On their sophomore album, Prelude to Annihilation, Red Reflection comes across as the neo-classical progeny of Skinny Puppy side-project Doubting Thomas. Somber orchestrations are layered over tribal rhythms and the stray hip-hop beat; elegant piano passages are bruised by intermittent patches of electronic static. A spoken word intro, reminiscent of Boyd Rice, prepares the listener…
I’m not really sure what to make of this collaborate release, Last Train to Cocksville (2003). Not being familiar with Cock E.S.P. or Panicsville, I was initially expecting derivative Whitehouse-style misogynanthropy, to coin a new word. After all, with song titles like “Good Clean Cock” and “I Can’t Get Her Off My Cock,” one could…
If you’ve been sleeping on the whole terror EBM phenomenon, Interbreeding II: Industrial Mutation from Arkansas’s BLC Productions provides a neat little primer. Including unreleased material from mainstays Hocico, Dioxyde, and Tactical Sekt, this CD is hard enough to satisfy the underground, but with a danceable edge to keep any floor packed. BLC provides a…
![Suicide Commando: [Cause Of Death: Suicide] [One Nation Under God]](https://eriktomrenwrites.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/Suicide-Commando-220x126.jpg)
Okay, let’s face it. Suicide Commando (Johan Van Roy) isn’t exactly reinventing the wheel with this limited two-disk set, [Cause Of Death: Suicide] [One Nation Under God]. The two featured singles, Cause of Death: Suicide and One Nation Under God, both from Axis of Evil, are given the usual treatment: a Suicide Commando remix (or…
Ulver is probably best known for the 1997 black metal opus Nattens Madrigal, a release so over-the-top that even the Black Metal Hordes were left scratching their heads (while banging them, of course). With the exception of one very brief acoustic interlude, Nattens Madrigal is a textbook example of extreme metal gone extremely wrong. Scorched…
Nominated for a Spellemannspris (Norwegian grammy) in 2002 for their soundtrack to the Swedish short film Lyckantropen, Ulver continue their ongoing electronica experiment with this brilliant EP from 2003, A Quick Fix of Melancholy. Composed of only four tracks, this little gem is a “quick fix” indeed. Short descriptions follow: 1. “Little Blue Bird” features…
“U.S., U.S., U.S.A., Oh How I Love This Country!!!!!! Fuck Al-queda And Terrorism!!!!!! Fuck Osama Bin Laden!!!!!!” If these lyrics don’t seem like they would fit well into any song format…well, they don’t fit here, either, on Rob Gee’s Na Na / Fuck Osama Bin Laden (2003).The centerpiece of this record was recorded live at the…
“Zanzi (Remix),” the A-Side of Messed Out Freak (2003) shows how much Doormouse is capable of. Instead of skillfully piecing together a hodgepodge of diverse beats (which he does more often than not), he more more or less concentrates on a hard drum & bass motif, incorporating sporadic jungle beats and a little gabber to…
Doormouse is Daniel Martin, founder of Addict Records and a big name in the Midwest hardcore scene. I guess living in Wisconsin you amass a pretty large record collection to keep yourself occupied, because Doormouse throws in everything and the kitchen sink. On Freaked Out Mess (2003) you’re likely to hear anything from lounge…
Mike Skinner’s The Streets project hit the streets of London in 2002 with the innovative Original Pirate Material. With Original Pirate Material, Skinner spun tales of urban decay and club culture over a blistering bed of UK garage, jungle, and dancehall beats. The results were unique to say the least, and earned the project four…