seven

coming from france, the band has been around since 1993. with this first flatline release it gains more worldwide recognition.

production of "high tension" is excellent, keeping up with the rest of flatline releases. majority of the tracks on the album are composed of heavy hollow percussion and plenty of distorted frequencies, modulated analog electronics and compressed noises. unchanging straightforward percussion usually drives the track, surrounded by injections of repetitive distorted sounds. most addictive tracks on cd include "next" where the melody constantly repeats itself and twisted funkiness is enriched by heavy beats. "toxic tv" is yet another one that seems to overcome repetitiveness dominating other tracks becoming the one that stands out on the cd with its driving force and heavy loops bombarding the listener. this track mixes caustic atmospheric elements with excellent collection of complex distorted percussion backed by warped synth.

just like humming of the electric wires full of overflowing energy, the sound constantly repeats itself becoming quite monotonous at times; the band finds a cool piece and won't let go, repeating it endlessly. most of the tracks have several great moments, but after a while seem to be overly stretched.

"high tension" managed to obtain an impressive list of remixers. starting with xingu hill that added more richness and depth to "lobotomy" by mixing in a lot of subtle little noises and unique sound elements. nkvd mix of "neuronal" seems to shift the song into the realm of dark electro and minimal techno. at first converter's mix of "toxic tv" seems to be quite disjointed, it appears as if the song is merely a playground for converter, where sounds are examined and disassembled. however, the remix unexpectedly picks up into familiar crushing assault, where almost nothing reminds you of the original track. uncotones disassemble "virtual war" heavily distorting it and finally tearing the song apart.

only remixes seem to clearly stand out on their own, the rest of the tracks appear to lack "personality" and what it takes to create a distinguishable sound. nevertheless, each song has something interesting and unique that gets buried in monotony of the track, losing listener's attention after a while.