| Artist |
| Digicore |
| Title |
| Without Freedom |
| Format/Cat |
| CD ARMCD011 |
| Label |
| Armalyte Industries |
| Style |
| Industrial |
| Date of review |
| 26th September 2011 |
| Reviewer |
| Carl Jenkinson |
| Rating |
| 7.5/10 |
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The UK quartet of Danny Carnage, Matt Bastard, S-73 & Cell here unleash the true sound of cyberpunk, bolting mechanical appendages in the form of the drum & bass rhythms & adventurous electronics that crop up throughout the album onto the still-beating heart of punk & providing it with a new lease of life as well as resurrecting the rotting carcass of 90s rock. Indeed, the mellower moments that crop up during the verses of such tracks as 'Without Freedom' & 'Tear It Up' to name but two, are not totally dissimilar to bands such as Red Hot Chilli Peppers & the like while the ChopChop remix of 'We Will Fall' sounds, at least initially, positively laid back in comparison to much of the album & although it goes without saying that there is no comparison in terms of inventiveness & dynamics, it means that, for all the power, there's a human heart beating at its core, this music hasn't forgotten how to feel but it asks questions & takes no prisoners. Witness the pounding brutality of 'Where Were You?', 'No Rest (For The Rebels)' & the superb 'Obey', which is so overwhelming as to inspire you to start setting up the barricades forthwith, while 'Cyberpunks Unite', with its mix of drum 'n' bass rhythms & scything guitars, acts as a call to arms against everyday conformity & the closing 'Your World Is A Lie' makes its mark through its chaotic mix of fractured rhythms that sound as if they're going to collapse upon themselves any moment & belting guitars that almost seem to be struggling to keep up & raw shouted vocals, devoid of all effects & left in their original state; of all the songs on the album, this is the one that comes closest to the raw spirit of punk, it's angry, surging & raw for all its polished elements & it puts you back in touch with your most primal emotions.
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