V/A - Glory of Destruction
Songs: 15

The Ultimate Review is a new feature that will make an appearance in IB every so often.   The idea behind The Ultimate Review is for you to see what other artists think of certain releases.   This is a fun way to see exactly what those in the recording industry think of their peers releases.  This month's featured release, Catastrophe Record's The Glory of Destruction, has been reviewed by Trylok, New Mind, Decoded Feedback, and Inertia.  

             Track listing:

Alkaline - Fazemast V1.0
SMP - Wet Wire
PX5 - Undercut (Transistorymix) [demo v.1]
Noxious Emotion - Boundary (Coalition)
Osofaux - Lead Me Not
Miasma of Funk w/ Bis Ende - The Law of Averages
A New January - Sweet Enough to Steal
sexwithsarah - spread.suckMIX
Rosary Wall - Jesus Loves the Children
geffnecht - The Soft Machine [demo v.1]
Bis Ende - Apelsinner
}Hexdump{ - United States of Production
                                                              The Dawn - The Navigator
                                                              Tyrophex 14 - Death Box (Destruction Mix)
                                                              Fiercen - Life Cycle

Review @ 0%

What a better way to start this 15 track CD than with the haunting sounds of ALKALINE leading us into the realm utter chaos.  I have to say that there isn't one bad song on this album though only a few really stand out in my mind.  OSOFAUX, crossing into that Gore/Gahan vocal sound but not forgetting that gothic emotion and chord changes.  A NEW JANUARY's "Sweet Enough to Steal" first had me thinking of electro-samba (all in good taste though) until it blew me away with its sweet and melodic vocal harmonies.  A well written song.  Being the long-time electronic fan that I am, I find it quite refreshing to hear some good old guitar and acoustics which is exactly what BIS ENDE did on their track.  It makes us remember what good music was like before our beloved synth.  TYROPHEX 14's "Death Box" probably stands out the most on this comp. due to the thrashed clanging drums and it's more than aggressive and all too familiar vocal style.  J.S.9 is at his best again.  And now we've cleared the way of our destructed path with the forces of FIERCEN and "Life Cycle".  What a way to end the trail of pandemonium.  Thank you for flying "GLORY OF DESTRUCTION" Airlines, we hope had a pleasant journey.

INERTIA - Reza Udhin & / alexys b. (jonbenet) -- Inertia Productions

Website: http://www.inert.demon.co.uk

Review @ 25%

This probably isn't your standard review, I listen to things from a musician's perspective which means I usually end up thinking either HOW they do that, or WHY they do that, rather than just listening....anyway here goes : How much do I like SCAR TISSUE ?  A lot actually.  ALKALINE is a solo-project of Steve Watkins of SCAR TISSUE, and "Fazemast v1.0" is much like the darker moments of TMOTD.  It's also pretty goddamn wonderful, in fact it's one of the best things I've heard so far this year.  As an opener it's the ideal choice.  SMP is also another band I'm familiar with already and I like they way they mix hip hop into industrial, but this track doesn't grab me as much as some of their other work.  Sorry but I just don't like tambourines in drum tracks.  PX5 is new to me, "Undercut" the long intro really builds and builds then just when you think it's going to explode into a huge floor shaking dance groove it slips into a 120bpm groove ....too slow to dance and too fast to be ambient and from that point it kind of looses me I'm afraid.  Every compilation has certain things that you can count on : the PUPPY factor and the MODE factor.  Here's the former, NOXIOUS EMOTION "Boundary".  Maybe the PUPPY label is un-kind but it definately reminds me of classic era PUPPY, really melodic and really harsh Ogre vox.  It's actually a cool track but at over 7 minutes it could maybe have more going on ?  And, onto the MODE factor : OSOFAUX "Lead Me Not".  It's just not my thing but it's nicely done, good sense of dynamics in the arrangement and the guy has certainly got a voice and knows how to use it.  BIS ENDE + MIASMA OF FUNK - "The Law Of Averages".  Again there's a kind of tamborine thing in there which I don't like, but the rest, yeah aural doodle is a good description.  A NEW JANUARY.  Were back to this isn't my kind of thing territory, it's too up-beat and well, nice.  Strong vocals, get these guys a producer and there's strong commercial possibilty.  SEXWITHSARAH.  At last somebody with the funk !!  Huge shuffling beat drives the whole thing along before morphing into a gothic-symphonic affair.  Interesting.  ROSARY WALL "Jesus Loves The Children" hi-bpm techno-industrial, reminds me of a more industrialised version of what was coming out of Belgium a couple of years ago like HUMAN RESOURCE.  GEFFNECHT "The Soft Machine", again I"m going to quibble technicality...I just feel the whole thing would have a much wider sense of space if the rhythm track had been routed through a huge reverb.  Space = ambience.  As it is, it distracts me too much from the synth work.  Whole thing sounds like old DELERIUM from around "Stone Tower".  BIS ENDE - "Apel Sinner".  Okay, I wasn't expecting this at all, ultra lo-fi trip-hop.  It wouldn't have sounded out of place as background music on Twin Peaks.  The house band at One Eyed Jacks ?  HEXDUMP - warning ultra bass-response threat !!  Drastically chaotic remix of "United States Of Production" by the AggroChik herself.  Hard to judge when you've not heard the original but this seriously goes for it in the aggro factor.  THE DAWN "The Navigator", this one succedes for me where the GEFFNECHT track goes astray.  It's got that vast sense of space that this style of music needs.  It engaged me right away, a wonderful piece of music, excellently produced.  TYROPHEX 14, well obviously I can't review this one.  FIERCEN "Life Cycle".  Well, if BIS ENDE could soundtrack TWIN PEAKS, then this one would suit ERASERHEAD.  Twisted sound manipulation that truly fits the dark ambient tag.  Play loud.

So. To conclude : I don't like criticising other artists music. I know first hand how much time and effort goes into music making and how hard it is to get your product released. This review is just my opinion and I hope I haven't been unduly critical. Both CATASTROPHE Records and this release deserve your support. And if that isn't enough reason to buy a copy and invest in the future of this label, then buy this comp just for the ALKALINE track. You know it makes sense.

NEW MIND / BIO-TEK / HYPERDEX-1-SECT / TYROPHEX 14 / HEXEDENE / GUNHED - Johnathan Sharp

Website: http://bio.terrorist.org/mission-control/

Review @ 50%

ALKALINE: minimalistic noise and quite monotonous - not my taste.  The bass-synth delivers some upcoming intensity that I really like.  Some of the high-range frequencies are really hurting in the ear since they seem not to be limited with a compressor.

SMP: A more complex piece - the bass-line reminds me on some FLA-work but there's no great emphasis on the basedrums - but thats not of negative effect on the whole structure.  Interesting sampling-work.  Lots of really pleasursome noise that fit very good to the arrangement.  Harsh vocals vocoder-treated something like I heard from Bio-Tek.

PX5: Quite loop-styled - there are some moments I think the sequencer is not moving on to the next pattern.  Honestly said - a little bit boring; there are only sparsely moments that grip to your attention.  No vocals - even if they wouldn't be necessary.

NOXIOUS EMOTION: This piece starts off very interesting.  I really like the tunes and instruments used - the arrangement appeals to me too.  The vocals are very aggressive and dark - but I like them a lot - you can hear that the singer is treating his vocal chords rather than vocoding them.  The mix-down is not maximized and projected to 0dB so it's a little bit low comparing to the song before.  But a pretty good song.

OSOFAUX: This song appeals very much to me.  Really nice synth-pop tunes.  A good mixdown in the low frequencies (not that optimal in the high) and the vocals are (positivley) untreated as well.  The reverb on the vocals is not that propitious - it makes them sound a little bit nasal.  This band is reduced to the needed concerning instruments but it doesn't affect the whole arrangement.

MIASMA OF FUNK w/ BIS ENDE: Interesting use of percussion (the jingles in the back sound funny), the base-synth coming in is very good programmed but there are some low frequencies that should be filtered out.

A NEW JANUARY: sounds little bit "commercial" but most of the instruments remind me to a standard General Midi bank....apart from a synthetic guitar.  The vocals are excellent - really!! but the whole mix-down is somehow squeezed and opaque so that the atmosphere is not that pleasant.  But this is just a question of equipment - optimze the instruments used, widen up the frequency spectrum, reduce the BPM-count a little bit and put the vocals (with a "clear" reverb) in front - and it would be a really fascinating and admirable track!!  Once again: The singer's vocals are great - just production lacks!

SEXWITHSARAH: Great grooving percussion - better said: drum-loop.  Wonderful programmed analogue-sounding base-synth coming in (but not clear - high frequencies are missing and low are too omnipresent).  Treated female and untreated male vocals - delivering good contrast to the piece.

ROSARY WALL: Up-tempo song with angry vocals in contrast to smoother parts.  Maybe interesting on the dancefloor but not very entertaining for "just listening".

GEFFNECHT: Ah! starting off with some atmospheric elements but providing a darker feeling.  I like the sound of the drums that are more natural percussion-sounds... but not so much the loop.  Unfortunately the track is remaining too monotonous for my personal taste.

BIS ENDE: Strange effect on the drums?!  Sounds like a session...unplugged.  Don't know why but the style reminds me on some "far away" Nick Cave song.

HEXDUMP: Please adjust the highpass filter.  It's roaring and roaring... I like the modulating instrument in the upper frequency spectrum since this is the only "clear" ingredient in this song.

THE DAWN: Yes! This is soundtrack-music.  Ah! Melodious strings climbing up from the dark.  Yet some of the lower frequencies need to be adjusted this instrumental piece grips me a lot.  A track to listen over again because it's wonderful!

TYROPHEX 14: Yet another noise track - but here the frequencies are adjusted very good.  The drums are very powerful.  Hmm, I don't like this screaming-sample...but I think I'm familiar with these vocals??? ....(glimpse in the booklet) Ah!  Yes, I know this e-mail account!   It seems to be another side-project of Joanthan.  It's harder than everything else I've heard from him.  It seems he's pushing out all negative emotions inside.  Regarding from point of production: very good but the style is not my taste.

FIERCEN: This reminds me on the intro of some QUAKE-like computer-games!  The instruments are quite opaque but they proove a really good handling with the low frequencies.  The screaming-sample seem to be converted to more than 4 octaves downwards giving a frightening character - but fitting excellent to the images occuring!!  Ending with a backwards-loop it's a good feeling to stay still in reality, :-)!

All in all I'd say that this compilation features lots of interesting aspects and the bands proove their effort to encounter this challenge.  If some of them could get the chance for a more professional production of their ideas - I'm sure there might be some of them amongst the leading electronic bands nowadays.  Who's going to take the throne of Frontline Assembly when they'll retire one day??  Maybe one of these guys!? I wish all of them good luck - as long as they'll refuse to give up their ideas and idealistic views.

TRYLOK - Strategy

Website: http://www.trylok.bregenznet.at

Review @ 75%

This cd compilation is composed of many different styles of music: from electro-industrial to ambient to dark wave to noise.  It is a very interesting mixture.  There is a lot of potential for these groups.  The highlights for us are groups like:

NOXIOUS EMOTION "Boundary (Coalition)" combines rich dark sounds with pounding beats and tops it off with aggressive vocals.

SEX WITH SARAH "Spread.Suck Mix" is a wild mix of various styles that is great.  Very interesting.  A real creepy, dark atmosphere.

ROSARY WALL "Jesus Loves the Children" is very heavy and hard hitting.  Great samples!

SMP "Wet Wire" has an interesting way of mixing different styles.  Hard, yet melodic.

TYROPHEX 14 "Death Box (Destruction Mix)" is a pure industrial chaotic noise.  Great.

THE DAWN "The Navigator" has a beautiful deep atmosphere.  Well orchestrated.

DECODED FEEDBACK - Yone & Marco

Website: http://www.interlog.com/~defcode

Review @ 100%