seven

I suppose the word “technoid” in the album title should have prepared me to what this release sounded like, but what I expected was far from the actual material on this cd – a driving pure hard techno rhythms where only some melodies and samples remind of the original tracks. this dramatic interpretation certainly is very impressive, presenting a completely different outlook on the band’s material as well as providing club djs with plenty of perfect dancefloor hits to choose from.

while majority of the sound on the album is based on techno rhythms, they do possess the edge and sometimes the density that still keeps intact some of the old ebm roots of the band. pulverizing rolling pecussion on “hard’n’fast,” heavy breaks of “go insane (part 3),” menacing atmosphere of “ethnic trip” with its corroded mechanized percussion and overdriven bass; catchy and very melodic “rowboz”; heavy technoid pulses of “paradox effect” with nicely processed vocals that definitely reminds of familiar pierrepoint sound.

I have to say that the first analogy that popped up in my mind after I heard the first song was spacefrog mix of “headhunter” – the combination of well-known ebm track and light trancy techno arrangements either has a very predictable sound, or both bands happened to come up with the same ideas.

overall, I enjoyed this cd quite a lot, especially incredibly catchy version of “nightchild,” pleasantly heavy version of 1994 “re-slaughtered” and other tracks that together reminded me more of abrasive rhythms of technoid bands than of dancy club-oriented electronic albums. I was quite impressed by the band’s ability to incorporate enough of noisy textures, vocals and darker electronic moods into persistent techno environment, making this one of the most impressive efforts in this field.