| Artist |
| Schallfaktor |
| Title |
| Sittenverfall |
| Format/Cat |
| CD FACT 3018 |
| Label |
| Infacted Recordings |
| Style |
| Dark EBM |
| Date of review |
| 1st November 2009 |
| Reviewer |
| Carl Jenkinson |
| Rating |
| 8/10 |
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To start with a conclusion; this album from Drazen Sucic & Sascha Pniok is never going to win any awards for innovation or originality as it sticks to the established dark electro style pretty faithfully. However, this soon proves not to be a problem as it provides a constantly engrossing listen throughout, not only due to such neat touches as the saucy samples that add extra spice to 'Aroused' (come to think of it, some of the cover art's a bit naughty, too!) but mainly due thanks to the duo's undoubted talent for laying down some strong melodic riffs that make for a high ratio of memorable tracks. 'Glaskaastentraum' proves to be a solid but unspectacular opener but the album really gets into its stride with the following 'Promiskuitiv' which, through a potent combination of pounding beats & soaring melodics certainly has what it take to be a big hit, a view that is seemingly shared by the record label given that there's a video for this track as well. However, there are a number of other tracks that should be equally capable of a high level of acclaim, including 'Gezeugt In Hass' which proves to be the album's highlight & the sixth track 'Friss Mich' (which is labelled as SEX rather than six, oh my aching sides!) which both impress still further with soaring lead synths that give the tracks a spacious feeling that contrasts nicely with the typically harsh vocals. Likewise, the closing 'Menschen' rounds things off with some rampant synthleads reminiscent of Gary Numan circa 1979 which is, of course, always a good thing &, while we're on the subject of comparisons, it's fair to say that the spirit of Hocico makes its presence felt on a number of occasions, particularly during 'Malfunction' & while it never comes close to matching their textural mastery (that would be a bit too much to expect from a new band) it's still a punchy EBM slice that should gain a number of fans. The instrumental 'Infinity' adds another string to their bow with its sultry & exotic mood complimented by some equally exotic samples & a deep bass drone that not only provide a welcome contrast but scores extra browny points by showing the band taking instrumentals seriously rather than using them as a short weird noise interlude! All of which just goes to show that there's still plenty of inspiration left in the dark EBM world & it's good to see these newcomers having the potential to give the big boys a run for their money!
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