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Archived Reviews
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Infacted have put together a cracking second installment of their ongoing 4X4 singles series, partly down to the fact that two of their bands, namely Retractor & XP8, have both produced their finest work to date. OK, the latter did have help from the god-like genius that is Grendel, whose remix of "Cutting & Drinkin is surely going to tear the dancefloors up something fierce this year, especially if you liked Soilbleed which it resembles greatly but their own new tracks, "Still Lives" & "Deadlock" show that they're steadily improving in their own right, the former being a lively, danceable number although the latter scores higher just for being a better song. Retractor, likewise, hit new heights of excellence here, even if it did take me a minute or two to realise that "We Are The New Blood" wasn't a Reaper track. It certainly has the same hard-hitting appeal although the radio edit of "Where You Belong" is even better, the majestic & expansive sound being instantly infectious & indicative of a sure-fire smash. It's tracks like this that remind you why you love EBM so much with another nicely bombastic track "Will Of The Union" boasting some good voice effects while the soundtrack potential I've always known they possess is at last realised on "Who is Your Saviour-Trinity Film Score Edit", a classy piece which just oozes atmosphere. In contrast, Reaper hit the ground running last year & here they maintain the lead they've gained, kicking proceedings off with two mixes of the superb "Grauen", both of which show what an expert Vasi has become in getting a good hard groove going. The two live recordings (one at Infest, the other at WGT) serve as reminders that the Angst EP shouldn't be missed & sets things up nicely for the forthcoming album which I can't wait to hear. After such an EBM overload, Liquid Divine's closing "Click" comes almost as light relief, especially the 'Fluffy 80s Mix' of "Satellites", which, if truth be told, is probably a bit too 'fluffy' & it's only the 'Future Tense' mix of "At Any Time" that shows the psycadelic edge that makes this act a little bit special, mixing well with the rapid breakbeats before Tom Wax's remix of "Technocracy" closes proceedings with a mainstream club feel, featuring some decent sequencing as the main theme. They're a little too normal to really do the band justice but anyone who's familiar with the LD sound will doubtless recognise the seeds of greatness being sown here, making the forthcoming Black Box another must-have which, incidentally, is just what this little beauty is, as well! |
