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Archived Reviews
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The brains behind Diverje is Tommy T Rapisardi, head of DSBP & the Cyberage web radio station & co-member of Boundless & Bio-Mechanical Degeration. Being a lynchpin of the US industrial/EBM scene has given him valuable contact with many musicians which he puts to good use here as many of his label's roster make important musical contributions to this latest release with Rapisardi himself adding his own musical touches as well as the lyrics & vocals. Foremost among these collaborators is Vince Pujol, of Electro Synthetic Rebellion & the other half of BMD, whose trademark melodic style makes its mark on the robust opener 'Smell The Blood' as well as the pacey & action-packed 'Evil One' with its excellent chorus really hitting the spot while the trance-flavoured 'Wrapped Around' proves to be a particularly infectious stormer. The Argentinian band Alien Produkt also make their mark, providing the music for the excellent title track while their remix of said piece into a slightly Kraftwerk-like style is the only one that makes any real change from the originals. The others, from Noise Process (who also provided the template for 'Unleashed') & Dead Jump stay well within the set parameters & even though Pre-Emptive Strike 0.1 do add a European taste to 'Smell The Blood' it actually sounds a tad soft compared to many of the other pieces. This does give the album a varied outlook that so many similar releases lack, with Josh Wood of The Mercy Cage's making a vitally important contribution on 'Tear It Down', where the guitar work adds a welcome rock edge while the almost poppy 'Come Back' feels like a breath of fresh air, both in the music, which could be likened to a cross between KMFDM & Fiction 8 & the vocals, which eschew the typical harsh whispered EBM styles in favour of a more infectious melodic style that makes this one of the stand-out pieces. Furthermore, this piece provides proof that Rapisardi's voice is far more versatile than might initially seem to be the case & expanding his range benefits proceedings greatly, as further proven by 'Mainstream Collapsing' where his unbridled aggression & delivery like machine-gun fire set what could have been a rather humdrum track on fire!. Similarly, Chiasm's female vocals make their mark on 'Help Me' while 'Ho For Sho' combines thumping rhythms & ranting voice samples from a guy whose woman done him wrong - get over it, mate!!
Overall then, this album comes richly recommended to all EBM lovers & don't forget, DSBP has got a pretty immense catalogue meaning there's plenty more where this came from! |
