:WUMPSCUT: - Embryodeadbox
Disc 1 -- Songs: 10  Time: 50:13 
Disc 2 -- Songs: 8  Time: 40:21
Disc 1 -- Embryodead
After what seemed like an eternity, Rudy has unleashed Embryodead into the waiting arms of many a fan.  The wait was definitely worth it.  So many rumors had been kicking around about how the sound was going to change radically, but when I popped this disc into the player, out flowed the staple sound of :wumpscut:.  Granted, Embryodead is the cleanest recording to date by Rudy and one can easily tell that he spent a lot of time on the production (not to mention the box design and concept.)  The music and lyrics behind Embryodead are extremely dark.  The first ½ of the CD contains the more aggressive music, whereas the music on the second ½ slows down in pace, but retains all the dark elements.  Golgotha, which deals with the crucifixion of Christ, is an hostile sounding piece with a ragged rhythm line full of distorted beats, dense synth patterns, and rasping vocals.  The title track uses more accessible sequences, but sticks with the quick, gnarled beats and throaty vocals.  The symphonic beginning of Down Where We Belong quickly melds into the background, behind Rudy’s razor-like vocals and the twisted percussion.  Slave to Evil contains elements of noisy industrial (alá Suicide Commando and Dive) as well as strict EBM portions which make it a nice warped, yet danceable track.  The noise factor continues throughout War; a dark apocalyptic piece with scratchy electronics and a pulsating rhythm.  Is It You begins the less abusive part of the CD.  This track is where the beats begin to slow down and Rudy’s vocal delivery begins to loosen up.  Wind-like sequences separate the chorus’ from the stanzas.  It is on tracks like this one that I can clearly see the comparison to some of Claus’ Leæther Strip material.  On Pest, Rudy’s manipulates his vocals into some warped, demonic style that is convincingly eerie.  Rudy continues to manipulate his voice on Womb.  In this piece, he takes on the voice of an unborn child who realizes his situation and, with a childish, yet ghostly vocal delivery attempts to rationalize with his mother.  Being that the two halves of this disc are very different, Rudy manages not to pigeonhole his style, making Embryodead a remarkable recording that is dark, diverse and addicting.
  
Disc 2 -- Music For a German Tribe
Music For A German Tribe is 8 tracks of older :wumpscut: tracks that have been re-recorded entirely in German.  The 8 tracks are: 1) Sonlent Grün, 2) Schmarzer Tod, 3) Sag Warum, 4) Berflucht Bis Thr Berhungert, 5) In Der Nacht, 6) Kreig, 7) Strib Im Winter, and 8) Schaltet Den Schmerz 2lb. While, aside from the lyrics, these tracks are nothing new, they still make a nice companion disc to the Embryodead CD. I suppose, unless you speak German, this disc acts more like a collector’s item than anything else. The songs are good to listen to once or twice, but they’re nothing to get too excited over, especially considering they are competing against the fabulous Embryodead CD for time in my CD player.
   
The packaging of these two CDs is unlike anything I’ve ever seen.  Surrounded by a 5 pound metal casing, the pair of CDs are placed nicely inside of a black, full sized, corrugated folder, which also contains a booklet full of creepy artwork as well as the lyrics for all the songs on both CDs.  Also included in the box is a Embryodead poster, a metal pin (not unlike the FLA pin in the Live Wired box), various stickers, a patch, and a T-shirt.  The T-shirt is olive green and lists Rudy’s ‘Virtual Tour’ dates on the back.  All and all this box set is well worth the price, even as an import.  Although the likelihood of finding on now is slim, I urge anyone who has an opportunity to pick one up to do so immediately.
          
BENTON KOPF MEDIA                                :wumpscut: is
c/o Rudy Ratzinger                                          Rudy Ratzinger
Marschallstrasse 3                                           Contact :wumpscut: @
D-84028 Landshut                                            Marschall Strasse 3
Germany                                                            D-84028 Landshut 
e-mail: betonkopfmedia@t-online.de or       Germany
rabenhirn@aol.com                                         Fax: ++49-871-273192