearth, perhaps, but that of a subway light fixture on a cold winter night. A sense of being snug deep in the rectum of humanity, cigarette butts heaped by your feet, strangers passing you by with nary a glance to affirm the species connection. All of this is conveyed through a palette of programmed beats, waves of depth and distortion, and lots of glitchy alien electronics providing a surreal backdrop. Like a lot of experimental industrial/electronic music, there are times where you'll feel as if the presentation doesn't have much purpose aside from tweaking around with a certain set of sounds, but that's really the joy of UpsideDownCrossRoads: 30 minutes of escape into the unknown. There were pads and effects here that reminded me of anything from The Orb or Orbital to the dark ambient/noise-scapes of a dozen more obscure artists, and they incorporate filtered sounds that might have been vocals or strings in origin, but have been twisted into a matrix of mutation. Truthfully, there's quite a lot of variation present through the give tracks, even though they maintain central themes of feedback, contrasts of dark and light in the effects. It's as deliberate as it is formless, as live-wired as it is decaying.

We're not talking fraternity bro-step here, with freak-out breakdowns and scattershot hip hop dance club associations. It's not Skrillex, fuel for a next generation of rave culture. No, this is the voice of living rust, machinery, and urban arcana. Things you forgot on a back street, in a basement, finding their own means to communicate. It's not overly harrowing despite the members' tendencies towards balls-out oblivion-level heaviness in other projects. It's cryptic, but you won't require Neal Stephenson to translate it for you. The production is gorgeous, eloquent even, with addictive noise panning through the headset and each sound a pleasure to interpret. The beats are paramount yet duly minimalistic, but on the closer "Impossible Dark" they actually drop the percussion altogether for a more freeform experience. My personal faves were "Dead, Like Me" which is complex and mesmerizing; or the warbling, wailing "Keep Us Forever", a lexicon for robotic subterranean whales, but in truth the whole of the album is pretty level in terms of its uncanny magnetism. KLLU gets you concurrently high and low. Psychedelia of asphalt and alleyways, well worth your abuse.

Verdict: Win [8/10] 

http://kllu.bandcamp.com/album/upsidedowncrossroads

Germ - Wish (2012)

Germ is an interesting case where an artist puts an eclectic spin on his already established sound, but rather than continue beneath the moniker of a previous project and potentially alienate the audience, decides to transform this into an entirely new entity. Many who have followed the Australian black metal rogues' gallery will probably be familiar with multi instrumentalist Tim Yatras, who has an enormous repertoire in both that and the local power metal scene, having performed and sessioned with bands as diverse as Austere, Lord, Pestilential Shadows, Ilium and Dungeon, to name but a few. Germ is more or less his latest lovechild, an act that takes the depressive, melodic strains of Austere into a futurist format of electronica, choirs and cosmic atmospheres that darker outfit hadn't previously explored.

The result, Wish is a refreshing, nuanced, and mildly flawed hybrid of black/rock aesthetics that might seem like a merger of Austere's tortured, warm tones and fellow Australian Midnight Odyssey, who have also evolved into a similar, modernist space with their sophomore album. Yatras utilizes both his vile, soul scathing post-Burzum rasp and a cleaner pop tone in his vocals that work well off one another, not to mention the spacious choirs that hint at a love for classical, operatic arrangements. Wish tends to alternate between bulkier metal-injected compositions like "An Overdose of Cosmic Galaxy" and "Breathe in the Sulphur/A Light Meteor Shower" with shorter electro vignettes like "Oxygen", "Gravity" and "Infinity". I rather admired the latter, which often recalled the Vangelis soundtrack to Blade Runner, a touch of Tangerine Dream or perhaps even the sci-fi pulse you'd expect out of the scores to Mass Effect or Tron: Legacy. However, I often felt that the synthesizer lines felt arbitrary when paired with the heaviness.

The best example of this would be the 10 and a half minute opener, "An Overdose of Cosmic Galaxy", which I'd consider possibly the least catchy track here and probably not the best choice to lead off. Here, the electronics are poised subtly over the simplistic chord patterns but feel somewhat extraneous in execution. Unnecessary. While predictable, the rhythm patterns provide a rather shimmering basis for the Gothic, cleaner lines plucked atop them, but I felt like this was enough. This is also true of "Asteroid of Sorrow", a shorter piece at least, but the tinny little synth lines did it a disservice. Fortunately, in a few of the other cuts like the epic "Breathe in the Sulphur" with its double bass undercurrent and soaring choirs, or "Your Smile Mirrors the Sun", which is closest in structure to a traditional black metal track, the techno bits seem a little less noticeable, but I don't feel like that dimension of the project was realized to its full potential beyond the aforementioned intermission segments.

Still, Germ is a curious concept, an expansive exploration with near limitless directions that it could be taken off in, and to Yatras' credit, he keeps it quite cohesive and almost restrained. This is not some Gothic/industrial freak show, but an eloquent and emotionally capable journey that could payoff for those willing to immerse themselves in its drifting decor. The production is in general very well managed, with the vocals clear and effective and the uplifting choir sequences exploding into the thematic firmament, and as usual the guy's a very capable drummer. Most of the rhythm riffs are insanely predictable, but the few leads strewn about have a nice, galactic finish to them that fits well to the concepts of the lyrics. It's worth hearing, especially if you've an interest in that rare post-metal which is not gun shy of keys and symphonic ingredients.

Verdict: Win [7.25/10]

http://www.facebook.com/germofficial

Pain - You Only Live Twice (2011)

Amazing, the life that Peter Tägtgren's Pain has taken on for itself. I would have thought this dead in the ditch at maybe 2 or 3 albums, yet the project has arguably surpassed Hypocrisy in terms of its popularity in Europe. Not all that much of a shock when taking into account the style here: bubblegum techno metal with lyrics and titles that read like endless streams of pop cliches. But it's confounding to me that Tägtgren is so into this. A meal ticket? I can't say, since one would think that Hypocrisy and his production work/Abyss studio earn him a comfortable living. Either way, Pain is now seven albums deep, and You Only Live Twice is not about to rock the boat. The Tim Burton/9-esque cover image might be distinct compared to the backlog, but the music itself is generally the same its been since the sophomore Rebirth in 1999.

By that I mean a lot of keyboards and pianos serving up the central melodies in the compositions, while supported by chunky, processed groove metal guitars. Occasionally the riffs will bust out something more thrashing, or something redolent of Hypocrisy's more mainstream albums like Virus or Hypocrisy. Sometimes, the lines even blur as to which of the bands I'm listening to (as in the opener "Let Me Out"), but in general, Pain is known for the predominantly clean vocals. I think it's a bit hasty to call this 'industrial metal', since there are very few such elements outside of the synthesizers, which are more in line with the general idea of 'techno'. When Tägtgren is at his best here, he's able to create these driving, atmospheric moods through all too simple chord selections and the electronic graze of the keys, culminating in a somewhat catchy chorus ("You Only Live Twice" or the Sonic Syndicate cover "Leave Me Alone"), but even these rarely prove to possess much lasting depth upon repeated listens. Yes, a Sonic Syndicate cover...!?

There are a few breaches of protocol here which hardly go sunny side up, like the rocking of "Dirty Woman" which feels like Monster Magnet for a few minutes, or the even more Goth than usual creeping of "Feed the Demons". However, the rest are pretty straight driving Pain tunes with all the pageantry of your more commercial Gothic metal or pop acts (Theater of Tragedy after the turn of the century, a little Marilyn Manson, NIN, and so forth). Peter's vocals are all over the place. The guy can sing, but there are also grunts and snarls here which often cast a limp glow akin to those used in, say metalcore. I might not mind the music so much if the lyrics and song titles showed any predilection for thoughtful imagery or even the slightest fraction of intellectual stimulation, but apparently the intention is towards sugary, frivolous abandon with no real value outside of a half dozen bi-winning melodies. Not that the last few albums were all that great, but You Only Live Twice feels puerile even for Pain.

Verdict: Fail [4.75/10] (I need to break away from me)

http://www.painworldwide.com/

Morbid Angel - Laibach Remixes EP (1994)

Within their 30+ years of existence, Slovenian industrial/electro act Laibach has covered, remixed and deconstructed a wealth of material from acts the world wide; from classics acts like the Beatles to more extreme and obscure fare. Considering Morbid Angel's leaning towards experimentation throughout the mid 90s and beyond, and the transition of industrial and electronica from the club and cult scenes to the mainstream, it makes a lot of sense for the two to collaborate, even if that union was limited to a pair of remixes. The Laibach Remixes EP provides a simple equation: lift two tracks from a band's most recent studio album (Covenant), then sample and mutate them to evoke a decidedly dissimilar atmosphere.

Now, the inclusion of the originals ("God of Emptiness" and "Sworn to the Black") is rather useless if you've already acquired the full-length and absorbed the material, but here they are not inconvenient as a 'control group' for what Laibach are attempting. Surprisingly, the remixes are not major attempts to re-structure the tracks, only to filter them through clanging dystopian landscapes. Within "Sworn to the Black", this is achieved through the mere incorporation of pipe like percussion and reverb to the original. It's not a huge difference, really, but I do rather enjoy this subtle twist, and in fact I prefer it to the original. What they've done with the other piece, "Gods of Emptiness" is much more substantial and impressive, tweaking not only the drums but also the vocals and adding a choppy, mechanical ambivalence. Vincent is more drawn out and deepened here, and the result is something more creepy than the original, though perhaps not entertaining for very long (I would have liked to hear more variation and alteration).

The biggest issue with the EP is simply that there is not much to it at all. It's a positive that the Slovenians did not make a bad techno mockery out of the material like you'd find on the Fear Factory remix album Remanufacture, but there's not a hell of a lot here to justify the product. Had this been a half decade later, these tracks might have just been released to the internet for the fans of both bands to peruse. I kind of dig the cover and the concept behind this, not to mention both bands involved, but the scarcity of content is crippling unless you're a collector who simply doesn't care about anything more than acquisition of the product itself. Also, perhaps a bit more could have been attempted by Laibach to draw the material more into their own realm of manipulations, rather than playing it so safe. Curious but easily avoidable.

Verdict: Fail [4/10]

http://www.morbidangel.com/

Sybreed - The Pulse of Awakening (2010)

On paper, Sybreed seems like a rather uphill struggle. At least in today's narrow minded metal climate zone, where the unwashed masses are quite content to cage themselves into limited scopes of taste where simple and acceptable choices from the 'master list of cool bands' are the means of survival. Certainly, electronic/groove metal bands have seen some success through the years, especially Fear Factory, but this is a style that most would rather spit upon and cast out than support and evolve. Enter the third album of Swiss Sybreed, who perform a far more complex range of chugging grooves, harsh vocals, polyrhythmic math metal and European EBM/new wave electro elements that provide a more accessible grasp to those who can't stomach the sheer caustic elasticity of a band like Meshuggah. This unit reminds me more of a Danish act like Mnemic or Raunchy, though with the added complications of the excess electronic backbone. But they've got the same penchant for writing modern grooves that sink in, emotional clean pop vocals, and so forth.

The Pulse of Awakening is their 3rd album since forming in 2003, and to be fair, it's a slightly more challenging effort than you'd expect from most of the bands crossing these styles over. For one, they've got a real drummer, Kevin Choiral, as equally capable as many death or black metal drummers, and this provides a more organic (though highly polished) connection to the listener than the average industrial metal act. I'm not a huge fan of the guitars, as I feel they rarely stand out of their own, used primarily as a bludgeoning, percussive force to anchor down the glistening synthesizers, but there are a few riffs that stand out, like the bouncing groove below the verse of "Nomenklature" or the broken, eerie manipulations of "Electronegative". They serve their purpose in general, but be warned that if you loathe excessive chugging over the pulse of a synth, you're probably going to hate this album and this band.

The album is also a beast, at over an hour long, with 12 tracks, and its quite a lot to take in one sitting. You begin to feel like many of them run on together and become less distinct of their own merits. Of course, if you're looking for a non-stop, cyber-metal paradise to engage you for 63 minutes straight, Sybreed has your number. I prefer to actually listen to a few tracks, in spurts, so I can take in everything that's going on. Because if The Pulse of Awakening is anything, it's busy. Some of the tracks I took to included "In the Cold Light", which is basically an EBM track like you'd hear from Apoptygma Berserk, Covenant or ...And One, only with the heavier guitars added near the close. "Doomsday Party" is like Fear Factory for the dance floor, and your mileage will determine whether that sounds like a nightmare or an invitation to bring the spiked punch, but it's catchy enough that I felt the urge to listen repeatedly. "Love Like Blood" gave the impression of some hyper-metalized version of Duran Duran's "All She Wants", and for the more aggressive fare I enjoyed "Killjoy" and "Meridian A.D.", both of which have some labryinthine grooves and great chorus vocals. "From Zero to Nothing" is quite ambitious, over 19 minutes long from its actual core song to the resonant, ambient drifting that drags on and on.

As a delicate, deadly alternative to Fear Factory or other bands that have sampled these waters, Sybreed excels. In fact they are quite likely the best band out their doing this, at least until you delve into a more pure, industrial/metal crossover terrain. If your mind is open to the band's mix of treacherous chugging, and Ben's almost MPD fusion of snarls, hoarse angst-ridden poetry and clean vocals that give To/Die/For a run for their money, give this record a try. The biggest complaint I might have is that there is simply so much to absorb that it may work against the band, but if its value you seek, then it is value you will find here.

Highlights: Meridian A.D., Nomenklature, In the Cold Light, Doomsday Party, Love Like Blood

Verdict: Win [7.75/10] (kinetic figures all around)

http://www.sybreed.com/

My Life With the Thrill Kill Kult - 13 Above the Night (1993)

That most 90s college graduates can identify this band only by their metallic track "After the Flesh" from The Crow soundtrack is a grave disservice to what is probably one of the most refreshing and original artists every produced in the American underground. My Life With the Thrill Kult is a band which combines all its industrial dance and electronic impulses with soul music, funk, and whatever else fits the pattern. The lyrics explore the seedy underbelly of our society, like one too many nights spent drunk and molested on the Sunset Strip. 13 Above the Night is their most accomplished, thorough record (though many are worthwhile), and a fantastic trip through the smut, filth and horror that envelop our privileged, troublesome youth like a womb.

This album is simultaneously cheesy and seductive. Some might argue that the band's techno music core is vastly outdated, but I beg to differ: 13 Above the Night trancends time because of its crafty use of a myriad of sampling, and the despotic vocals of Groovie Mann. The album oozes a dystopian yet alluring vision of the sex-addled drug culture, the perfect soundtrack to some Timothy Leary advocate picking up a stripper for a night of blow, drops and BLOW. Each of the 13 tracks is creepy in a different way...this is not about vampires and werewolves, its about the desires and impulses some deny, and others revel in.

The album consists of faster, dance numbers such as "Delicate Terror", which is like if C & C Music Factory suddenly became the house band for Hell. "Dimentia 66" is acidic and arousing, Mann's sexy tongue punctuating every deep groove, and a plethora of samples and eerie synths that will drag you deep into this band's universe. "Final Blindness" is like a cheesy arena techno anthem, with AMAZING samples...I don't want to ruin them for you, but listen to how the 'up and down' sample repeats through the various track, with varying punchlines.

And tonight, in Los Angeles California,
Thousands of teenagers will drive up and down Hollywood Boulevard,
Endlessly searching, and endlessly searching for...

But these are only a few rabbits out of the bag. Thrill Kill Kult can also create some funky, memorable, creepy, sample-infused industrial R&B like the amazing "China de Sade" or the freaky funk of "Blue Buddha", a track which frightens me even to this day with its narcotic scripture and hallucinogenic atmosphere.

Come seeds (You've tried the rest),
Of sufferin' (Come back to the Best),
Searchin', believin' in Ultra-Flesh.
Pleasure seeker,
Come seize the suffering,
Searchin', believin' in Ultra-Flesh..
Decieve me, in bed with Villains,
If Ultra-Flesh is whatchya want,
Then Ultra-Flesh is what we've got

UGGGH! Spooky! Hypnotic! There are no dull moments on 13 Above the Night, it's all too consistent in chaining you and dragging you into the depths of its vices and indulgence, and if you let it wrap its tentacles around your sexbox or thinktubes, you will never forget it.

Highlights: there are no lowlights

Verdict: TUNE OUT [10/10] (Who's behind closed doors?)

http://www.mylifewiththethrillkillkult.com/

Archaic Horizon Records (2007-06/2009)

What
From Wikipedia:

"Creative Commons has been described as being at the forefront of the copyleft movement, which seeks to support the building of a richer public domain by providing an alternative to the automatic "all rights reserved" copyright, dubbed "some rights reserved." David Berry and Giles Moss have credited Creative Commons with generating interest in the issue of intellectual property and contributing to the re-thinking of the role of the "commons" in the "information age". Beyond that Creative Commons has provided "institutional, practical and legal support for individuals and groups wishing to experiment and communicate with culture more freely".

Creative Commons works to counter what the organisation considers to be a dominant and increasingly restrictive permission culture. According to Lawrence Lessig, founder of Creative Commons, it is "a culture in which creators get to create only with the permission of the powerful, or of creators from the past". Lessig maintains that modern culture is dominated by traditional content distributors in order to maintain and strengthen their monopolies on cultural products such as popular music and popular cinema, and that Creative Commons can provide alternatives to these restrictions."

To put it simply, Creative Commons licensing is a move towards making art and other creations available to all while still acknowledging the role of the original artist. As technology allows musicians to move beyond the traditional record label-dependent industry, Creative Commons gives them the ability to retain legal safety and control while expanding their horizons. Think of it as a digital birth control, perhaps - artists need no longer be tied to and dependent upon one majour label or another for life, meaning that the artist is empowered, not the record industry.

As such, new internet labels have popped up around the idea of Creative Commons, acting as a means for community and discovery without the stale confines of outdated business models. I intend to review these little bastions of art and creativity, both for the overarching focus of the label and the highlights of the albums offered.

Why
Copyright laws have moved far beyond their original scope, having left the realm of protection and entered a monopolistic state of being. The rapid spread of information via the internet has allowed, for the first time, the breakdown of this construct, and I am wholeheartedly for it. Alongside the paradigm shifting of the music industry, I see a lot of hope for the future, and would like to support these efforts.

However, as CC artists are not chosen for their market appeal and profitability, it is solely up to the label runner's tastes what is and is not picked up. Thus, the potentially lax criteria involved with artist adoption by these labels can lead to less-than-stellar releases by artists who just aren't ready. Sure, majour labels have their fair share of duds and soulless cash cows, and this certainly is nowhere near as bad as the base profligacy that Myspace has allowed, yet it is still pertinent.

I get it already
Great, I'll just give a little glimpse into what will go on in these reviews. First of all, I'll provide pros and cons for the labels themselves, which will be fairly self-explanatory and straightforward. After that, I will break down the good releases, offering mini-reviews for each starting from the earliest release that I like, and perhaps full-sized ones for exceptional albums. I will skip any works that do not meet my quick-and-dirty approval - while this may mean that I miss a couple flawed gems on accident, there is far too much material on hand for me to care. If you happen to be bored, by all means look at the other artists that I don't cover, and definitely tell me if you find one that you believe to be deserving of attention. Due to the nature of my analysis, these reviews will have to be updated in the future due to expanding label catalogs, perhaps on a yearly basis if I am so inclined (don't count on this).

All music and art is freely available for streaming and download. Band names are bolded, album names are italicized, and songs are quoted.

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Archaic Horizon Records

Pros: Archaic focuses on a very chill and smooth style of synth-heavy ambient dronescapes and minimalistic electronica. The use of samples and texture is a common motif, although the material is typically very simple and unpretentious, given much more to mood than technicality. Retro synths and styles are also common, although this is a tenuous aspect that is often teetering on the edge of cheesy. Still, some very beautiful works are encapsulated in this collection - the ep's in particular tend to be quite good.

Cons: There is an almost universal use of mediocre drum samples and beats in the Archaic catalog, ranging from baby's-first-Fruityloops-beat to public access drumkit #55. Although they generally keep a low profile, I find it easy to become fixated on them and really hope to see some progression in this area. Also, the simplicity of these releases can work against them - I would like to see a bit more depth worked in with heavier layering to enrich the sound. Electronic ambience can be tricky to make engaging, and the Archaic kids often fall prey to this.

Label Verdict: 7.5/10

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The Albums

First Layer: AH001-AH010

• AH002
  Orange Crush - The Fields
  
  The second Archaic release is a fitting poster boy for the label, chock full of warm, wistful melodies and marred by dim-witted, yet well-meaning beats. The ambience itself is pretty good, evoking a youthful world of sunsets, and the drums are just toeing the line of trite, so I have a generally positive feeling for this album. Highlights include the title track, a sparkly, hopeful affair that flirts with lo-fi spunk and the sample-driven burbling of "Across the Breeze".
  
  Verdict: 6.75/10
  http://www.archaichorizon.com/releases/ah002/ah002.html



• AH003
  Corwin Trails - Corwin Trails ep
  
  Here we have another engaging Archaic releases. Corwin Trails hits all the right spots to get me going: use of spoken samples, creative beats, nostalgic synths, and experimental cutting leave this all-too-short ep always ready for an encore. "Icicle" is definitely my favourite track here - just give it a listen.
  
  Verdict: 8.5/10
  http://www.archaichorizon.com/releases/ah003/ah003.html



• AH005
  Hills West - Glare
  
  Glare opens with the gorgeous "Sonsun", whose wavering clouds of drone bring to mind the headiness of shoegaze, albeit stripped of its noise and grit. Although the rest of the album doesn't necessarily measure up to that, drums are thankfully relegated to only a few songs, which allows the great synth textures to shine through. I would love to see this shoegaze/ambient style expounded upon, please?
  
  Verdict:7.5/10
  http://www.archaichorizon.com/releases/ah005/ah005.html



• AH006
  Sora Shima - Distancing EP
  
  This is a nice and dense release of dark, purely ambient drones - perfect for those lonely night drives when all the city lights have faded. Simple, yet still moving.
  
  Verdict: 8/10
  http://www.archaichorizon.com/releases/ah006/ah006.html



• AH008
  loafeye - drinking rosewater
  
  While the whimsical and carefree sound of loafeye (I can't help but love that name) is overall rather pleasant, it definitely knocks a few rocks over the precipice of cheesiness. Good, but not impressive.
  
  Verdict: 6.5/10
  http://www.archaichorizon.com/releases/ah008/ah008.html



• AH009
  celer - Ariill
  
  With just two 30-minute tracks to make their point, celer seem pretty confident in their style, and for good reason. Ariill is a relaxed work revolving around deconstructed piano drones that are moreso constant than progressing, taking a firmly ambient stance that suits background accompaniment as much as focused listening. I would prefer to hear some sort of advancement throughout the songs, yet this is still a satisfying listen.
  
  Verdict: 7/10
  http://www.archaichorizon.com/releases/ah009/ah009.html

Second Layer: AH011-AH020

• AH011
  GABRIEL - Good old Days
  
  Good old Days has a strong Wisp feel to it, with rich analog synth work alongside slice-of-life samples and IDM-light beats, so it gets a pretty quick thumbs up from me. As the cover art might hint, there's a pervasive beach feel throughout, although it's not heavy; in fact, I think he could have built off of that a bit more. Some tracks feature very self-aware lo-fi elements, showing that GABRIEL definitely knows what he's doing.
  
  Verdict: 8.5/10
  http://www.archaichorizon.com/releases/ah011/ah011.html
  



• AH013
  Sarin Sunday - The Lonely Hike
  
  Although The Lonely Hike begins with the delightfully retro "Light Fragments", giving the impression that Sarin Sunday is ready to take things off on an energizing romp through old science film-fueled dance territory, things just aren't so. That's not to say that this isn't a nice album, because it certainly is. According to the unwritten Archaic MO, Sarin Sunday plays a soothing, minimalistic form of electronica, riding out its simple beats with more engaging melodies. Pretty par for the label.
  
  Verdict: 7.5/10
  http://www.archaichorizon.com/releases/ah013/ah013.html
  



• AH018
  Ophibre - REFERENCE
  
  One long track on show here, progressing from a formless mishmash of samples to a more focused shimmering drone. Pleasant, but the beginning half is somewhat aimless, and the second part isn't good enough to make it worth sitting through.
  
  Verdict: 5/10
  http://www.archaichorizon.com/releases/ah018/ah018.html
  



• AH019
  Saturday Index - Partly Cloudy ep
  
  Another interesting release (something about their ep's, eh?), with four lovely synth tracks by Saturday Index and three remixes of "Partly Cloudy" by other Archaic artists that are actually worth listening to. Nostalgic and calm, true bliss-out music.
  
  Verdict: 8/10
  http://www.archaichorizon.com/releases/ah019/ah019.html
  



• AH020
  Celer - Red Seals
  
  Composed by a Californian couple, this musical portrayal of red tides off the coast. One of the few purely ambient releases here, Red Seals is sadly not a very compelling listen. While the textures and brief samples are of good quality, there is little variation or movement to be had, making it a large effort to last all the way through both half-hour-long songs. Similar to their previous work Ariill, yet a step backwards.
  
  Verdict: 5/10
  http://www.archaichorizon.com/releases/ah020/ah020.html
  

Third Layer: AH021-AH030

• AH023
  Heroines of the U.S.S.R - Spring Snow ep
  
  Another ambient dronescape, and what a scape it is! Thick sleets of soft yet scraggy synths billow on these four songs, building into each other, distorting through their own white cloud of decay. Crackles of static pop beneath the mass, anchoring the sound like tiny footsteps in snow. This release really captures the thick and isolated feel of being in a snow storm and also manages to keep enough momentum and variation to make it a pleasure to stick all the way through. Highly recommended!
  
  Verdict: 8.5/10
  http://www.archaichorizon.com/releases/ah023/ah023.html
  



• AH024
  Experience. Hold. - March Forth
  
  More akin to the post-rock-fueled manipulations of World's End Girlfriend than minimalistic electronica, the material on March Forth is busy with the skitter of susurrating beats, acoustic lullabies, and plenty of memories. Although it lacks the dynamic impact of World's End Girlfriend, this entry by Experience. Hold. is still very worth your while.
  
  Verdict: 8/10
  http://www.archaichorizon.com/releases/ah024/ah024.html
  



• AH029
  Counterspark - Existence EP
  
  Much like the cover art, this release is a simple work of warm, hazy synths. It's definitely soothing on the ears, yet without any real direction or development, the songs never quite pulled me in. Should be great as background music, though.
  
  Verdict: 6/10
  http://www.archaichorizon.com/releases/ah029/ah029.html
  



• AH030
  Eluder - Drift
  
  More warm ambience, but this time there are plenty of layers and movements to get you through. Most certainly supports the mood set by the song names and the cover art with weightless ambient currents that your mind will float away with.
  
  Verdict: 7.5/10
  http://www.archaichorizon.com/releases/ah030/ah030.html
  

Fourth Layer: AH031-current day

• AH031
  Orange Crush - Autumn Reflections
  
  Ah, the return of Orange Crush. Autumn Reflections is pretty much a direct sequel to The Fields - it's better mixed, with a calmer, more subdued take on his style. I strongly prefer this out of the two albums.
  
  Verdict: 8/10
  http://www.archaichorizon.com/releases/ah031/ah031.html
  



• AH032
  Melorman - Expressing Thoughts
  
  I really like the music on these three songs (why is this so short, god), but the first one is slightly ruined by the pointless presence of womanly...bleating, like it was some sort of goddamn club trance song. Maybe e-heads will love it with all five of their remaining brain cells. This is the last of the current releases, so it gets a bit of snark to finish off. Good few songs, but needs a real release to tell if Melorman has enough melor in his diet.
  
  Verdict: 7/10
  http://www.archaichorizon.com/releases/ah032/ah032.html
  
  
• AH032
  Electricwest - MOTH3R/R3MIXES
  
  Oops, looks like Melorman already lost the shiny "new" title, as Archaic have put up something since I last visited their site. That something is this something, which is apparently a something that used to cost money to appropriate for one's listening, but now no longer does. Just because. And what do we have here? Surprisingly, an almost dubstep-like concoction of slow-churning bass dub, glitchy beats, and expansive atmospheres. It all blends expertly, a bit like what I imagine Boxcutter would sound like in the hands of Burial's mastermind. Too good, too good. R3MIXES is a new take on the album with covers by other Archaic artists, most of which are decent but not comparable - I say go ahead and skip downloading this portion.
  
  Verdict: 8/10
  http://www.archaichorizon.com/releases/ah033/ah033.html
  

Chris Cornell - Scream (2009)

Hearing the golden throat of the Evergreen State try his dice in the hip-hop/R&B market seems like an absolute disaster on paper, and in fact it's quite near a disaster in its execution. Chris Cornell is one of the most distinct American male vocalists we have. His legacy with Soundgarden was spotless, and though Audioslave and his first solo album were mediocre at best, it wasn't for the lack of a good voice. Carry On, however, was quite good, a more accessible take on his final years in Soundgarden. I also loved his Bond theme "You Know My Name".

So what we have here was originally a remix project, a team-up between Cornell and R&B/pop mogul Timbaland, that took on its own life and turned into a slew of new originals. Timbaland's influence here is obvious, you could have just as easily used Ginuwine or Justin Timberlake's vocals over some of these tracks and not had much of a difference. Some of the tracks just flat out suck. I mean who wants to hear Chris Cornell, who once fronted brilliant albums like Ultramega OK and Louder than Love, chanting:

That bitch ain't a part of me
No, that bitch ain't a part of me
I said no, that bitch ain't a part of me
No, that bitch ain't a part of me
I said no, that bitch ain't a part of me
No, that bitch ain't a part of me
I said no, that bitch ain't a part of me
No, that bitch ain't a part of-part of-part of me
I love the girl, I'm lovin' the dress she wears
She's got a hold, got a hold of me neck, oh yeah
I wanna cry, the way that she moves
I want the girl, but not what she's going through

Who exactly thought this would be a good idea? Is Cornell desperate? This holds true for a number of the tracks on Scream, but here's the kicker...which I admit with great trepidation. There are a few moments where this team-up actually *clicks*. "Take Me Alive" has a nice Middle Eastern spin to it despite it's layman hip hop beats which any 3 year old could program in 5 minutes, driven home by Cornell's scintillating mid register vocals and a chorus which ALMOST recalls the rock. "Long Gone" is an extremely fetching love song despite the Beverly Hills 90210/Melrose Place emo guitar line which breaks forth in its chorus. This latter is the best song on the album and hopefully its used as a single. "Climbing Up the Walls" is also pretty nice, a moody atmospheric. "Never Far Away" is like a Kelly Clarkson song but with Cornell. It works.

The album is true Timbaland, I do like his use of very 80s pop synths amidst the more modern and robust beats. Say what you want about the host of shitty, trendy artists he has produced, but the guy has an ear for sounds that stick with you. The biggest distraction is all the chorus and R&B effects used on Cornell's voice, often these fail. You cannot contain this man's vocals with studio wizardry. He's got one of the most glorious throats in the goddamned world. Badmotorfinger, anyone? Yeah. It doesn't belong over a cheap throwaway get up! jump up! pop track like...err..."Get Up".

In the end, Scream doesn't entirely suck, it's an interesting collaboration. But I truly hope the man returns to form at some point, as he seems to be entertaining an ever downwards spiral of bankrupt ideas. I just feel I have to point out the obvious.

Chris Cornell.
Seattle.
Shake out that Hollywood, California crack.
Seattle.
Take it back, man.
Take it back.

Verdict: Indifference [5/10]

http://www.chriscornell.com/

Patrick Wolf - Lycanthropy (2003)

Ok, it's time for me to focus my misty fanboy eyes long enough to write about Patrick. What's so interesting about him, you say? Well, besides his gorgeous, British looks, this solo multi-instrumentalist is a huge inspiration for me, both for having left home at the age of 16 to live as a travelling violinist with various groups and for his ambiguous, free sexuality. Previous generations had Bowie - I had Patrick. Lycanthropy is his solo debut, produced after a Maison Crimineaux show garnered label attention and support for his work.

Lycanthropy stands as the most youthful of Patrick's albums, showing a wild roughness that embodies the formative calamity of his teenage years. Indeed, the songs to be found within were written over a large period of his youth and feature, more than the following two releases, a clearer look into the elements that inspired and shaped Patrick as he is today. Patrick's main expertise lies in the violin, but the piano and ukulele also play large parts in his style. Whether you look at the stirring hope to be found in "To the Lighthouse's" violin and oboe undercurrents, or the thoughtful play of "London's" simple piano accents, there is a masterful use of very different elements to create a powerful whole. Heavy bass beats and chopped snare violence culled from the changing UK electronica scene drive the songs here with a foot-stomping pulse and a youthful delight in destruction. If there was ever a good argument for the use of folktronica as a genre, this is it.

Patrick's voice and lyrics are fantastic as well. Ranging from introspection to rebellion, his distinctly British singing never hits a weak note. Backing it up are some rather refreshing themes. As Lycanthropy was his teenage album, the lyrics are suitably youthful, brash and confident, yet still vulnerable. Songs like "Wolf Song" and "A Boy Like Me" take the expected direction about standing up for one's self and enjoying life, while others are more personal. "Paris" is a recounting of how he was expelled from a school for kissing a boy, won a lawsuit against them, and bought his piano with the money he received. There's also a touch of darkness in "The Childcatcher," a song about being tied to a bed and molested as a young boy. Patrick is refreshingly personal in his content and delivery, which makes his style all the more amazing.

While I don't hold this to be his best work, Lycanthropy is still a fucking great album that anyone interested in unique indie music should look into.

Verdict: Epic Win (9/10)

http://www.myspace.com/officialpatrickwolf

Reigns - The House On The Causeway (2009)

The charm of Reigns comes in the two brothers' ability to spin shifting worlds out of deceivingly simple loops; a genesis tied together by a brilliant attention to detail. Minimal and pleasant, the stories they offer are nevertheless somber glimpses at unknown and almost forgotten moments in time, from the madness-imbibing legend We Lowered A Microphone Into The Ground to the lost lives of Styne Vallis. This time around, Operatives A and B have found an abandoned house, lost to the mists on the far end of an English Channel causeway, in which to record a new journey.

Suitably, The House On The Causeway is a darker expedition than we've seen from these blokes before. Unlike the bright exploration of Styne Vallis' drowned wonders, Reigns have brought us the hushed hallways and still compartments of a long-empty home and its perfectly preserved memories. A piano trembles and chimes from downstairs as the Operatives go from diary to portrait, looking glasses that provide a surreal glimpse into unfamiliar lives. The House On The Causeway is a wholly undisturbed experience that shows the brothers' mastery of thematic delivery - moments like "Bad Slate" and "Mab Crease" recount tales of the unknowingly doomed through stirringly accompanied narration, while instrumental numbers serve as a reminder that these lives have long since passed. The drums are soft and deep, blending in with bright piano and guitar movements, wistful atmospheres, and skittering samples that tell as much about muffled emptiness as they do about meaning. Each song blends seamlessly with the next while remaining completely unique, never drawing the listener outside the fog-lost rooms on the causeway.

Evocative, thoughtful, and serious, The House On The Causeway is a fantastic new story from Reigns that shows a further maturation in their sound. Add to that the morose mood of the subject matter that touches me in all the right spots, and I have a nigh-on perfect album in my hands.

Verdict: Epic Win (9.5/10)

http://www.reigns.net/

Geomatic - Blue Beam (2008)

Blue Beam is the sophomore full-length from a collaboration formed in the Netherlands. The album is best experienced as a journey, I recommend using it as background music to some otherwise routine activity, preferably in the dark. :)

At its core, they create a hybrid of electro/ambient music, but this is infused with tribal percussion, world chants, and even robotic vocals. These all slither around the spine of the throbbing, pulsing sound to create a dark aural atmosphere which I could picture listening to in some long obscured opium den within a granite city block. I thought the cover image for the album was also quite fetching because it gives you a precise feel for how this album flows into your heart, haunting and irresistible.

This isn't the type of album where I really want to pick out individual tracks, I find it is best listened to when you have an entire hour or more to kill and want a consistent background. From the robotic bounce of "The Bliss", to the tribal and cerebral "Holographic Messiah", to the cyber jungle visions of "Radiating an Aura of Love" you will be taken to rapture. Other excellent moments are found in the very arabesque musings of "Redemption" and the sparse/minimal vibes of "Dark Technology Ghost".

The album sounds great, I zoned into it while grinding on some computer games and I must admit I found that time itself had passed at an alarming rate because the beats plugged directly into my consciousness. I wouldn't call the album perfect, it's really quite simple, but all too effective if you have the time to invest and the right environment in which to listen. Enjoy!

Verdict: Win [8.5/10]

http://www.myspace.com/geomatic1

Pinch - Underwater Dancehall (2007)

Apparently released on the same exact day as Burial's much-lauded sophomore release, Underwater Dancehall was lost in the two-step shuffle of the dubstep world's single-minded orgasm over Untrue. This is quite sad, as Pinch proves on this album to be amongst the top tier of dubstep artists, presenting a cavernous style well worth getting lost in.

An important note, before I start - Underwater Dancehall is a two-disc release: both discs contain the same music, but the first disc features some songs with singing, while the second disc is a purely instrumental affair. On the whole, I found the singing to be pleasant, but detracting from the music itself. I did particularly enjoy the tracks with Juakali (except for "Gangstaz," which is the worst of all the vocal tracks), but I prefer to go without. I think it's a nice option to have, especially since some people will enjoy the vocals more than others, so I will be judging the instrumental disc only, viewing the first disc as a thoughtful bonus for those that want it.

There really is no better way to explain the sound here than by the album name; Underwater Dancehall is a self-fulfilling description. Palpitating beats pulse their syncopated rhythms across an enveloping realm of warm currents, lit by the wan illumination of synths diffused through distant layers of memory and emotion; dark, abyssal bass rumbles and warbles up from far beneath it all with a ponderous threat. Minimal and vast, Underwater Dancehall is a swaying, drifting pool of sound to cleanse the mind in.

Pinch achieves an excellent balance here, with enough heft on the low end to appeal to the club aspect of dubstep, yet enough feeling to make for an engrossing listen. Underwater Dancehall doesn't lose itself to a repetition of heavier and heavier beats, which seems to be a problem with many dubstep artists who have given up their menacing roots for a far less intelligent heft. However, although I really enjoy this material, I don't think this is the height of Pinch's skill. With more focus to the songs, whether through the use of samples or more interesting singers, I could see him putting out a masterpiece. As it is, this is excellent work worthy of being on any dubstep fan's playlist.

Verdict: Win [4/5]

www.myspace.com/tectonicrecordings

Dol Theeta - The Universe Expands (2008)

Alright, who wants some techno/prog metal? Come on, raise your hands, I know you do.

You do? You sad little fucker. Go sit in the corner and listen to Dol Theeta, that should fix you right up.

Dol Theeta are a Greek band comprised of a few members of Dol Ammad, who also play progressive metal with heavy electronic elements. I guess this is just the same band, but they ditched the choir for...probably so they could make more money, I'm guessing.

Now, a mixture of prog and techno isn't necessarily that bad of an idea. I mean, prog is generally boring and self-indulgent on its own, but it usually turns out kinda cool when paired up with a more interesting musical genre. So what's the problem here? Dol Theeta managed to grab everything that's uninteresting about both types of music, yet pretty much none of the good parts. The production on the album is probably the only thing that I can commend. Clear, bright, snappy, very modern and professional. If you can't have intrinsic beauty, might as well hide it with expensive clothes, eh? I do kind of like the singer's voice.. Her tone is a nice bridge between something you'd hear on a Tiesto album, but all soary and epic for the power metal kids. And hell, she might have actually been able to come up with interesting, dynamic vocals if the music itself had any merit (but I doubt it).

But, no, instead we get everyone's favourite beginner prog riffs and solos, all swathed in spineless techno. There is no complexity, no spirit, no aim or progression whatsoever. Sure, they muster up a big fancy sound at the peaks of the songs, it's all very shiny and pretty, but that can't save them. It's the classic mediocre European power metal formula - slap up some shitty guitarwork to give it that metal edge, then smother it in keyboards and hope that no one notices the lack of talent behind the fancy sheen. Electronica may be a new twist on it...doesn't change a thing. I'm sure you get the picture already, this is all rather textbook.

The music is bad, that's for sure, but it's the little things that really do it. For instance, "Afterlife Crescendo" cuts out at the end with the phrase "again" (according to the lyrics. I swear she's saying begun) panning to the left speaker, where it proceds to echo long past the point of ridicule. The best part? Give it a sec...after a pause, it start up again in reverse. I choked from laughing so hard, that's how bad it is. Oh, and the random as fuck sample in the middle of some girl saying "Oh my god." The lyrics to that song are amazing, too. Here's one of the best parts:

Who's the one who spreads the
Tickets to a brand new
Start away from sorrow
Afterlife crescendo

Imagine the old Daytona USA theme song and you're already getting better entertainment.

This was hard to keep listening to beyond the first couple songs. Seek out for humour purposes only (it's kind of worth it for "Afterlife Crescendo"...kind of), otherwise you can forget that it exists.

Verdict: Fail [2/5]

http://www.doltheeta.com/

Bichi - Notwithstanding (2005)

Bichi is the solo side-project of Tobias Wilner, who might be more familiarly known from his work with Blue Foundation, an indie/electronica group who have gained a good amount of mainstream attention recently. Eschewing the friendly rock trappings of that project, Notwithstanding goes the way of full-blown electronica, tripping and snagging its way in the grand tradition of IDM.

Just the way I like it, Bichi plays a melancholic, introspective tune; that special sort of pleasant downer material that captures the chill of lonely, sleepless nights. Notwithstanding is a bit busier than my normal fare, so I don't see it becoming as common as Wisp or Conelrad in my listening schedule, but I can't really say that's a bad thing. The highlight of the album for me is definitely "Whirl a Stream of Comfort to Cool and Surround Me Until I lose Sight of My Own Defeat" for the guest vocals done by the lovely Sara Savery (of People Press Play) and the minimal, laid-back song structure that leaves a bit more room to breathe. Savery's voice is always a treat and hearing her here was a nice surprise.

There is a slight lack of consistent focus to Notwithstanding, however. For instance, the xylophone stuttering of "In the Parallax of Your Gaze Vivid" has a fresh, organic feel to it, but the more saturnine synths that accompany it almost run at odds, like there are two slightly related themes at work in the song, It's not that bad, really, but the poignance of the work is lost a bit in the resulting emotional struggle. There are small instances of this to be found here and there, not enough to truly distract, but enough to be noticed.

This album doesn't push any boundaries, but it's still a jolly good time. I'll be happy to have this around to keep my insomnia company.

Verdict: Win [4/5]

http://www.myspace.com/bichi

Combichrist - Today We Are All Demons (2009)

Might as well get this done while I'm on a industrial kick. Now boasting the drummer from Imperative Reaction, Combichrist are a relatively new, yet successful, act in the dark electro/aggrotech scene who coin their style Techno Body Music.

You can save yourself some strenuous eye-rolling, though, since this is actually a pretty fair description. Combichrist have the usual brooding EBM sound, with throbbing, rich synth layers and the good old stomping four-on-the-floor beat, yet this is married to a more European techno energy. I suppose this is covered by the aggrotech genre label already (which apparently applies to Grendel and :wumpscut: as well), but techno body music is an effective way to describe it. The sound here is much closer to Grendel than :wumpscut:, down to the almost too cheesy samples (the intro does cross the line), but it certainly doesn't rise to the level of either. The songs are simple but put together well, offering up plenty of reasons to dance in lieu of any innovations. The singer does change things up between songs, which is appreciated, but he doesn't always strike gold. The vocals on the amusingly titled "Can't Change the Beat" and a couple others have a strangely familiar sound, like ripoffs of NIN tracks, that I'm not sold on. I also find the main synth on "Get Out of My Head" to be a poor choice, but after naming it the diarrhea fart synth, I enjoy it a little more. Oh, and the final track has close to 20 minutes of silence in between two audio tracks...I fucking hate when artists do that. Go eat your cock instead next time, please. Other than that, the songs are what you'd expect - solid, danceable, foreseeable. With its solid production and infectious energy, I wouldn't be surprised to see Today We Are All Demons become popular at clubs in the near future.

Verdict: Win [7/10]

http://www.combichrist.com/

Empusae - The Hatred of Trees (2008)

This is the fourth full-length under the Empusae moniker from Nicolas van Meirhaeghe. It paints a dark ambient, lurid dream with pianos and resonance, but often transforms into steady, minimalist beats. The entire album is saturated with a bleak and haunting atmosphere of natural decay, lending credence to the title.

At over 15 minutes, the title track begins with some swollen, nullifying noise until the doom laden pianos arrive and begin to steer the composition. There are various breaks in which subtle electronic percussion is introduced under reductive noise, and then just beyond the midpoint the electronic elements pick up and the track becomes a hypnotic, subtle electro anthem. The transition is tasteful and fulfilling. "Undead Soil" is a shorter tune, driven by its abstract beats and a wonderful dark glow of ambient keys. "Fragments of Cerebral Dimensions" begins with some very sparse, alluring noise, then the melody of the synth rolls in a denser wave and it eventually transforms into a nice, minimal beat. "Hard Boiled Wonderland" was one of my favorite tracks on this album, I loved the cascades and distractions of electronic whine which shift below the very full, percussive backbone. The final track "Waanzin" is primarily throbbing noise with some samples of a man speaking, though it too finally emerges into an interesting industrial beat.

It is obvious some creativity has gone into this album, and the result is a consistent and dark vision. This would be great listening if you are in the mood for something haunting and ambient, but with actual beats to it. I've always wished more noise/dark ambient projects would go this route. Empusae does so successfully. This is not really a 'catchy' album. It is an album of pure mood and transition, which will work best as a backdrop for a particular activity. Perhaps surfing the web, perhaps playing a game, perhaps sitting in a dark room meditating with some incense. Whatever your poison, The Hatred of Trees is more than likely to enrich the environment of your experience.

Verdict: Win [7.5/10]

http://www.myspace.com/empusae

Ulver - Perdition City (2000)

Norway's Ulver released an unbelievably raw and cold black metal album in 1996 titled Nattens Madrigal - Aatte Hymne til Ulven i Manden (translation: Madrigal of the Night - Eight Hymns to the Wolf in Man) with a deliciously evil concept: a man transforming into a wolf, becoming unchained from the will of God, with the help of Satan.

Who would have imagined that the outfit capable of that whirlwind of malignity could produce such thoughtful and beautiful music? That is not to say Perdition City is a good natured work. It is shot through with an ambiguous eerie atmosphere that lends itself to being enjoyed late at night, alone in the dark.

It's hard to tell if the band intended the title to be taken literally, but I like to imagine that the album as a whole represents the titular city, and the songs are explorations of the mood and soul of that city. It could be simply be something they thought would make a good title, but the song "Dead City Centres" and its descriptions of gangs and lone killers stalking highways leads me to believe that maybe I'm not too far off.

It's not easy to describe musically, but the main structure is trip hop infused with electronic miscellany, as well as jazz smatterings and the occasional piano or string interjection. It rapidly changes directions in its mood, from ominous to aggressive to something close to uplifting.

Although this album doesn't blow me away, it is still quite enjoyable, and has never bored me despite countless spins. All in all, it's very unique, and if you're looking for something off the beaten path you could do much worse.

Verdict: Win (you're taking a ride to the underworld, where death lurks in dark corners, and trouble is never far away)

http://www.myspace.com/ulver1

Godflesh - Us And Them (1999)

So this was the album with which Godflesh decided to go jungle. Breakbeats and slower hip hop drum programming dominate the tracks, but if this sounds like some kind of nightmare for the Godflesh junkie, it's actually not.

It works rather well! Especially on the faster, dance tracks like "I, Me, Mine" with its wailing, creepy guitars over driving jungle rhythms. "Endgames" is another cool track with its distorted bass, big beats and repetitive, creepy funk riff. The band does still stick to its roots with a few of the tracks. "Witchhunt" sounds like an older tune. "The Internal" sounds like a prequel to Broadrick's newer band Jesu. Some of the other winners here are "Control Freak" with that sick bass. "Nail" which almost sounds like a porno-Godflesh syphoning NIN. The lyrics are quite dull across the tracks, but despite their insightful nature as a band, have their lyrics ever been naught but repetitious, simple lines which would take a mere few seconds to compose?

It's one of their most unique creations amidst a large field of unique creations. While it may appear that Godflesh was trying to 'keep with the times' by using the popular beats and electronic appeal, they actually work well with the dense vocals and droning guitars which made this band the legend it is today.

Verdict: Win [7/10] (cut the light out)

http://www.godflesh.com/