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Archived Reviews
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Dark Electro is my stock in trade as a DJ -If it’s dark, hard and dance floor friendly it’s in my DJ arsenal. I’ve been waiting for this release with baited breath. 4 CD’s of pure industrial music? Now that’s something I wanna get my grubby mitts on, and so when I was asked to review this beauty I was rubbing my hands together in glee. Now I have to admit that Alfa Matrix have certainly done their homework, they have pretty much every major player on the dark electro scene (the only noticeable exception is Out of Line new boys – Amduscia and maybe Noise crossover band Fiendflug) and they’ve unearthed some hot new talent, brand new bands that I’d not even heard of, and my ear is pretty close to the ground in the Dark Electro scene. Now with a compilation like this there is inevitably hits and misses but what has impressed me is that at least half the tracks on this compilation are of a very high quality. There is nowhere near as much filler as I’d expected. So let’s take a wander through this compendium of hell shall we? CD1 – “Evil Session” What a way to open the proceedings. Noise experimenters – Schnarph!’s club smash “Redden und Atmen (kurz)” kick off the evil session in a suitable infectious manner. This is rhythmic industrial for the masses, and Schnarph! has captured the hearts and minds of club goers fed up with Noise bands who have just got too clever for their own good. Headscan’s “Dead Silver Sky” is a fantastic track and I’m a big fan of this band it’s all pounding sub-bass and techno-trickery but is it dark-electro? I’m not sure it is, more on that later…then comes a new sensation. If you want to hear really f**ked up dark electro/noise you won’t do any better this year than Noisuf-X’s “Happy Birthday”. It’s broken beats and freaky and frankly scary sampling; make this an absolute must for the dance floor. Noise meets dark electro in music to crash cars to. I’ve played this everywhere I’ve DJ’d since the release of this album and it has really gone down a storm! Do you know who it is? - Put a mirror to Noisuf-X and you’ll see that it’s Dark Electro sensation X- Fusion’s evil twin brother. Ayria continues her foray into the darker side with her funky, sexy ‘girl power’ tune “My revenge on the world”. This dance floor friendly tune is bound to be a club hit on the US side of the pond. Fair play to Jennifer Parkin she’s a come way since the synthpop stylings of her first incarnation Epsilon Minus. Long may her diversion into the dark side continue! New Noitekk signings Die Sektor frustrate me. There is a dark electro talent here, in “Scraping the Flesh (alternate mix)”but it’s deep undercover. Hiding beneath the usual virus generated synthlines is potential. The epic break down and climax to this song is simply superb. It has the most beautiful melody line, backed up by a building crescendo of synths and eventually drums kick in that are worthy of any of the best Dark Electro bands. More like that ending and less run of the mill Dark Electro boys and you’ll fulfil that potential, and stand yourselves apart from the rest of pack. Seriously. CD2 – “Torture Session” Skoyz make a welcome return back into the fold with “Distress/Signal (vision mix by Infekktion)”. Mike Johnson has created a simply superb epic club version of this dark electro tune that actually makes me hanker for some new material from him in his Infekktion incarnation. Don’t be surprised to be hearing this one at a club near you soon. If you never got the “Sex, Drogen, und Industri EP” by Combichrist then you won’t have heard Andy La Plegua’s wonderful song of sexual prowess “Tractor”. His superb Laibach-esque Eastern European accent on this tune is just brilliant. It’s driving, in your face and what we’ve come to expect from Andy.. Pure genius. Just a shame that he didn’t have a chance to contribute anything new to this compilation, us DJ’s would’ve appreciated that. What happens when the number one Dark Electro band and a hot newcomer get together? Magic happens. Autoagression’s remix of [:SITD:] club favourite “Lebensborn” is a masterpiece. It takes all the best bits of [:SITD:], the sampling, the epic chorus, the beats and adds in the Autoagression noise and Club orientated focus. It’s pummelling beats just make you want to get up and dance. I defy you not to. This is Club orientated Dark Electro perfection. Period. CD3 – “Damage Session” Newcomers Tamtrum really impress with their epic CD opener “le son de la pluie”. (The sound of the rain for you non-French speakers). It’s doom laden noise intro pounds into your very soul. The apocalyptic choir, the haunting angelic voices and still the beat goes on, relentless like the rain. And then in comes the speeding hi-hats, the scream of the tyres and you’re careering down the street out of control. The voice, distorted and aggressive, comes crashing in. This is high-octane industrial music for a disenfranchised generation. It’s epic, brutal and relentless, pounding you into submission. This is my tune of the whole compilation. It’s unique exciting and epic club material. No DJ should be without this tune…this is good. VERY GOOD. A quick nod to Implant and C-Drone Defekt for the excellently sampled “drugs vs. violence” and the remix of it. It’s techno-dark electro. A wonderful hybrid that will make you smile and dance like crazy in equal measures. Spot on. I’d like to take this quick moment with a salute of recognition to Terrorfakt and Dunkelwerk who show they are no ‘flash in the pans’ with their two contributions to this Damage Session. CD 4- “Death Session” The Death Session opens with the wonderful dark, epic intro from Yelworc – “Doom Of Choronzon”. Drum rolls and crashing cymbals lead us into a dark, nightmarish world - the nine levels of hell. Then in comes the F242/FLA styled retro programming. This is old-school EBM that is top notch. Yelworc know how to programme, they know how to drag you back in time and yet sound totally fresh and new. This is exciting music for an old boy like me. I’m right back in the golden age of industrial and I for one will be keeping a firm eye on anything new from Yelworc.. this is top-drawer material. New York DJ and founder of the Bruderschaft project – Rex Arkanna is back with his new Dark Electro project – FGFC820 and really impresses with a fan’s eye view of dark electro. A bass-line straight out of FLA or Nitzer Ebb in their heyday, beats that cut and cross the track like a criss-cross of scars. Harsh and distorted vocals reminiscent of Al Jourgenson screaming “SO WHAT!!” this is a Dark Electro mish-mash of all the best bits of old Industrial and as a result it shines. Unter Null prove they're here to stay with the brain damaging speed industrial track – “sick fuck”. Unter Null are a serious talent. Keep an eye out for their new album out soon on Alfa-Matrix, it’s going to be HUGE. I’ve DJ’d this track wherever I’ve gone and it’s relentless hardcore industrial styling make this one ”sick-fuck” of a track and I f**king love it. Then comes the onslaught. Dioxyde power into your brain with possible the tune of the whole album “Invasive Therapy”. Dioxyde started off as an old-school dark electro styled band, but with this superb track they are breaking new ground. I cannot describe the power of this tune. The dissonant synthlines remind me of Suicide Commando at their most brutal. This is harsh-uncompromising Industrial, and yet it is as infectious as hell. The hook-line is as addictive as Heroin it gets into your head and just won’t let you go. By the end of this tune you feel like you’ve been through your own “invasive therapy” but that’s OK… Dioxyde are well and truly back on form trust me, one of the finest tunes so far this year. So there you have it a whirlwind tour of the highlights of the Dark Electro release of the year, and possibly the compilation of the year. It’s dark, nasty, but very, very tasty. I was pleasantly surprised, there’s a lot of quality in these 4CD’s. My only gripe is that there are a few tracks which are not dark electro that have been included in this compilation Assemblage 23’s “infinite (Glis mix)” and Plastic Noise Experience’s “rotten people” for example. Some of them are Alfa Matrix bands and people are going to think that this is a self-marketing ploy... so I’d urge Alfa Matrix to be careful in the future. My only other concern is that the biggest players in the Scene – Suicide Commando, Wumpscut, The Retrosic, Hocico and Combichrist couldn’t be bothered to supply new tracks and actually that’s to their detriment. All the newcomers have stepped up to the plate and delivered some blinding new tracks. This is a top-notch compilation - possibly the best ever released. Yes is it is that good. There are more potential Club tunes on this release than all the releases from all the bands so far this year. Really. My fervent hope is that this 4CD release brings Dark Electro back where it deserves to be - in the spotlight and into the hearts and minds of the Club going and CD buying public. Essential listening. |
