Sometimes it pays to listen to your elders when it comes to music.
Tonight at a social gathering I bumped into a gentleman by the name of Bones, someone I've known for a long time who also happens to be the singer of the Australian EBM band Novakill. Bones is older than I and has heard and seen a ridiculously large number of bands. He and I spent much of the night talking music, which is always great. He's like me; full of passion, industrial music is his life (but not his work), and believes that everybody else is wrong about everything. We often have good music talks. We had a really good one tonight. He'd mentioned previously that his favourite industrial album of all time is Nail by Scraping Foetus Off the Wheel (that is one of the very many names that the band Foetus has gone by over the years). I have that album on vinyl, and it's a really really good album. If I had a vinyl player in my room I'd listen to it a lot more. I also only happen to own this album because Bones mentioned to me years ago how this was his favourite industrial album ever.
Anyway tonight, after discussing my recent Top 10 EBM albums EVAR blog post (he strongly agreed with the last five but didn't know or like the top five; what can I say, he's old school) he told me that his number one album (but not industrial album!) is actually Systems of Romance by Ultravox. What the fuck? Ultravox? Systems of Romance? This album is better than Nail? Better than Solitary Confinement? Better than... dare I say it... Revelations 23? Better even than the musical bombshell that is Non-Recycleable? Or Dreamweb? Is this even possible?
Maybe. I of course may have a very different opinion of it to his. However I am definitely going to check out Systems of Romance by Ultravox. (Some of you may remember them as the band that had the odd orchestral-styled 80s hit "Vienna").
The fact is, Bones was going to industrial gigs when I was pissfarting around with Transformers and watching the Goodies at 5:30pm on the ABC. We don't have to agree on everything. In fact there are many thing we don't agree on, and that's fine. But he is an elder statesman of industrial music and I respect his opinions, even if I don't agree with them.
Sometimes we need to take time out from our schedules and listen to an opinion from an elder. We can learn much from them. In fact it was a very fateful day in 1995 when I walked into Sector 7, a Sydney music and fashion store staffed by Bones, and he recommended a CD purchase that changed my life more than any other: the Colours of Zoth Ommog compilation. That CD not only introduced me to industrial music, and Zero Defects, but another band, one that would shatter everything I thought I knew of and believed about music. More of them soon. In the meantime, here is one of the songs off Nail by Scraping Foetus Off The Wheel. What can I say? It fucking rocks. It doesn't sound like any other industrial song or band I can think of, but it's brilliant.
Sunday, November 15, 2009
Wednesday, November 11, 2009
Top five industrial bands to watch out for in 2010
5 – Uberbyte
Uberbyte are a British “techno body music” band, currently signed to the very busy US label Crunch Pod. The track “Industrial Bitch” off their recently released second album Dos is currently tearing up dancefloors all over the world.
It might not be the most clever music around, but it’s pretty fun and a hell of a lot better than the pile of poo Combichrist recently released. They are apparently working full-time on their next album and I’m eagerly awaiting it.
4 – Inflatable Voodoo Dolls
These guys are a bunch of twisted people from my hometown of Sydney. Their last album, The Samurai of Stanmore, was a damn fine piece of work: catchy hooks, nice synths, and hilarious samples. If they don’t put out a new album soon, I will personally kick them in the throat!
3 – Memmaker
This is a side project (or only remaining project?) of Canadian power noise legend Iszoloscope, with some other guy. Their first album How to Enlist in a Robot Uprising was released in 2008 on (sadly defunct) US label Hive Records, and was an incinerating blast of fresh air in the power noise genre (which was in danger of fading away altogether). Definitely watch out for these guys, especially if you like your industrial music hard, loud and noisy.
2 – Mind.In.A.Box
If you read my top 10 EBM albums post, you’ll know how much I like these guys. They are my favourite (active) band in the world, and it’s been an agonising wait since their last release in 2007 (Crossroads). The only thing we’ve been given is a tantalising clip on their website.
If you have any interest in electronic music, you’ll want to start following this group.
1 – Shiv-R
This is a collaboration project between Pete Crane (from the criminally underrated acts Plague Sequence and The Crystalline Effect) and Kong (formerly of Stark and Neon Womb). Their only release so far has been a teaser EP, Parasite, which was insanely good (it’s now sold out), and quite frankly embarrassed most of the bland aggrotech and EBM / TBM bands I listened to this year. They are now signed to the respected German label Infacted Records and have a new album due in 2010. Cannot wait!
Uberbyte are a British “techno body music” band, currently signed to the very busy US label Crunch Pod. The track “Industrial Bitch” off their recently released second album Dos is currently tearing up dancefloors all over the world.
It might not be the most clever music around, but it’s pretty fun and a hell of a lot better than the pile of poo Combichrist recently released. They are apparently working full-time on their next album and I’m eagerly awaiting it.
4 – Inflatable Voodoo Dolls
These guys are a bunch of twisted people from my hometown of Sydney. Their last album, The Samurai of Stanmore, was a damn fine piece of work: catchy hooks, nice synths, and hilarious samples. If they don’t put out a new album soon, I will personally kick them in the throat!
3 – Memmaker
This is a side project (or only remaining project?) of Canadian power noise legend Iszoloscope, with some other guy. Their first album How to Enlist in a Robot Uprising was released in 2008 on (sadly defunct) US label Hive Records, and was an incinerating blast of fresh air in the power noise genre (which was in danger of fading away altogether). Definitely watch out for these guys, especially if you like your industrial music hard, loud and noisy.
2 – Mind.In.A.Box
If you read my top 10 EBM albums post, you’ll know how much I like these guys. They are my favourite (active) band in the world, and it’s been an agonising wait since their last release in 2007 (Crossroads). The only thing we’ve been given is a tantalising clip on their website.
If you have any interest in electronic music, you’ll want to start following this group.
1 – Shiv-R
This is a collaboration project between Pete Crane (from the criminally underrated acts Plague Sequence and The Crystalline Effect) and Kong (formerly of Stark and Neon Womb). Their only release so far has been a teaser EP, Parasite, which was insanely good (it’s now sold out), and quite frankly embarrassed most of the bland aggrotech and EBM / TBM bands I listened to this year. They are now signed to the respected German label Infacted Records and have a new album due in 2010. Cannot wait!
Thursday, October 29, 2009
Five genres of industrial you may not know about
OK here I’m going to talk about five little-known cousins of the big happy family of industrial music.
1 - Found Sounds
Now some snotty-nosed industrial purists might insist that Found Sounds (aka Field Recordings) is in fact a sub-genre of ambient music, or experimental. But we know what I think of industrial purists. Anyway, Found Sounds is music constructed entirely from sounds recorded in the surrounding environment, as opposed to made on a synthesizer, guitar or whatever. These people usually then distort, effect, and re-sample the material until it sounds totally unlike the original source, but they'll be fanatical about not introducing any other “artificial” sounds into the mix. It’s a philosophical thing I guess. They can thus produce albums sounding dark and creepy, harsh and noisy, or something in between, but generally it just sounds kinda weird (and often quite good).
Notable albums: Notime’s “Living Planet” and “Dying Planet” (side project of power noise legend Converter!), Wilt’s “Radio 1940” (good double cd of music made from broken radio sounds), Sleep Research Facility’s “Dead Weather Machine” (made entirely from the sounds of a broken air conditioner).
2 - Breakcore
Another genre that will be claimed by people from other camps (mainly techno and drum’n’bass), breakcore is techno or power noise having an epileptic fit. Forget four to the floor, in fact forget structures, bars, time signatures, or having some clue where the next beat is going to fall, this music is all over the place. You can’t even give it a BPM (at least I certainly can’t). Some call it random button mashing on a drum machine, some call it high art, some just like to take drugs and dance around in a crazy fashion to it. Personally, it doesn’t do a whole lot for me, and smacks of elitism and being cool for its own sake; nevertheless, there are some interesting or fun moments to be found here. Surprisingly, quite a few of the respected breakcore artists are from Australia, though it doesn’t have much of a following (I think some of their shows have as many punters as performers). Breakcore had a very brief moment in the spotlight when a video of someone jumping around to Venetian Snare’s “Dance like you’re selling nails” went somewhat viral.
Notable albums: Venetian Snares’ “Meathole” (this guy is considered the best in show), Xanopticon’s “Luminal Space” (or is this glitchcore? Bah who knows or cares), anything by Enduser (he’s not bad).
3 - Power Electronics
OK this is truly crazy stuff. Out of all the forms of music humans have made through the ages, Power Electronics is bested only by Japanoise in its outright insanity, abrasiveness and aggression. The formula is pretty simple; one very angry man (it’s always a man), screaming about terrorists, murder, or murdering terrorists, through about 12 distortion and delay pedals, over a blistering, grinding wall of noise. Fun stuff! There was a point around 2002 - 03 when there were some genuinely good people doing this music, but it quickly became overpopulated with feeble imitators and stupid fat serial-killer fetishists. There was a point in my life when this music made sense to me. I’m since a happier and more well-adjusted person so it doesn’t do much for me anymore, but I dust off my NTT or Propergol albums every now and then.
Notable albums: Strom.Ec’s “Neural Architect” (very good and underrated, excellent production!), Propergol’s “United States”, “Renegade” or “Program Vengeance” (legendary French act, still going strong), Navicon Torture Technologies’ “Church of Dead Girls” (mind-shattering, relentless, the final word in power electronics; nothing will probably ever beat this).
4 - Death Industrial
If Power Electronics is the torture chamber of industrial music, Death Industrial is the dungeon underneath where they throw the bodies after they’re finished with them. This music comes almost exclusively from Sweden, is released almost exclusively on the cult Swedish label Cold Meat Industry, and is a dark pit of despair. Sonically, it is a combination of the abrasiveness of power electronics with the grim atmosphere of dark ambient. There are rarely vocals or samples used however, and pretty much everything is drenched in reverb for that genuine catacomb feel. There are very few people making this music anymore (its brief heyday, if it could be said to have one, was in the late nineties / early noughties); even the undisputed king of death industrial, Brighter Death Now (aka Roger Karmanik, who runs Cold Meat Industry) now produces music that is basically power electronics.
Notable albums: Brighter Death Now’s “Necrose Evangelicum”, “The Slaughterhouse”, “Pain in Progress” (all classics), Archon Satani’s “Of Gospels Lost and Forsaken” (double cd of this pioneering group), Megaptera’s “Curse of the Scarecrow” (awesome).
5 - Tribal Industrial
The new and not very popular style is one of the most interesting and enjoyable things happening in music at the moment; the unlikely wedding of industrial with tribal beats. The cult Belgian artist Ah Cama Sotz had been toying with this stuff for years, but things really took off when fellow Belgian loon This Morn Omina released “Seven Years of Famine” on Ant-Zen, including its unlikely club hit, One Eyed Man.
Both of these artists have continued to put out excellent releases, but very few have followed in their footsteps. Maybe that’s a good thing? Power Electronics got swamped by shitty unoriginal bands trying to be the next Slogun or Propergol and failing miserably. It’s probably for the best that the number of bands doing this style you can count on one or two hands, because they’re all awesome.
Notable albums: This Morn Omina’s “Seven Years of Famine” (or pretty much anything else; this guy is the man), Ah Cama Sotz’s “La Procesion de la Sangre” (or just about anything else), Tzolk'in’s “Haab”.
1 - Found Sounds
Now some snotty-nosed industrial purists might insist that Found Sounds (aka Field Recordings) is in fact a sub-genre of ambient music, or experimental. But we know what I think of industrial purists. Anyway, Found Sounds is music constructed entirely from sounds recorded in the surrounding environment, as opposed to made on a synthesizer, guitar or whatever. These people usually then distort, effect, and re-sample the material until it sounds totally unlike the original source, but they'll be fanatical about not introducing any other “artificial” sounds into the mix. It’s a philosophical thing I guess. They can thus produce albums sounding dark and creepy, harsh and noisy, or something in between, but generally it just sounds kinda weird (and often quite good).
Notable albums: Notime’s “Living Planet” and “Dying Planet” (side project of power noise legend Converter!), Wilt’s “Radio 1940” (good double cd of music made from broken radio sounds), Sleep Research Facility’s “Dead Weather Machine” (made entirely from the sounds of a broken air conditioner).
2 - Breakcore
Another genre that will be claimed by people from other camps (mainly techno and drum’n’bass), breakcore is techno or power noise having an epileptic fit. Forget four to the floor, in fact forget structures, bars, time signatures, or having some clue where the next beat is going to fall, this music is all over the place. You can’t even give it a BPM (at least I certainly can’t). Some call it random button mashing on a drum machine, some call it high art, some just like to take drugs and dance around in a crazy fashion to it. Personally, it doesn’t do a whole lot for me, and smacks of elitism and being cool for its own sake; nevertheless, there are some interesting or fun moments to be found here. Surprisingly, quite a few of the respected breakcore artists are from Australia, though it doesn’t have much of a following (I think some of their shows have as many punters as performers). Breakcore had a very brief moment in the spotlight when a video of someone jumping around to Venetian Snare’s “Dance like you’re selling nails” went somewhat viral.
Notable albums: Venetian Snares’ “Meathole” (this guy is considered the best in show), Xanopticon’s “Luminal Space” (or is this glitchcore? Bah who knows or cares), anything by Enduser (he’s not bad).
3 - Power Electronics
OK this is truly crazy stuff. Out of all the forms of music humans have made through the ages, Power Electronics is bested only by Japanoise in its outright insanity, abrasiveness and aggression. The formula is pretty simple; one very angry man (it’s always a man), screaming about terrorists, murder, or murdering terrorists, through about 12 distortion and delay pedals, over a blistering, grinding wall of noise. Fun stuff! There was a point around 2002 - 03 when there were some genuinely good people doing this music, but it quickly became overpopulated with feeble imitators and stupid fat serial-killer fetishists. There was a point in my life when this music made sense to me. I’m since a happier and more well-adjusted person so it doesn’t do much for me anymore, but I dust off my NTT or Propergol albums every now and then.
Notable albums: Strom.Ec’s “Neural Architect” (very good and underrated, excellent production!), Propergol’s “United States”, “Renegade” or “Program Vengeance” (legendary French act, still going strong), Navicon Torture Technologies’ “Church of Dead Girls” (mind-shattering, relentless, the final word in power electronics; nothing will probably ever beat this).
4 - Death Industrial
If Power Electronics is the torture chamber of industrial music, Death Industrial is the dungeon underneath where they throw the bodies after they’re finished with them. This music comes almost exclusively from Sweden, is released almost exclusively on the cult Swedish label Cold Meat Industry, and is a dark pit of despair. Sonically, it is a combination of the abrasiveness of power electronics with the grim atmosphere of dark ambient. There are rarely vocals or samples used however, and pretty much everything is drenched in reverb for that genuine catacomb feel. There are very few people making this music anymore (its brief heyday, if it could be said to have one, was in the late nineties / early noughties); even the undisputed king of death industrial, Brighter Death Now (aka Roger Karmanik, who runs Cold Meat Industry) now produces music that is basically power electronics.
Notable albums: Brighter Death Now’s “Necrose Evangelicum”, “The Slaughterhouse”, “Pain in Progress” (all classics), Archon Satani’s “Of Gospels Lost and Forsaken” (double cd of this pioneering group), Megaptera’s “Curse of the Scarecrow” (awesome).
5 - Tribal Industrial
The new and not very popular style is one of the most interesting and enjoyable things happening in music at the moment; the unlikely wedding of industrial with tribal beats. The cult Belgian artist Ah Cama Sotz had been toying with this stuff for years, but things really took off when fellow Belgian loon This Morn Omina released “Seven Years of Famine” on Ant-Zen, including its unlikely club hit, One Eyed Man.
Both of these artists have continued to put out excellent releases, but very few have followed in their footsteps. Maybe that’s a good thing? Power Electronics got swamped by shitty unoriginal bands trying to be the next Slogun or Propergol and failing miserably. It’s probably for the best that the number of bands doing this style you can count on one or two hands, because they’re all awesome.
Notable albums: This Morn Omina’s “Seven Years of Famine” (or pretty much anything else; this guy is the man), Ah Cama Sotz’s “La Procesion de la Sangre” (or just about anything else), Tzolk'in’s “Haab”.
Wednesday, October 21, 2009
Top 10 EBM albums of all time
Here is my list of the top 10 EBM albums ever. Well, up until October 2009, at least. Putting together this list wasn’t easy. There were a lot of good bands who got left off (Haujobb, S.I.T.D., Klinik, Cesium 137). There were a lot of really good albums who didn’t squeeze in because they didn’t fit a (fairly strict) definition of EBM, like Mentallo and the Fixer’s “Revelations 23” or NCC’s “Seven Steps of Nervousness”. Anyway here it is.
10. Front 242: Front by Front (1988)
This classic is worthy for inclusion just by virtue of having “Headhunter” on the tracklisting, probably the most famous and popular industrial song ever recorded. The album starts off a little slow with “Unto Death Do Us Part” but ramps up the energy and doesn’t stop. This is pure, simple and dynamic EBM by the people who invented the genre and the term. The 1992 reissue includes some solid bonus tracks, especially the awesome “Never Stop”.
9. Nitzer Ebb: That Total Age (1987)
This British group certainly attracted attention with this debut. They produced EBM that was stripped down to bare essentials, with a startling aggression, speed and youthful energy. Join in the Chant may be their best known song, but there are plenty of other solid tracks here. Nitzer Ebb are still touring and astonishingly have lost none of their energy.
8. Front Line Assembly: Caustic Grip (1990)
What? Not Tactical Neural Implant? No! This album demolishes it’s much better known younger brother. This is Bill Leeb’s most direct and aggressive work, and the one most closely matching the style of the EBM pioneers Front 242, Nitzer Ebb and the Klinik. There may have been only half a dozen drum samples used on the whole record, but who cares when it sounds so good? Highlights are Provision and Iceolate.
7. Leather Strip: Solitary Confinement (1992)
An enormously influential album, this disc went on to spawn entire genres of music. When this came out it hit the industrial music scene like a bombshell; nobody had heard anything as dark and angry as this. The production quality and composition surpassed any of Claus Larsen’s previous works (and subsequent, many would say). A true milestone.
6. Seabound: Double-Crosser (2006)
Picking one Seabound album was extremely difficult. They have put out three and they are all excellent. The first however was probably more on the synthpop side of the fence rather than EBM (it can be a fine line). Beyond Flatline was a little darker, and Double Crosser more so. Seabound craft very clever and emotional songs like few people on the planet can, and their production skills are second to none. Domination stands out, but the closer Breathe is just jawdropping.
5. Mind.In.A.Box: Crossroads (2007)
As someone who tries their hand at music production, listening to this Austrian duo would be demoralising and frustrating, if it wasn’t the best music being made in the world today, since their skill embarrasses just about everybody else around. Crossroads doesn’t quite have the consistency of Dreamweb, but it has some standout tracks that are about the best thing in this style ever recorded, including the opening intro, which has to be heard to be believed.
4. Neuroticfish: Les Chanson de Neurotiques (2002)
Some may think of this band as a bit cheesy who had a few catchy club hits like Velocity. This is however a genuinely excellent album, solid from start to finish, with great vocals and lyrics, brilliant songwriting and a wide range of emotional content. The only downside is following what should have been a brilliant album closer, Need, with a feeble and misplaced remix of Velocity. Apart from that, this is a flawless album and essential listening.
3. Covenant: Sequencer (1996)
Many may be surprised not to see this album even higher, given its critical reception and cult status. And it is a classic; the opening track, Feedback, hits the listener like a blast of icy wind, with snarling synths and frozen commanding vocals. The whole album clocks in at only eight tracks (though varying depending on which of the many reprints you might have), but is just superb. The only downside is the predictable “club / dancefloor” track Stalker. The rest is solid gold.
2. Zero Defects: Non-Recyclable (1994)
Everyone (or at least all of the crusty old industrial fans, like me) know this band only for their 90s club hit, Duracell. Yes, the cool one with the Duracell battery ad samples. But this album has 10 tracks, all absolutely killer, every single one. This is EBM at its very best; cold, yet emotional; precise, yet human; dark, yet uplifting. I’ve listened to this album literally hundreds of times, and not only am I not sick of it, it gets better every time I hear it.
1. Mind.In.A.Box: Dreamweb (2005)
Two entries in the top 10 (top 5 even) gives you an idea how good this band is. Not only is every track perfect, but they all fit together into a seamless whole, an unfolding story. Synths, vocals, even occasionally guitars weave in and out of each other effortlessly. Emotions from hope, fear, love, despair and everything in between are traversed. The production quality isn’t quite as good as on Crossroads, and there may not be many “club tracks” here, but who cares? It’s EBM in my books and the best thing anyone’s ever done, and maybe ever will do.
10. Front 242: Front by Front (1988)
This classic is worthy for inclusion just by virtue of having “Headhunter” on the tracklisting, probably the most famous and popular industrial song ever recorded. The album starts off a little slow with “Unto Death Do Us Part” but ramps up the energy and doesn’t stop. This is pure, simple and dynamic EBM by the people who invented the genre and the term. The 1992 reissue includes some solid bonus tracks, especially the awesome “Never Stop”.
9. Nitzer Ebb: That Total Age (1987)
This British group certainly attracted attention with this debut. They produced EBM that was stripped down to bare essentials, with a startling aggression, speed and youthful energy. Join in the Chant may be their best known song, but there are plenty of other solid tracks here. Nitzer Ebb are still touring and astonishingly have lost none of their energy.
8. Front Line Assembly: Caustic Grip (1990)
What? Not Tactical Neural Implant? No! This album demolishes it’s much better known younger brother. This is Bill Leeb’s most direct and aggressive work, and the one most closely matching the style of the EBM pioneers Front 242, Nitzer Ebb and the Klinik. There may have been only half a dozen drum samples used on the whole record, but who cares when it sounds so good? Highlights are Provision and Iceolate.
7. Leather Strip: Solitary Confinement (1992)
An enormously influential album, this disc went on to spawn entire genres of music. When this came out it hit the industrial music scene like a bombshell; nobody had heard anything as dark and angry as this. The production quality and composition surpassed any of Claus Larsen’s previous works (and subsequent, many would say). A true milestone.
6. Seabound: Double-Crosser (2006)
Picking one Seabound album was extremely difficult. They have put out three and they are all excellent. The first however was probably more on the synthpop side of the fence rather than EBM (it can be a fine line). Beyond Flatline was a little darker, and Double Crosser more so. Seabound craft very clever and emotional songs like few people on the planet can, and their production skills are second to none. Domination stands out, but the closer Breathe is just jawdropping.
5. Mind.In.A.Box: Crossroads (2007)
As someone who tries their hand at music production, listening to this Austrian duo would be demoralising and frustrating, if it wasn’t the best music being made in the world today, since their skill embarrasses just about everybody else around. Crossroads doesn’t quite have the consistency of Dreamweb, but it has some standout tracks that are about the best thing in this style ever recorded, including the opening intro, which has to be heard to be believed.
4. Neuroticfish: Les Chanson de Neurotiques (2002)
Some may think of this band as a bit cheesy who had a few catchy club hits like Velocity. This is however a genuinely excellent album, solid from start to finish, with great vocals and lyrics, brilliant songwriting and a wide range of emotional content. The only downside is following what should have been a brilliant album closer, Need, with a feeble and misplaced remix of Velocity. Apart from that, this is a flawless album and essential listening.
3. Covenant: Sequencer (1996)
Many may be surprised not to see this album even higher, given its critical reception and cult status. And it is a classic; the opening track, Feedback, hits the listener like a blast of icy wind, with snarling synths and frozen commanding vocals. The whole album clocks in at only eight tracks (though varying depending on which of the many reprints you might have), but is just superb. The only downside is the predictable “club / dancefloor” track Stalker. The rest is solid gold.
2. Zero Defects: Non-Recyclable (1994)
Everyone (or at least all of the crusty old industrial fans, like me) know this band only for their 90s club hit, Duracell. Yes, the cool one with the Duracell battery ad samples. But this album has 10 tracks, all absolutely killer, every single one. This is EBM at its very best; cold, yet emotional; precise, yet human; dark, yet uplifting. I’ve listened to this album literally hundreds of times, and not only am I not sick of it, it gets better every time I hear it.
1. Mind.In.A.Box: Dreamweb (2005)
Two entries in the top 10 (top 5 even) gives you an idea how good this band is. Not only is every track perfect, but they all fit together into a seamless whole, an unfolding story. Synths, vocals, even occasionally guitars weave in and out of each other effortlessly. Emotions from hope, fear, love, despair and everything in between are traversed. The production quality isn’t quite as good as on Crossroads, and there may not be many “club tracks” here, but who cares? It’s EBM in my books and the best thing anyone’s ever done, and maybe ever will do.
Tuesday, August 25, 2009
Sacred Cows
I often find when I'm exploring genres of music that they have "sacred cows"; albums that are discussed in hushed whispers of solemn reverence, albums that nobody would dare criticise, and whose influence and power must go unquestioned. Industrial music certainly has a few of them. Some, like Leather Strip's "Solitary Confinement" or Godflesh's "Streetcleaner', I can definitely understand, and consider them classics. A few though, I am completely baffled by.
Front Line Assembly: Tactical Neural Implant
Ah 1992. Good times. I was still in high school, Paul Keating was Prime Minister, and nobody knew what a carbon trading emission scheme was. FLA put out Tactical Neural Implant, almost universally considered to be their finest work. A quick scan of reviews on music sites will confirm this. But was it really that good? Not at all, say I!
FLA basically had three stages. Their first stage was minimal, angry EBM. The second phase (very brief, only two albums) they went all industrial-rock. Third phase they went to a very polished, futuristic sounding electro / EBM, with some trance influences thrown in. Tactical Neural Implant was their last album before their second phase began, but oddly enough it foreshadows their later phase. That’s because it had lost almost all of the darkness and aggression of their earlier works (especially odd since the album before it, Caustic Grip, is the most aggressive FLA album, and it absolutely rocks). It also unfortunately doesn’t have anywhere near the production quality that FLA demonstrated on their later works like Implode and Epitaph, so you end up with the worst of both worlds. They lost the hard edge of the early albums, but hadn’t yet got the skills and gear to make their new sound work. It’s certainly not a bad album, but both singles (Mindphaser and The Blade) are very ordinary (especially The Blade), and while there isn’t any filler, the album is very short and without any really punchy tracks. I can name half a dozen FLA albums I prefer to this one, yet it seems nobody else on the planet would agree with me.
Skinny Puppy: Too Dark Park
Much like their Canadian brethren FLA, Skinny Puppy have had a long and strange career, lurching from one sound to another, bringing in guitars (The Process), throwing them out (Greater Wrong of the Right), changing lineup, and the other things that bands do. The one constant however is their universally loved opus, Too Dark Park.
What the fuck? This album is much worse than Tactical Neural Implant. It took me about 30 listenings to admit there might be a couple of good tracks on it: Spasmolytic and Nature’s Revenge. And yes, they are very good tracks. But the rest ranges from the average (Convulsion) to the laughably bad (T.F.W.O.). My favourite Skinny Puppy album is Last Rights, and I can certainly understand it might not be everyone’s cup of tea. It is a long, bleak, confronting and disturbing album, full of schizophrenia and melancholy. But Too Dark Park sits well within the same style of albums such as Vivisect and Mind: The Perpetual Intercourse; they’re just much, much better than Too Dark Park. In fact I believe Mind: TPI to be easily their best album after Last Rights. The last track on that album, Deep Down Trauma Hounds, completely shits on ANYTHING you’ll find on this overrated, sloppy mess. So why did Too Dark Park get all the buzz and Mind: TPI get chucked in a corner? Who knows, people are weird.
Nine Inch Nails: Pretty Hate Machine
Some may think that dragging up this weak creature for punishment is just shadow boxing, beating a muppet around the head who has no real capability to defend itself. Surely nobody listens to this tiresome album anymore? Well people do, and many of them still swear by it. How it managed to impress them in the first place, I'll never know. "But I was 19 when I heard this! It was awesome!" they say. I was 19 too when I heard it; my girlfriend at the time had it on high rotation, and I still thought it was crap. Pretty Hate Machine is a collection of juvenile electro-angst, barely meeting any sensible definition of industrial (see my previous blog post for some thoughts on that matter), and hardly possessing any songs worth listening to. Terrible Lie and Sanctified are actually passable efforts, Sin and Ringfinger can be a bit of retro fun if I'm really drunk, but the rest is either disposable trash or, in the case of tracks 1 and 3, unmitigated shit. Head like a Hole has to be one of the worst songs to ever get regular play in a goth club; nothing about the songwriting, lyrics, production or composition possesses any merit. If Def Leppard had put it out as a B-side none of their fans would have blinked, and Nine Inch Nails fans would have poured scorn on its feeble corpse had they ever encountered it. Yet Trent put his name to it, and thus people bop around to its terminally boring chorus every weekend all around the world. Down In It, however, is far worse; a musical travesty I'm surprised anyone was prepared to release. Listening to Trent Reznor try to do some kind of 80s hip hop number, with electronic cowbells, fake vinyl scratching and spoken word gibberish, is certainly something to be experienced, but once only. In case you never have, look upon Trent's works, ye mighty, and despair: Down In Shit
The really scary thing is that I've met people who particularly like not just this crappy album, but that uber-crappy song. Baffling.
Front Line Assembly: Tactical Neural Implant
Ah 1992. Good times. I was still in high school, Paul Keating was Prime Minister, and nobody knew what a carbon trading emission scheme was. FLA put out Tactical Neural Implant, almost universally considered to be their finest work. A quick scan of reviews on music sites will confirm this. But was it really that good? Not at all, say I!
FLA basically had three stages. Their first stage was minimal, angry EBM. The second phase (very brief, only two albums) they went all industrial-rock. Third phase they went to a very polished, futuristic sounding electro / EBM, with some trance influences thrown in. Tactical Neural Implant was their last album before their second phase began, but oddly enough it foreshadows their later phase. That’s because it had lost almost all of the darkness and aggression of their earlier works (especially odd since the album before it, Caustic Grip, is the most aggressive FLA album, and it absolutely rocks). It also unfortunately doesn’t have anywhere near the production quality that FLA demonstrated on their later works like Implode and Epitaph, so you end up with the worst of both worlds. They lost the hard edge of the early albums, but hadn’t yet got the skills and gear to make their new sound work. It’s certainly not a bad album, but both singles (Mindphaser and The Blade) are very ordinary (especially The Blade), and while there isn’t any filler, the album is very short and without any really punchy tracks. I can name half a dozen FLA albums I prefer to this one, yet it seems nobody else on the planet would agree with me.
Skinny Puppy: Too Dark Park
Much like their Canadian brethren FLA, Skinny Puppy have had a long and strange career, lurching from one sound to another, bringing in guitars (The Process), throwing them out (Greater Wrong of the Right), changing lineup, and the other things that bands do. The one constant however is their universally loved opus, Too Dark Park.
What the fuck? This album is much worse than Tactical Neural Implant. It took me about 30 listenings to admit there might be a couple of good tracks on it: Spasmolytic and Nature’s Revenge. And yes, they are very good tracks. But the rest ranges from the average (Convulsion) to the laughably bad (T.F.W.O.). My favourite Skinny Puppy album is Last Rights, and I can certainly understand it might not be everyone’s cup of tea. It is a long, bleak, confronting and disturbing album, full of schizophrenia and melancholy. But Too Dark Park sits well within the same style of albums such as Vivisect and Mind: The Perpetual Intercourse; they’re just much, much better than Too Dark Park. In fact I believe Mind: TPI to be easily their best album after Last Rights. The last track on that album, Deep Down Trauma Hounds, completely shits on ANYTHING you’ll find on this overrated, sloppy mess. So why did Too Dark Park get all the buzz and Mind: TPI get chucked in a corner? Who knows, people are weird.
Nine Inch Nails: Pretty Hate Machine
Some may think that dragging up this weak creature for punishment is just shadow boxing, beating a muppet around the head who has no real capability to defend itself. Surely nobody listens to this tiresome album anymore? Well people do, and many of them still swear by it. How it managed to impress them in the first place, I'll never know. "But I was 19 when I heard this! It was awesome!" they say. I was 19 too when I heard it; my girlfriend at the time had it on high rotation, and I still thought it was crap. Pretty Hate Machine is a collection of juvenile electro-angst, barely meeting any sensible definition of industrial (see my previous blog post for some thoughts on that matter), and hardly possessing any songs worth listening to. Terrible Lie and Sanctified are actually passable efforts, Sin and Ringfinger can be a bit of retro fun if I'm really drunk, but the rest is either disposable trash or, in the case of tracks 1 and 3, unmitigated shit. Head like a Hole has to be one of the worst songs to ever get regular play in a goth club; nothing about the songwriting, lyrics, production or composition possesses any merit. If Def Leppard had put it out as a B-side none of their fans would have blinked, and Nine Inch Nails fans would have poured scorn on its feeble corpse had they ever encountered it. Yet Trent put his name to it, and thus people bop around to its terminally boring chorus every weekend all around the world. Down In It, however, is far worse; a musical travesty I'm surprised anyone was prepared to release. Listening to Trent Reznor try to do some kind of 80s hip hop number, with electronic cowbells, fake vinyl scratching and spoken word gibberish, is certainly something to be experienced, but once only. In case you never have, look upon Trent's works, ye mighty, and despair: Down In Shit
The really scary thing is that I've met people who particularly like not just this crappy album, but that uber-crappy song. Baffling.
Monday, August 10, 2009
"But they were here first!"
One of the strange ideas I see circulated in discussions about music is what I guess you could call the "they were here first" myth (I haven't yet thought of a better name for it, feel free to suggest one). This is the idea that if someone (a musical artist or group) was the first to perform music of a certain genre, then they are automatically accorded supreme elite status, and considered the one and only true performers of that style. This idea I find to be particularly common in the industrial music scene. I also believe it to be completely untrue.
The first people to perform and record what is known as industrial music were Throbbing Gristle. There isn't much debate about this. There is a debate however about the progression of industrial music from there.
You generally find amongst the snobby "industrial purists" or elitists out there an attitude that Throbbing Gristle and their immediate descendants (Einsturzende Neubauten, Coil, Cabaret Voltaire, SPK) are the only actual industrial bands. Everyone else is either a feeble imitator (the various experimental or "noise art" groups since those acts were around), or playing a completely different genre altogether (i.e.any EBM band, any industrial rock / metal band, any dark ambient or death industrial band, any japanoise band, any aggrotech band, any power noise / power electronics band, basically any and every band that is called "industrial" by 99.99% of the people who know anything about those bands). According to the industrial purist (generally a rather vile specimen of human being), all those bands are in fact "post-industrial".
What the hell? Post-industrial? Why not industrial? "Because it's different!" the purist screams. "It doesn't sound like Throbbing Gristle. It doesn't sound anything like it!". Right. So a style can't change? AC / DC doesn't sound anything like Chuck Berry. So should we stop calling AC / DC a rock band and call them "post-rock"? Herbie Hancock doesn't sound much at all like early Dixieland Jazz. So is it "post-jazz"? Of course not.
Industrial purists seem horrified that people who have twisted and distorted the "original spirit" of Throbbing Gristle should inherit their name and mantle. Which is a bit lame, because twisting and distorting things was one of the original and fundamental tenets of industrial music. They also seem to follow this myth I mentioned earlier, that if you're the first person to do something, then that automatically means you did it in the best and most pure way. Throbbing Gristle must have by default captured the essence of industrial music, because they did it first.
I think it's perfectly possible, if not probably, that the first people to do something did not really capture or understand it. They were just scratching the surface, discovering bits and pieces, beginning to clear away the dust and cobwebs that surround the true ideas of the genre. Sometimes it requires other perspectives and ideas from other people, working with the initial discoveries, to really push the boundaries further.
Now am I here claiming that KMFDM or Nitzer Ebb captured the "pure truth" of industrial music? Absolutely not. But if you ask me, I’d say that the most “industrial” sounding album you’re ever likely to find, is Xenonics K-30’s “Automated”. This is an album of noise music released in a rare collaboration by power electronics artist Navicon Torture Technologies, and power noise artist Converter. It is a brutal, bludgeoning, smashing cacophony of steel, madness and destruction, and I love it. It was also released in the year 2002, decades after Gristle were fucking around with tape loops. And the really ironic thing? I’d say 90% of the snobby “industrial purists” out there have never even heard of it.
The first people to perform and record what is known as industrial music were Throbbing Gristle. There isn't much debate about this. There is a debate however about the progression of industrial music from there.
You generally find amongst the snobby "industrial purists" or elitists out there an attitude that Throbbing Gristle and their immediate descendants (Einsturzende Neubauten, Coil, Cabaret Voltaire, SPK) are the only actual industrial bands. Everyone else is either a feeble imitator (the various experimental or "noise art" groups since those acts were around), or playing a completely different genre altogether (i.e.any EBM band, any industrial rock / metal band, any dark ambient or death industrial band, any japanoise band, any aggrotech band, any power noise / power electronics band, basically any and every band that is called "industrial" by 99.99% of the people who know anything about those bands). According to the industrial purist (generally a rather vile specimen of human being), all those bands are in fact "post-industrial".
What the hell? Post-industrial? Why not industrial? "Because it's different!" the purist screams. "It doesn't sound like Throbbing Gristle. It doesn't sound anything like it!". Right. So a style can't change? AC / DC doesn't sound anything like Chuck Berry. So should we stop calling AC / DC a rock band and call them "post-rock"? Herbie Hancock doesn't sound much at all like early Dixieland Jazz. So is it "post-jazz"? Of course not.
Industrial purists seem horrified that people who have twisted and distorted the "original spirit" of Throbbing Gristle should inherit their name and mantle. Which is a bit lame, because twisting and distorting things was one of the original and fundamental tenets of industrial music. They also seem to follow this myth I mentioned earlier, that if you're the first person to do something, then that automatically means you did it in the best and most pure way. Throbbing Gristle must have by default captured the essence of industrial music, because they did it first.
I think it's perfectly possible, if not probably, that the first people to do something did not really capture or understand it. They were just scratching the surface, discovering bits and pieces, beginning to clear away the dust and cobwebs that surround the true ideas of the genre. Sometimes it requires other perspectives and ideas from other people, working with the initial discoveries, to really push the boundaries further.
Now am I here claiming that KMFDM or Nitzer Ebb captured the "pure truth" of industrial music? Absolutely not. But if you ask me, I’d say that the most “industrial” sounding album you’re ever likely to find, is Xenonics K-30’s “Automated”. This is an album of noise music released in a rare collaboration by power electronics artist Navicon Torture Technologies, and power noise artist Converter. It is a brutal, bludgeoning, smashing cacophony of steel, madness and destruction, and I love it. It was also released in the year 2002, decades after Gristle were fucking around with tape loops. And the really ironic thing? I’d say 90% of the snobby “industrial purists” out there have never even heard of it.
Friday, July 10, 2009
Quit while you’re ahead
A fair few years later came Futureperfect, which had a couple of strong tracks like Epicentre and Electronaut, but some real sloppy filler. Their lyrics and album artwork were becoming more and more pompous and self-important also, never a good sign. They were also around this time being ridiculed in the infamous “Afraid of SWORDS!” video (look it up, pretty funny). Not too long after that came Matter and Form, which really was a very poor album. Their “hit single”, Chrome, is one of the most boring and insipid tracks to get regular play in goth clubs since forever, and the slower ballad-y tracks were just terrible. There was no longer any hint of the anger or intensity that had driven such powerhouses as “Afterfire” or “Joy”, or any of the honest heartfelt passion that had driven such moving tracks as “Solitary” or “Forsaken”. Yet again, the subtext in the artwork, song names and lyrics suggested that this was drastically important stuff. By this stage I had well given up on the band I once loved. Yet more disappointments were to come.
A couple of years ago, Ronan inflicted Judgement upon an unsuspecting public. This was worse yet than Matter and Form, by quite a long way. The basslines and drum parts were all straight 8th beats, with no interesting rhythms or accents. The synth lines were all soft and meek, with no hard sounds to catch the listener’s attention. Half or more of the songs were slow, self-indulgent ballads. I was disgusted with where this band had gone.
So now we’ve ended up with “Of Faith, Power and Glory”. Again, the title and artwork suggest this is a drastically important work. The PR junk that came with my review copy heralded it as a profoundly dramatic triumph of modern culture that reinvents their sound for a new era blah blah blah. And it’s a pile of utter shit. It reaches new depths of banality that I wouldn’t have conceived possible. I would in fact say that they have become the Matchbox 20 of industrial music.
To make sure this was still the same band I once loved, I dusted off my old copy of Advance and Follow and gave it a listen. It rocked! Sure a couple of the tracks were weak, but overall it had a power and intensity that’s hard to top.
Does this happen to all of us? Do we all get rich, fat and happy, and lose our passion? Lose our muse, lose the fire that burns in us and inspires us to create music that inspires other people? While believing that these terrible albums are actually the best thing we’ve ever done? I really hope not. And I don’t think it happens to all of us.
The single greatest concert I’ve ever seen in my life was Front 242 live at Wave Gotik Treffen in Leipzig 2007. Jean-luc de Meyer is into his 50s (!!), and has more energy than just about any performer I’ve ever seen. I’ve never seen Front Line Assembly, but they’re in a similar age category and apparently put on brutal live shows. These people give us hope that we will not all end up like that sad little man Ronan Harris, full of pompous self-importance and utterly drained of inspiration and talent.
Friday, May 8, 2009
What happened to power noise?
OK here's the 'rise and fall' of the niche cult sub-genre of industrial known as power noise. This stuff arose in the early nineties when a young German label Ant-Zen started putting out some very distorted and aggressive electronic music. People started really taking notice of it when they issued a double CD compilation "Ant-Hology" on their 5 year anniversary. Here was a collection of great music which really put Ant-Zen on the map, especially with the incredible live recording of "Tentack" by Imminent Starvation. Tentack is a brutal, beautiful, musical juggernaut, that steamrollers anyone foolish to stand in its way, and defined the style perfectly.
Several other acts (almost all German or Belgian) made impressions on this compilation, like Synapscape, Hypnoskull, PAL, and Morgenstern. These acts would all go on to put out numerous releases on Ant-Zen.
Also around this time, another German label called Hands started putting out power noise CDs in bizarre cardboard contraptions that made it difficult (especially for newcomers) to get the cd out without damaging it (hence the nickname 'Hands scratch-pack'). If anything, the music put out on Hands was even more harsh and abrasive than that put out by Ant-Zen, spearheaded by the rumored mastermind behind the mysterious label, Winterkaelte. Their sound was bordering on white noise, but it was about as good as noise got, and they quickly established a cult following.
However the genre really emerged onto the industrial scene with the rise of a quiet, unassuming American, Scott Sturgis, and his project Converter. Here was power noise at its most shocking, brutal and brilliant, and he redefined the landscape of this sound. Converter started getting played at goth/industrial clubs, he was remixing and appearing on compilations, and headlining festivals in Germany like Maschinenfest. He was quickly joined by another brilliant young talent from Canada, Iszoloscope, who jumped ship from small Belgian label Spectre to join the Ant-Zen wrecking crew.
Suddenly it seemed everyone was wearing a black hoodie with a small ant and some japanese characters on it. There were Ant-Zen bags, Ant-Zen t-shirts, Ant-Zen mugs, you name it. Deleted Hypnoskull cds started selling for ridiculous amounts on Ebay. Converter's "Death Time" would get played at every club you went to. Iszoloscope's "Au Seuil du Neant" was hailed as the new masterpiece of the genre. The new power noise cultists started attacking EBM and its fans as "soft" and "weak", and were of course all starting up their own home-made power noise projects on their PCs in Fruity Loops. But the bubble had expanded too quickly. Imminent Starvation declared he was sick of "repetitive power noise" music, smashed his mixer into a thousand pieces, and started making strange incomprehensible glitch music. The glut of new power noise bands started getting bad reviews on industrial websites, since many of them were, quite frankly, terrible. The endless barrages of noise released on Hands were becoming tiresome. Ant-Zen put out some cds which were of questionable quality (the recent Hypnoskull albums are in fact some of the worst rubbish I've ever heard.) Was there anything left in power noise? Is there a limit to what you can do with distorted kick drums and abrasive noise? In 2003 Converter put out a very slow, dark album, Exit Ritual, which many power noise purists attacked but I actually think was his best work, since he was taking it somewhere different. Hands has found some new form in the last few years, especially with the excellent 5FX project, and Synapscape and Morgenstern continue to plod along, putting out good but not great releases every couple of years. Winterkaelte popped their head up recently to put out another album which had nothing wrong with it, but featured nothing really new or interesting.
Power noise isn't dead, but it's not the force it used to be. I don't play it much at clubs anymore. It has largely been replaced by the new twin forces of Aggrotech (e.g. Suicide Commando, Hocico) and what I guess you could call Techno Body Music (Modulate, Nachtmahr, Noisuf-X). Which is of course fine; those genres have some good artists and tracks too. I'm pretty sure the Converter project is dead and buried, which is sad, since he really was the best there ever was.
So why did it fall? I think it can be partly explained by the whole bubble thing, i.e. growing too big too quickly, resulting in a glut of sub-ordinary imitators. The unfriendliness of the sound didn't help any either. But the self-righteous attitude of the die-hard fans was I think a major factor. Power noise "cultists" display many of the very worst attributes of music snobs, spending more on t-shirts and hoodies than they did on albums to show off how cool they are, and aggressively deriding any other music styles than their own (sadly enough, other industrial styles came in for especially venemous attacks; as Max Weber showed 100 years ago, the two groups that hate each other the most are the ones closest together). Hmm, maybe I've been a little guilty of that from time to time. Hopefully I'm becoming less cynical and more accomodating in my old age :) Anyway, as I listen to my dusty old Ant-Hology cd to relive the old times, here's to you, power noise, old friend. Maybe the world just wasn't quite ready for you yet :)
Classic power noise albums you should hear / own:
Imminent Starvation's "Nord". Converter's "Blast Furnace" or "Exit Ritual". Iszoloscope's "Au Seuil du Neant". Winterkaelte's "Drum and Noise".
Several other acts (almost all German or Belgian) made impressions on this compilation, like Synapscape, Hypnoskull, PAL, and Morgenstern. These acts would all go on to put out numerous releases on Ant-Zen.
Also around this time, another German label called Hands started putting out power noise CDs in bizarre cardboard contraptions that made it difficult (especially for newcomers) to get the cd out without damaging it (hence the nickname 'Hands scratch-pack'). If anything, the music put out on Hands was even more harsh and abrasive than that put out by Ant-Zen, spearheaded by the rumored mastermind behind the mysterious label, Winterkaelte. Their sound was bordering on white noise, but it was about as good as noise got, and they quickly established a cult following.
However the genre really emerged onto the industrial scene with the rise of a quiet, unassuming American, Scott Sturgis, and his project Converter. Here was power noise at its most shocking, brutal and brilliant, and he redefined the landscape of this sound. Converter started getting played at goth/industrial clubs, he was remixing and appearing on compilations, and headlining festivals in Germany like Maschinenfest. He was quickly joined by another brilliant young talent from Canada, Iszoloscope, who jumped ship from small Belgian label Spectre to join the Ant-Zen wrecking crew.
Suddenly it seemed everyone was wearing a black hoodie with a small ant and some japanese characters on it. There were Ant-Zen bags, Ant-Zen t-shirts, Ant-Zen mugs, you name it. Deleted Hypnoskull cds started selling for ridiculous amounts on Ebay. Converter's "Death Time" would get played at every club you went to. Iszoloscope's "Au Seuil du Neant" was hailed as the new masterpiece of the genre. The new power noise cultists started attacking EBM and its fans as "soft" and "weak", and were of course all starting up their own home-made power noise projects on their PCs in Fruity Loops. But the bubble had expanded too quickly. Imminent Starvation declared he was sick of "repetitive power noise" music, smashed his mixer into a thousand pieces, and started making strange incomprehensible glitch music. The glut of new power noise bands started getting bad reviews on industrial websites, since many of them were, quite frankly, terrible. The endless barrages of noise released on Hands were becoming tiresome. Ant-Zen put out some cds which were of questionable quality (the recent Hypnoskull albums are in fact some of the worst rubbish I've ever heard.) Was there anything left in power noise? Is there a limit to what you can do with distorted kick drums and abrasive noise? In 2003 Converter put out a very slow, dark album, Exit Ritual, which many power noise purists attacked but I actually think was his best work, since he was taking it somewhere different. Hands has found some new form in the last few years, especially with the excellent 5FX project, and Synapscape and Morgenstern continue to plod along, putting out good but not great releases every couple of years. Winterkaelte popped their head up recently to put out another album which had nothing wrong with it, but featured nothing really new or interesting.
Power noise isn't dead, but it's not the force it used to be. I don't play it much at clubs anymore. It has largely been replaced by the new twin forces of Aggrotech (e.g. Suicide Commando, Hocico) and what I guess you could call Techno Body Music (Modulate, Nachtmahr, Noisuf-X). Which is of course fine; those genres have some good artists and tracks too. I'm pretty sure the Converter project is dead and buried, which is sad, since he really was the best there ever was.
So why did it fall? I think it can be partly explained by the whole bubble thing, i.e. growing too big too quickly, resulting in a glut of sub-ordinary imitators. The unfriendliness of the sound didn't help any either. But the self-righteous attitude of the die-hard fans was I think a major factor. Power noise "cultists" display many of the very worst attributes of music snobs, spending more on t-shirts and hoodies than they did on albums to show off how cool they are, and aggressively deriding any other music styles than their own (sadly enough, other industrial styles came in for especially venemous attacks; as Max Weber showed 100 years ago, the two groups that hate each other the most are the ones closest together). Hmm, maybe I've been a little guilty of that from time to time. Hopefully I'm becoming less cynical and more accomodating in my old age :) Anyway, as I listen to my dusty old Ant-Hology cd to relive the old times, here's to you, power noise, old friend. Maybe the world just wasn't quite ready for you yet :)
Classic power noise albums you should hear / own:
Imminent Starvation's "Nord". Converter's "Blast Furnace" or "Exit Ritual". Iszoloscope's "Au Seuil du Neant". Winterkaelte's "Drum and Noise".
Tuesday, May 5, 2009
The three best EBM bands of the past decade
When most people think of EBM (Electronic Body Music, the staple style played at many goth / industrial clubs these days), they think of the old stalwarts of the genre such as Front 242 and Leather Strip. Or they may have been swept up in the "futurepop" craze that came later when bands like VNV Nation, Covenant and Assemblage 23 dominated dancefloors. However there are a few bands that've proudly carried the EBM flag and produced some awesome music over the last ten years.
Neuroticfish
I wasn't very impressed with Neuroticfish's debut No Instruments when it came out in 1999. However the Velocity single follow-up was pretty damn catchy and I decided to give them another chance when they put out Le Chansons de Neurotique in 2002. It turned out to be one of the best EBM albums ever made. If you are even a bit interested in electro-industrial music, you simply must have this album. It features a fairly stripped down sound, great vocals, and some very catchy songs including the classic single Prostitute. In 2005 they released Gelb, which was a good album but not as good as their previous work. Neuroticfish have sadly announced the project is closed, marked by "A Greater Good" 2cd retrospective.
Signature songs: M.F.A.P.L, Velocity, Prostitute
Defining album: Le Chansons de Neurotique
Seabound
This German band grabbed a lot of attention in 2001 with their strangely named album "No Sleep Demon", released on the powerhouse German label Dependent Records. Striding a fine line between classic German EBM and some very catchy synthpop, it remains a solid album and a very impressive debut. In 2004 they put out Beyond Flatline, which showed a definite maturity. The sound quality was better, the lyrics more serious, and a few songs were showing a darker, harder edge. I still love this album and listen to it regularly. 2006 saw the release of Double Crosser. This is a continuation of the sound on Beyond Flatline, but the album is possibly even darker; it even included the beautifully venemous song Traitor (previously buried as a b-side on the Poisonous Friend single). Recently they put out When Black Beats Blue, a collection of rarities and remixes, which is simply stunning.
Signature songs: Hooked, Poisonous Friend, Domination
Defining album: Beyond Flatline
Mind.In.A.Box
A friend whose music opinion I respect urged me a few years ago to listen to a band I'd never heard of, Mind.In.A.Box and their album "Dreamweb". So I did. It took me a few listenings to realise it, but it turns out I had come across the best EBM album ever made. This masterpiece both revives and redefines the genre. It combines old and new, soft and hard, simple and complex. Dreamweb was their second work; I quickly bought their first album Lost Alone, and it was fantastic (though not as good as Dreamweb). Recently they put out Crossroads, which is an amazing album and almost as good as Dreamweb (the opening track has to be heard to be believed). This humble and little-known Austrian duo with their roots in Amiga computer game music are putting out some of the best electronic music on the planet at the moment. They may not have many "club hits", but they write music that puts their peers to shame.
Signature songs: Lost Alone 2, Machine Run, Into the Light.
Defining album: Dreamweb
Neuroticfish
I wasn't very impressed with Neuroticfish's debut No Instruments when it came out in 1999. However the Velocity single follow-up was pretty damn catchy and I decided to give them another chance when they put out Le Chansons de Neurotique in 2002. It turned out to be one of the best EBM albums ever made. If you are even a bit interested in electro-industrial music, you simply must have this album. It features a fairly stripped down sound, great vocals, and some very catchy songs including the classic single Prostitute. In 2005 they released Gelb, which was a good album but not as good as their previous work. Neuroticfish have sadly announced the project is closed, marked by "A Greater Good" 2cd retrospective.
Signature songs: M.F.A.P.L, Velocity, Prostitute
Defining album: Le Chansons de Neurotique
Seabound
This German band grabbed a lot of attention in 2001 with their strangely named album "No Sleep Demon", released on the powerhouse German label Dependent Records. Striding a fine line between classic German EBM and some very catchy synthpop, it remains a solid album and a very impressive debut. In 2004 they put out Beyond Flatline, which showed a definite maturity. The sound quality was better, the lyrics more serious, and a few songs were showing a darker, harder edge. I still love this album and listen to it regularly. 2006 saw the release of Double Crosser. This is a continuation of the sound on Beyond Flatline, but the album is possibly even darker; it even included the beautifully venemous song Traitor (previously buried as a b-side on the Poisonous Friend single). Recently they put out When Black Beats Blue, a collection of rarities and remixes, which is simply stunning.
Signature songs: Hooked, Poisonous Friend, Domination
Defining album: Beyond Flatline
Mind.In.A.Box
A friend whose music opinion I respect urged me a few years ago to listen to a band I'd never heard of, Mind.In.A.Box and their album "Dreamweb". So I did. It took me a few listenings to realise it, but it turns out I had come across the best EBM album ever made. This masterpiece both revives and redefines the genre. It combines old and new, soft and hard, simple and complex. Dreamweb was their second work; I quickly bought their first album Lost Alone, and it was fantastic (though not as good as Dreamweb). Recently they put out Crossroads, which is an amazing album and almost as good as Dreamweb (the opening track has to be heard to be believed). This humble and little-known Austrian duo with their roots in Amiga computer game music are putting out some of the best electronic music on the planet at the moment. They may not have many "club hits", but they write music that puts their peers to shame.
Signature songs: Lost Alone 2, Machine Run, Into the Light.
Defining album: Dreamweb
Thursday, April 30, 2009
First post: great local bands
Well this is the first post of my blog. One of the things I plan to rant about a lot here is some of the great local industrial bands that we have in Australia, especially since they are often overlooked or unknown. Here are three of my current favourites:
The Crystalline Effect
This is a great project from Pete Crane and Elenor Rayner. It's really hard to put them in a genre, but I guess you could call it downtempo electronica. Pete does all the music and Elenor writes the lyrics and does vocals. She's an amazing singer and they are one of the very few industrial acts that actually have good lyrics. This is great music for a relaxing Sunday afternoon with friends, or a lonely introspective night.
Shiv-R
This mean project is the bastard child of Pete Crane (from Crystalline Effect, above) and Kong (formely of the projects Stark and Neon Womb). They only have one EP out so far, Parasite, but it is a brutal and intense slab of dancefloor industrial that must be heard to be believed! This is definitely an act to watch out for, especially if you like say Combichrist or Reaper.
Inflatable Voodoo Dolls
This is a really fun project from Sydney that put out catchy and humorous electronica music. They use some of the best and funniest samples you're ever likely to hear, plus they have a nice retro-analog sound and nice hooks. If you're in Sydney you can sometimes catch them performing live shows. Their most recent album, The Samurai of Stanmore, is really impressive, highly recommended.
Anyway that is a small selection of some of the excellent Australian electro-industrial acts out there, all well worth a listen. I might write a post later about some of the many others, such as Process Void, Tenth Stage or nOnplus.
The Crystalline Effect
This is a great project from Pete Crane and Elenor Rayner. It's really hard to put them in a genre, but I guess you could call it downtempo electronica. Pete does all the music and Elenor writes the lyrics and does vocals. She's an amazing singer and they are one of the very few industrial acts that actually have good lyrics. This is great music for a relaxing Sunday afternoon with friends, or a lonely introspective night.
Shiv-R
This mean project is the bastard child of Pete Crane (from Crystalline Effect, above) and Kong (formely of the projects Stark and Neon Womb). They only have one EP out so far, Parasite, but it is a brutal and intense slab of dancefloor industrial that must be heard to be believed! This is definitely an act to watch out for, especially if you like say Combichrist or Reaper.
Inflatable Voodoo Dolls
This is a really fun project from Sydney that put out catchy and humorous electronica music. They use some of the best and funniest samples you're ever likely to hear, plus they have a nice retro-analog sound and nice hooks. If you're in Sydney you can sometimes catch them performing live shows. Their most recent album, The Samurai of Stanmore, is really impressive, highly recommended.
Anyway that is a small selection of some of the excellent Australian electro-industrial acts out there, all well worth a listen. I might write a post later about some of the many others, such as Process Void, Tenth Stage or nOnplus.
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