| Artist |
| Uberbyte |
| Title |
| (DOS) |
| Format/Cat |
| CD CRUNCH 060 |
| Label |
| Crunch Pod Records |
| Style |
| EBM |
| Date of review |
| 20th September 2009 |
| Reviewer |
| Carl Jenkinson |
| Rating |
| 7.5/10 |
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I'm not sure why but I've always confused Uberbyte with Modulate, strange, I know, but there you go. Anyway, Uberbyte is the duo of Richard & Charleen, whose music is, basically a typically hard-hitting EBM affair with a smattering of hardfloor styles a la Reaper, Soman & the like, thrown in. With the exception of tracks such as 'Time And Paper' (the title makes more sense once you listen to it!) & the closing 'Ich Will Tanzen' the emphasis is on the former which works very much in the album's favour as it makes for a more versatile listen that works both on the dancefloor and at home. Compared to most Crunch Pod releases which tend to verge on the more experimental industrial styles, this should be much easier for the majority of EBM fans to get to grips with &, as a bonus, there are a number of touches that give the album something of a distinctive edge, not least the thoughtful mix of mutated voice samples & rhythmic effects that grace 'Aeon' while 'Say What?' is chock-full of all-American spunk that gives the music an almost punky feel. Similarly, Charleen's vocals add the same sort of snotty aggression to 'Industrial Bitch' (& what's the betting that ends up as the logo on their girlie T-shirts!) that Sina Hubner brings to Pzychobitch while the male vocals on 'Soma' put me in mind of Jean Luc De Meyer!! Anyone looking for a more straightforward EBM fix should check out 'The Gift' as well as the shrill 'Dissect' with 'Rewind' also having plenty to offer. The highlights come in the form of the infectious 'Last Human' which boasts some impressive sequencing at the start & infectious electro riffs that make for a winner in anyone's book while the brilliantly-titled '(Let's Put The Fun In) Fundamental' not only samples South Park's Eric Cartman but then proceeds to fry your brain with a mind-blowing rhythmic blitzkrieg that packs more power than an avalanche! If you're a regular clubber you'll probably have heard some of the tracks off here already but if not then don't miss out on this, this is one duo that have what it takes to be the next EBM heroes if given the right breaks.
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