Archived Reviews

Artist Beta Title Reflections In Darkness Format/Cat CD BLC2004-006-013 Label: BLC Productions Style Industrial Date of review November 2004 Reviewer Carl Jenkinson Rating 9/10 Back to top

The solo project of one Ian J. Velasquez, Beta's music is a journey through a plethora of dark instrumental soundscapes that have been expertly built up through layers of ominous sounds atop pounding, often brutal rhythms. It's a style that, in the wrong hands, can quickly become dull & one-dimensional, a fate that many such albums have fallen prey to in the past but one that is avoided here through the impressive use of contrasting melodic elements such as the ghostly voices that form an effective contrast to the slower rhythms of "Fait Accompli", bringing them into sharper focus in the process, or simply by adding a few slightly more accessable tracks such as "Heretic", "Splintered" or the 7-minute "Escape", where the extended length allows the music to develop slowly & expertly from it's abstract opening through a tension-filled web of melodies & slow unstoppable rhythms that fade-out & re-appear throughout the track, returning with renewed strength each time. Likewise unexpected touches such as the drum 'n' bass rhythms that grace "Unspeakable" & "Possessed (Relapse Mix)" are another important part of the album's appeal although even the harder, more uncompromising tracks like "Nightstalkers" & "Darkness" prove equally attention-grabbing which, in turn, means the album also does the business in the cold light of day-not as much, admittedly but the fact that it can be done at all is worth several bonus points in my book! In comparison the remixes from Agonoize & Skoyz sound almost easy-going although Implant, as usual, approach the task from a more leftfield point of view, working their own brand of magic through distorted rhythmic effects & a nicely sinuous leadline. Rising EBM hardnut Schattenschlag further stretches the envelope with his 'ambient mix' of "Nightcrawlers". Although it brings the melodic elements more to the fore there's a strong power-ambient vibe running throughout this track before ending with an effective soundscape as the happy sound of a children's choir is lent a strangely poignant air by a solitary child's voice talking about the human body after death. Where they got that from is anyone's guess but it does make for an effective climax. It's not an album that will appeal to everyone, then but if you're into the harder, darker side of industrial then Beta will not let you down.