| Artist |
| Novakill |
| Title |
| I Hate God |
| Format/Cat |
| CD REPO 023 |
| Label |
| RepoRecords |
| Style |
| EBM |
| Date of review |
| 21st February 2010 |
| Reviewer |
| Carl Jenkinson |
| Rating |
| 7.5/10 |
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Blimey, they're not messing around with a title like that are they? Mind you, the Aussie duo Bones & Sik have got previous in this respect, they're last album was called Kill Everyone!!! This is their third release &, in comparison to their past output, this is a more varied & darker offering with the longer than usual track durations allowing the duo to emphasize some more atmospheric elements which does mean that certain tracks do take a while to reach their full potential although patience is rewarded as 'Kombat' or the new-wave influenced 'Crusade' both eventually prove to be fine up-tempo numbers. This is taken to its logical conclusion during the 7 minute 'Incise' which sets an uncompromising mood through a mixture of offbeat effects, military voice samples & that, via a bizarre & somewhat overlong abstract section ends up with an overwhelming closing section that sees their sound scaling new heights in sonic terror. Overall, this is definitely a welcome development in making for a more varied listen but it's also likely to limit its club appeal to some extent. Throughout, Bones' vocals prove as distinctive as ever, adding a more individual, almost punky edge to what is otherwise a pretty polished, albeit spikey, sound; this pays off in spades on pretty much every track, be it the no-nonsense opener 'Mistaken For God', the furious, hard-hitting 'Demonizer' & particularly during the darkly atmospheric 'Exterminate' which again sees them widening their style palette to good effect, even if the title will always have Dalek connotations for us in the UK! Old-skool flavours should find much to love in 'We Work' which brings to mind Die Krupps et al, both in the lyrics & the music but this one is certain to go down well with hardcore EBM heads & while 80s lovers might appreciate the cover of Ultravox's 'Sleepwalk' I actually thought it a tad amateurish, the sort of thing a newbie band might have done. Overall, though, the duo deserve applause for refusing to take the easy way out & offering nothing but a load of dancefloor fillers, this is an album that needs a few listens to fully appreciate its facets but it is worth it, just a word of warning, be careful not to strain your eyes trying to read the titles on the back cover!!
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