© copyright All this Review Written by Thijs
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Band: Cephalgy
Album: Finde deine Dämon
Released: 2005
Label: Out of Line
What the f***!?!? Did they accidentally put a God Module CD in the Cephalgy cd-case? I was very disturbed by the second track of the album! It sounded like a slow God Module song with clean vocals! Their 2004 debut album ‘Engel sterben nie’ was a nice entrance in the scene and I hoped that the band had put some more diversity in the songs, but that doesn’t mean that they have to completely change their sound!!!
Thank god! After this shocking opening of the album, the band shows that they haven’t changed their style. The rest of the album is more or less the same as Engel Sterben Nie, but it sounds a bit better. The songs are also a bit more diverse than on it’s predecessor. The main problem remains however: every track on the album has almost the same tempo as the others (with a few exceptions).
On the other hand the band really tried to improve their sound, and I have to say: it really worked out. The result is more interesting album than Engel Sterben Nie. And again, there are really nice songs on this CD, that really sticks in your mind. A new element is the female vocals. Don’t worry, it’s not like they’re trying to be the new BlutEngel. The band decided not to put too many female vocals on the album, but the new (female) member certainly opened new doors for the band.
Okay, now the album itself, forget about the mediocre first two tracks but go directly to track 3: Deine Seele. This is a nice, more up-tempo song, with a chorus that sticks in your mind. Track 4 is a nice duet with Ulrike Goldman of BlutEngel (ex Say Y). Other favourite tracks are Gott, From My Hands and Öffne Deine Augen. This last song is a slow and dark song that works out surprisingly good. I really like the dark atmosphere this song creates. The female vocals on From My Hands give a new dimension to the song and are a perfect example how a little bit of female vocal can contribute to expand the band’s sound.
Cephalgy did a nice job with Finde Deine Dämon. They managed to keep their own sound, but gave it a new dimension. The dark horroresque theme of this album is also great. The downside is, that most songs sound more or less the same.
Rating: 6,5/10
Band: CombiChrist
Album: Everybody hates you
Released: 2005
Label: Out of Line / Metropolis
When CombiChrist announced the new album I was really excited. I liked their debut The Joy Of Gunz, but when I heard the EP Sex, Drogen und Industrial I was sold! CombiChrist was my band from then on. And I have to say: Everybody Hates You did not match my expectations. Hell no! It was much better!!!
The best improvement is the overall sound. The tracks have more pumping and aggressive beats and less industrial noises. The tracks are more danceable than on the first album. Some songs are quiet funny, like Happy Fc*king Birthday, others are meant to shock (Enjoy the Abuse, God Bless).
With the first song, This s*it will fcuk you up!, the album starts to abuse your ears (I mean that in a positive way). A computerized female voice keeps telling you that she is a bitch and a slut. The songs that follow diverse a little in style, but all have the same vibe as the whole album.
At first the album turned quiet boring after track 5, but that was mainly because the tracks 6 until 8 aren’t really my kind of songs. But from track 9 on CombiChrist continues the rush of madness! My favourite is number 9: Like To Thank My Buddies! This is a hard aggressive song with a quiet a few trance-like string section in it, but in a aggressive way (of course).
The last two songs, Lying sack of S*it, and, Without Emotions, are nice closing tracks. Thanks to these songs the album remains in your head for quiet a while!
There is also a limited edition of this album. This edition was a double album, but the bonus CD isn’t very interesting. The songs aren’t danceable but they aren’t relaxing either. It was rather weird and annoying to listen to. So it’s not worth your money, unless you really want to have everything of CombiChrist.
Rating: 9/10
Band: CombiChrist
Album: What the fuck is wrong with you people (Limited edition)
Released: 2007
Label: Out of Line
At first I was a bit disappointed by the new CombiChrist album. It sounded more or less the same as it predecessor Everybody Hates You. But it also has less danceable tracks than it’s predecessor. At least, that’s what I thought. After giving it a few spins, I really have to conclude otherwise. It’s a great album!
I knew the track Electrohead already from the Industrial For The Masses Vol. 3 compilation and I was really excited about it. Unfortunately Andy LaPlegua decided to start shouting trough the music on the album track. That’s a pity, because it kinda ruins the track a bit. The lyrics (if you can call them lyrics at all) don’t make any sense at all. I quote: “We’re all electroheads. It’s all clear, crystal clear. Pretty pictures like you.” It sounds like mr. LaPlegua screamed the first words that came to his head.
I may sound a bit negative about this, but that doesn’t mean I don’t like the album. I just think that CombiChrist should keep the shouting part for live shows. When I saw them live in 2005, there were lyrics in instrumental songs. Those lyrics did really fit in the live show, but I don’t like them on the album.
Okay, the rest of the album sounds really like CombiChrist. There are more songs with actual lyrics (more than a few shouting lines). I don’t really know if I’m into that. CombiChrist for me is more pumping beats, than lots of lyrics. On the other hand, it’s nice to have some change after two or three (more or less) instrumental songs.
The second half of the album is a bit slower than the first songs and the last track lacks any form inspiration (but doesn’t sound dull).
The limited edition has a bonus CD. This CD lets us hear CombiChrist from it’s rough side. The tracks on this CD are quite okay, but it’s not the same sound as the first CD. I really liked the first song God Warrior. It contains a sample of a woman I saw in a movieclip on the internet once. It’s some fat Christian fanatic and she keeps panicking “she’s darksided”. Funny as hell!
Rating: 8/10
Band: Covenant
Album: Skyshaper
Released: 2006
Label: Synthetic Symphony / Metropolis
Covenant’s latest work of art is called ‘Skyshaper’. The first thing that comes in mind is that this album is a real Covenant album. Okay… So what does that mean?
If you listen to different Covenant albums you will realize that none of them will sound the same compared to the other ones. But you always can recognize Covenant by certain things in the music. ‘Skyshaper’ also sound different than it predecessor (“Northern Light”) but you can still recognize the familiar Covenant sound.
The difference on “Skyshaper” is that it sounds more basic. It sounds like Covenant gets back to the roots of electronic music with this album. I can definitely hear influences of Kraftwerk and Gary Numan in this record. But if you listen better to the album you discover that it isn’t as basic as it sounds.
The album is also a bit directionless. The songs on the album have very different styles, but I can’t bother it too much.
But, the one question is: is it fun to listen to? When I compare it to ‘Northern Light’ I have to say that it’s not as good as. But it’s not bad. ‘Skyshaper’ has a few surprises. The most important one is the song ‘Happy Man’. This song is slow, short and minimalistic. The melody consists of bleeps and the song has a few lyrical lines that are repeated.
Next to this song there is, of course, the first single ‘Ritual Noise’ which is a great song. Also the songs ‘The Men’, ‘20Hz’ and the ballad ‘The World is Growing Loud’ are really great. The rest of the songs aren’t very special, but they aren’t bad either. Except maybe for ‘Brave New World’, that song annoys me so much that I usually skip it.
If you like Covenant you’ll have to buy this album. If you can’t decide to buy ‘Skyshaper’ of ‘Northern Light’, I should say to go for ‘Northern Light’. Note: I don’t think ‘Skyshaper’ is not good, I only thing ‘Northern Light’ is better!
Rating: 7/10
Band: Culture Kultür
Album: Reborn
Released: 2005
Label: Out of Line
The latest album of the Spanish synthpop duo is called Reborn. The album is a nice “light” experience between all the more aggressive cd’s in my collection.
The album starts off with the very nice, more than seven minutes long, song ‘Distress Call’. This song has a good structure and is one of the best songs of the album. Due to its length is also has more instrumental parts than most of the songs on the rest of the album. The first thing that appealed to me was the positive structure of all the songs on the album. Most bands in the cyber gothic scene have more aggressive beats. Culture Kultür is less aggressive and more poppy.
The second song on the album is called ‘Wonder’ and has hit-potential. This song is very positive and makes me feel really good. It has a good structure and a catchy tune.
The rest of the songs mainly have the same positive ambience as what I just described. I won’t describe each song, because they’re not that special. Besides the more up tempo songs there are also a few ballads on the album.
The whole album is positive and poppy. Unfortunately it isn’t very original. The question is: Does that matter? For me the answer is ‘no’. I really like to have some “lighter” albums in my collection and this album really fits that description.
If you like some lighter music or you are really into synthpop this album is one that shouldn’t let you down. It’s not a real must, but it’s a good album.
Rating: 8/10
