cd reviews
Das Ich "Re_Laborat" Metropolis Records REVIEW BY Craig Harvey  Das Ich has done it's share of remixes for other artist's in the industrial/ebm community. On "Re_Laborat" some of the best artist's in the genre have come together to put their own proverbial stamp on the music of Das Ich. If you are familiar with the band, then they need no introduction. If you have never heard them, I have only one thing to say: where have you been?! Just kidding. Seriously though, these guys are one of the more original and unusual acts to surface in the last several years. Their unique blend of dark German vocals, blended with powerful symphonic keyboard lines is absolutely phenomenal. Not to mention their live show. Lead vocalist Stefan Ackerman stalks the stage garbed only with a loincloth. His tall anorexic frame covered with pasty white makeup, is truly a scary sight. He looks like a tall, skeletal, mad demon, dancing to the dark beat of hell.  As powerful as Das Ich's music is on it's own, the artist's here have done an excellent job at enhancing it even further, fusing their sound within the context of the song. It is obvious as to who many of the bands are without even reading the information on the back of the CD. A few of these I had previously heard such as, the VNV Nation mix of "Destillat" and the InStrict Confidence version of "Der Hab" both of which are excellent. L'Ame Immortelle did a superb job on "Dem Ich Den Traum" as well as And One's take on "Das Ich Im Ich." And One gives the song a "pop feel" which you would not think would fit, but surprisingly enough it works quite well. Funker Vogt's trademark keyboard sound adds a nice touch to "Unschuld Erde," which is another song I had heard before on a compilation. Atrocity lends their heavy detuned guitars and enraged vocals to "Des Satans Neue Kleider" giving this track and incredibly evil and ominous sound. Industrial veteran Rudy Ratzinger (Wumpscut) lends his extraordinary talent to "Aura" enshrouding it in his dark musical vision. Some other artist's that contributed were, Silke Bischoff, Kalte Farben, and Laboratory X to name a few. This CD has been out in Europe for some time, and although there are no "new" songs presented here, this is still an incredible set of remixes. For those fans of Das Ich, who may not want to spend money on songs that they already may own, I would reconsider. Not only does this showcase the power of Das Ich, but the talent of their peers as well.  Rhea's Obsession Re: Initiation Metropolis Records REVIEW BY Craig Harvey  Re: Initiation, the latest release from Rhea's Obsession, is not really a brand new CD. It is a re- release of their debut album "Initiation" with bonus mixes and new cover art. The band managed to attract quite a bit of attention from their last CD, "Between Earth And Sky" so Metropolis has decided to add this CD to their label, making it much more accessible to the fans. For those who have never heard Rhea's Obsession, you may have and not known it. After releasing "Initiation" which rose quickly on the Canadian charts, they contributed two tracks to the hit tv show "La Femme Nakita." So, if you have ever seen the show, then you have heard them. The driving force behind the music is vocalist Sue Hutton and guitarist Jim Field. Sue's background is celtic, middle eastern, and other world influences, while Jim's musical past stems from experimental and hardcore styles. This unique collaboration, which you might think would never work, manages to succeed brilliantly. Even the name "Rhea's Obsession," which is taken from the Greek Goddess "Rhea" daughter of the sun and the Earth, seems to fit appropriately. The opening track "Memento Mori," showcases Sue's extravagant vocals as her beautiful chanting invokes images of some far off city or desert in the middle east. This builds in momentum and moves into the second track, "Waves (Take Me Alive)" as powerful tribal drums join forces with feedback laced guitar chords, that bring it to a powerful crescendo. The next song "Cun Lacoudhir (The Breaking Ice)" has a slow hypnotic drum pace and clean guitar passages, while Sue's voice gently floats atop it. "Strategies Of Movement" is an instrumental that is driven by dark sounding static keyboard lines, and subtle appearances of Sue's vocals fading in and out. In fact, much of this CD has an approach of soft, gentle moments, followed by bursts of powerful drums and guitar, all cloaked in a beautifully eastern flavor that envelopes the listener in an almost trance like state of mind. Tracks nine through fourteen are extra editions to this CD entitled "The Mudra Mixes." Tracks eight (Tsunami) and three (Cun Lacoudhir) are the only songs from the first part of the CD to be redone. "Cun Lacoudhir" is reworked by none other than Haujobb, giving it a more driving beat, but still keeping the flavor of the original.  This is an enchanting and beautiful piece of work, full of passion and creativity. It will captivate you from the first song to the last. I think that this CD is equally if not more impressive than their second release. As I listened to it, I felt as though I could feel the desert sands whirling around me, and see the sun rise over the dunes. These were the images that were invoked in me, and I am positive you will have your own set of wonderful visions after listening to these incredible songs. Project Pitchfork Daimonion Metropolis Records REVIEW BY Craig Harvey  I was never a huge fan of Project Pitchfork. Not that I did not like the music when I heard it, I just never really bought any of their CD's. That changed when I heard Daimonion. I was so impressed with this CD, I went out and got three more of their earlier releases. Yes, I have become a fan. And yes, Daimonion is that good. Their music is a blend of industrial, gothic, ethereal, and other elements rolled up into a sound that is unique, and never cliche or predictable. The song writing is well crafted and very catchy, and with their wonderful mixture of majestic keyboards and powerful guitars, there is sure to be something for everyone.  The album starts off with "Daimonion" (You Hear Me In Your Dreams) which is a nice mid-tempo number, and immediately moves into the ebm powerhouse, "Timekiller" which has spawned several remixes already. Another track that has two CD's worth of remixes is "Existence." However, I actually like some of the remix versions better than the original. Maybe because I heard them first, but the original is still very good. Another track that I really enjoyed was, "We Are One" (Mirror Split Up Into Pieces.) It is absolutely infectious, and is slightly reminiscent of "I Live Your Dream" from their last CD "Eon." Actually, I was hard pressed to find a mediocre track on the album, but that is due in part to the wonderful talent this band possesses. Some other tracks that were particular favorites were, "The Clone, Drone State, City Night, and Last Call." This is one of the strongest releases I have heard this year, and has been a great discovery of a band that I was only vaguely familiar with. I highly recommend this CD, as well as the remixes of "Timekiller" and Existence" both of which are redone by some great bands including, "VNV Nation, And One, Zeromancer, and Philip Boa." Project Pitchfork is a band that is constantly re-inventing itself with each release, but if you have been listening to them you already know this. If you were like me and weren't paying attention, then you have a lot of catching up to do.  Die Form "Akt" Metropolis Records REVIEW BY Craig Harvey Die Form's latest release is a collection of various side projects and experimental works, that have been compiled and beautifully packaged in a two disc set. Many of these tracks are rare and unreleased, showcasing a wide range of electronic musical ventures. Philippe Fichot manipulates sound and vision, while his partner Elaine P and guest vocalist Mutsumi Oku, provide the additional voices and loops. The vocals are not really the main focus here, it is the journey down the many sonic corridors that Philippe explores that is the real magic, and in some ways this is more of a solo album for him than a Die Form CD.  With such a wide variety of music and the amount of material presented here, it would be impossible to dissect each song. However, a quick run through of some of the music will give you an idea of the diversity that you can expect. Take for example, the dark soundtrack qualities of "Cinema" and "La Femme Sans Tete" compared to the funky grooves of "Sublight" and "Urban Pains." Then move on to the droning electronic beats of "Disabled Landscape" (which clocked in at a staggering nineteen minutes) to the tortuous noise of "Corporal Punishment." This is only a small taste of what is contained on this CD, and combined with the incredible artwork inside the CD booklet, it makes for an outstanding combination. It is probably a safe bet that if you like the current music from Die Form, you will like this as well. Even though the material is several years old, "AKT" showcases Philippe and Elaine's quest to push musical boundaries, and explore new idea's. And, it succeeds in this area brilliantly.  Die Form Die Puppe II Metropolis Records REVIEW BY Craig Harvey It seems that Die Form have an endless supply of older material that they can re-release. Truthfully, much of their earlier works are out of print, and if it were not for our good friends at Metropolis Records, we might not ever hear them. Since the band has been around for over twenty years, I can see how much of their older music might be hard to find. If you have the double CD "Histories" there are two songs from this CD ("Re- Search and Sex By Force") that are included on that release as well.  Honestly, I am not the biggest fan of most of their older material. It's usually hit or miss, and I really do prefer their newer style which is more to my liking. The music has a tendency to be minimalistic at times, and leans more to the experimental side of things. If that is your fancy, then you will absolutely love most of this. I do happen to like experimental music, but some of this just does not do anything at all for me. There were a few tracks that I thought weren't bad, "Automatic Death, Invalid, and Ton Retrait, Des Eaux" and one in particular entitled "After the Crime." It started out with some mellow jazzy sax lines, and then moved into a very quiet droning noise. It was like something out of a David Lynch film, which that in itself was cool. Probably my two favorites were the aforementioned "Sex By Force and Re-Search" mainly because they were more beat-driven. I realize that this is their first official Die Form album, but overall, I thought this was a mediocre release at best. Granted it has been remastered with additional bonus tracks, and part of it is all analogue and the other half digital, but I just don't see me reaching for this disc very often in the near future. Perhaps I need to play it a few more times, but some of it is really annoying and hard to listen to. I guess that is why I like the more recent material better. I personally thought that the side projects from "AKT" that was just released were far superior and much more interesting.  Fictional "Fictious [+]" Metropolis Records REVIEW BY Craig Harvey Fictional is one of several side projects of the industrial powerhouse known as Funker Vogt. Fictious [+] is a re-release of their first CD, with two bonus live tracks from the only American show in Orlando Florida last year. Actually, it was Ravenous who was performing live, and did a "Fictional" set during their show. And since Ravenous is yet another side project of Funker and share some of the same members, well, you get the idea. I was actually in attendance at that concert, so having those live cuts on this release is a cool novelty. Fictional does share similarities to Ravenous, perhaps a little too much at times. Both are dark synth pop, with smooth clean vocals and the ever present Funker Vogt electro groove. That is one of the things that I have begun to notice about any of the "Funker" projects. The song structure and rhythms have become very similar, and many of the songs could interchange lyrics because the beat is almost identical. This is my biggest problem with this CD. I think these guys need to start becoming more creative with their sound, because it has become far too formulaic.  There are some shining moments to this release, regardless of my quibbling's with the song similarities. "Blue Lights" and "Dream Of God" are both terrific songs. Also, "Starlight" and the semi-instrumental "Your Dream" were also two of my favorites. Overall the rest of the CD was not bad, but again if you have heard a lot of material by any of these bands, it starts to run together, and is not that original. I think that keyboardist Gerrit Thomas has his hands in too many cookie jars, and should concentrate on one or two projects at most. However, since the original release is very hard to come by, and with the added live tracks, it's still worth having. Haujobb "Polarity" Metropolis Records REVIEW BY ALEX PAGAN  I put this cd in and listened to it up to track six. Then I promptly removed it from my stereo and ran around the house screaming, “it’s too good, I can’t take it”. Later I settled down and picked up where I left off. After finishing 'Polarity' I was disappointed... in all music except this! Yes, it’s that good. Industrial guru Daniel Myer has created a masterpiece. Take the subtle ambience of Haujobb’s 99, mix that with the hard pulsating style of Cleaner (Haujobb side project), through in a little classic Haujobb (ex.homes and gardens/solution for a small planet) and you might be able to put a label on this latest Metropolis release. This album feature 9 hard hitting, dance floor-pounding, ass kicking tracks, with 10 miniature musical interludes between each song (even numbers are the featured songs). 'Polarity' offers a wide range of electronic styles from traditions industrial to hard-hitting trance to off the wall experimental. Myer’s vocals are hypnotic, and the music moves like water. The sounds and samples used sound organic and unreal. It’s nice to see such creativity from a well-seasoned artist. My over all opinion of this cd is Daniel Myer must be stopped! This is too good! Forget it ever happened.  OhGr "WeLt" Spitfire Records REVIEW BY ALEX PAGAN  When I first popped this cd in I thought only one thing, please don’t let this suck. . After beating myself repeatedly for such blaspheme I realized it can’t suck, it’s Ogre. With exception to the 1998 release of Ritalin (rx) with Martin Atkins and a few works with the former KMFDM, Nivek has been relatively quite. Welt is the first full-length album to come from Ogre since Skinny Puppy’s final L.P. (THE PROCESS 1996). Teamed up with the electronic man of mystery Mark Walk, Nivek has created a new style of industrial music. Buyer beware, THIS IS NOT A NEW SKINNY PUPPY ALBUM. 'WeLt' is amazing, but completely different than what you would expect. For one thing the music is really upbeat. The whole album has a fun industrial/rock feel to it. Secondly, Ogre is singing as opposed to his usual blood-curdling screams. I hate to say that it has commercial potential, but it does. The format of the music varies from track one “Water” with distorted lyre and driven guitar riffs to track six “Pore” with mindless rank (very cool by the way) and break beat style. Track eight “Cracker” has a bit of humor to it, poking fun at Skinny Puppy rip offs (the list goes on with that one) with lyrics like “you think you’re evil but you’re not, it’s unoriginal”. Cracker also has a full-length video available at www.ohgr.org. I have to say that from start to finish Welt is impressive, easy to listen to and has tremendous dance floor appeal. This album is a good example of the future of industrial music. OhGr "WeLt" Spitfire Records by Max Michaels After years of various turmoil and conflict one of industrial music's more prolific icons Nivek Ogre emerges from his obscurity once again along side long time compatriot Mark Walk. Offering an eleven song assault on the senses. Twitching and jonezing for the high of quality music generally provided from any cooperative work involving the former noise box of the legendary trio from Vancouver known best as Skinny Puppy, the album "WeLt" offer no less than the best progression of sounds to add to your Ogre library. Well orchestrated beats and descending noises drizzled with synched samples and held together by some of the most unique vocal styles I've heard to date from Ogre. Where Puppy delved deep into dark places, Ohgr rides high on the energy of Walk's programing serving up songs legitimately accessible to a much wider audience beyond the Puppy confines. Track six "Pore" pulls out all the punches with a breakneck-break beat base supporting the chaotic and erratic Ogre rap. A most astounding display of studio work. Reflections of previous work by both artists, Ogre and Walk, are apparent from their recent ventures, Ogre with Ritalin and Walk with his new versions of SP songs on REMIX:DYS TEMPER. This disc is a must have.