Band: Unter Null
Album: The failure epiphany
Released: 2005
Label: Alfa Matrix
Unter Null is not, like the band name suggests, from Germany, but from Seattle (USA). The debut album of the project of Erica Dunham is killing! After the first two minutes of playing it, I was sold! The album starts off with a very nice relaxing sound, but after a while the relaxing ambience gets interrupted by bits of aggressive beats. And the record has really started!
The record has a really nice mixture of aggressive beats like on the first CombiChrist record, but manages to combine these with catchy tunes and nice piano work. All the songs have their own unique style that separates them from the other songs on the album. The diversity makes this album accessible for a lot of people.
This album is dark, doomy, I really like the atmosphere that Erica Dunham is creating on this record. I really have to admit that I really enjoy listening to it and (strangely) it makes me feel relaxed.
If you like EBM, this album is worth your money! It’s one of the best debut albums I’ve ever heard!
Rating: 8,5/10
Band: unterART
Album: Noise & grace
Released: 2006
Label: Out of Line
I fist heard about unterART on the Out of Line compilation ‘Machineries of Joy: vol. 3’. Their track Ugly was great. Unfortunately the first album by the didn’t come out until 2006. I was eager to hear if unterART had more great music.
On their myspace I read that unterART is searching for the balance between harsh industrial music and the more melodic side. The balance between noise and grace (how poetic). I have to conclude that they achieve this objective very well. There’s even room for a ballad (Aska) and a semi-ballad (Wasteland) on the album. On the other hand there’s also hard industrial with the song Hirntod, which is absolutely great! Plain and simple beats pumping and making crowds go crazy (I predict).
But there are also tracks which combine the noise and the grace. I particularly like the tracks: Exorzist and Nephilim, because of the combination of Synthpop and Industrial. Also the clubkiller Headshot is great. When I listen to the album, I feel like dancing! And that’s a good sign (I guess).
Rating: 9/10
