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Archived Reviews
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It's not hard to see how Jeremy Pillipow's debut album got released by Noitekk as his music sticks very closely to their general remit of hard, danceable EBM that is not dissimilar in places to Tactical Sekt. Going for the 'God' side of hard EBM ('war' being the other, of course!) this is perhaps not as uncompromising as a number of EBM albums of late, laying off the gas a little in places which means that such tracks as the opening "Disciples Of The Watch" & "Confession" come across as enjoyable rather than stunningly good & perhaps even a little EBM-by-numbers at times as nothing radically new seems to be on offer. I was definately reminded of Tactical Sekt's Syncope by the dark moods that grace "Loss Of Faith" & "Confession" & while there are a lot of good ideas going on here they don't really make for a 'phwoar, this is fucking brilliant, I must phone everyone I know & tell them about it RIGHT NOW' album, more a 'yeah, this isn't bad, I'll mention it to my mates when I next talk to them' one, if you catch my drift! The one real exception to this is the outstanding "Burning Heaven"; a totally dynamic track where everything just gels so perfectly, from the hard rhythms that soon change tact to carry the piece on from the intro as well as the totally infectious backing. Even the quiet interlude, which initially seems to break the flow, plays its part by building up the expectation (& which is perfect for those 'hands in the air' moments) for the stompingly superb finale which is certain to find a place on many a DJ's playlist. Elsewhere "Ask The Dying" boasts some fine choir effects (a well-used but always effective touch!) & it's touches like that that hint at what could be the music's greatest strength, the darkwave-like effects that crop up during the quieter interlude of "God's Wrath", led by an effective violin sound (which must be synthesized as no accoustic instrumentation is credited) & which makes for a nice contrast to the otherwise rather furious track that this is. The same sound later takes the lead on the haunting instrumentals "Hellion's Fall" & the closing "Psalm", the latter of which additionally benefits from a nicely expansive feel while a stronger, almost tribal feel compliments the darker mood of "Sons Of Perdition". This is definately Jeremy's strongpoint & I'm pretty certain that, were they more widespread, it would make for an even better album, emphasising the music's dramatic potential even more fully so it's to be hoped that future releases will see this potential becoming reality. For now, this is an enjoyable, if not exceptional album that's probably best recommended to hardcore EBM addicts only. |
