EBM / industrial
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You might not have expected it, but I've been quite the goth back in the days. As a DJ on several goth parties, I often filled the dancefloor with heavy beats and immersive electronics. I actually do remember playing Bak XIII at one of those parties, somewhere between tracks by Front 242 and VNV Nation. So when this album reached my inbox, I was quite curious. After all, when I moved towards the quieter genres, I completely lost track of the EBM scene.
Bak XIII hails from Switzerland and have been around since 2001. By then, the genre was already evolving and incorporating more modern sounds, a trend that Bak XIII seem to follow. Besides the typical beats and pounding bass lines which effectively remind me of Front 242 or Nitzer Ebb, there are loads of keyboard melodies, ranging from nineties Eurodance to industrial electro acts like Covenant or Neuroticfish.
The album opens with the almost classic EBM track 'Fear Business'. Yet, although this song clearly brings back memories of the eighties sound, Bak XIII incorporates some modern elements. Even dubstep seems to be a small part. That combination returns in nearly all songs on this album, highlighting in songs like 'La Stratégie De L'Echec' or 'Death Is The New Hype', which could have been a Suicide Commando track.
As often with this genre, I sometimes wonder if I'm listening to underground electro or modern day dance music. Sometimes there is very little difference between the two, except maybe for the fact that acts like Bak XIII have a little more purport in the form of vocals with more meaning than just 'put your hands up', 'twerk till you drop' or 'I hope you crash and die tonight'. Otherwise, 'Fucking Bloody Song Of Shit' would be merely a happy hardcore tune.
In all, I think it's safe to say that Bak XIII makes modern day pop songs for dark souls. Beats, sequencers and synths for the foundation on which the vocals can bloom. Oddly, sometimes the vocals remind me of punk rock bands for some reason, especially in 'Living In Video Games'. That song delves into the eighties and brings back memories of Pet Shop Boys or Erasure, sung by that guy from Blink 182.
Other acts that often come to mind are Blutengel, Diary Of Dreams and And One, the latter mostly in 'No More Tomorrow'. and in the somewhat slower 'Wake Up'. The fact that I think I can mix this one perfectly with 'The Macarena' doesn't matter that much. That says more about my DJ-mind than it does about this song. Fact remains that these are all possible dark dancefloor fillers, perfectly suited to get some more goth parties started.
Serge
Bak XIII hails from Switzerland and have been around since 2001. By then, the genre was already evolving and incorporating more modern sounds, a trend that Bak XIII seem to follow. Besides the typical beats and pounding bass lines which effectively remind me of Front 242 or Nitzer Ebb, there are loads of keyboard melodies, ranging from nineties Eurodance to industrial electro acts like Covenant or Neuroticfish.
The album opens with the almost classic EBM track 'Fear Business'. Yet, although this song clearly brings back memories of the eighties sound, Bak XIII incorporates some modern elements. Even dubstep seems to be a small part. That combination returns in nearly all songs on this album, highlighting in songs like 'La Stratégie De L'Echec' or 'Death Is The New Hype', which could have been a Suicide Commando track.
As often with this genre, I sometimes wonder if I'm listening to underground electro or modern day dance music. Sometimes there is very little difference between the two, except maybe for the fact that acts like Bak XIII have a little more purport in the form of vocals with more meaning than just 'put your hands up', 'twerk till you drop' or 'I hope you crash and die tonight'. Otherwise, 'Fucking Bloody Song Of Shit' would be merely a happy hardcore tune.
In all, I think it's safe to say that Bak XIII makes modern day pop songs for dark souls. Beats, sequencers and synths for the foundation on which the vocals can bloom. Oddly, sometimes the vocals remind me of punk rock bands for some reason, especially in 'Living In Video Games'. That song delves into the eighties and brings back memories of Pet Shop Boys or Erasure, sung by that guy from Blink 182.
Other acts that often come to mind are Blutengel, Diary Of Dreams and And One, the latter mostly in 'No More Tomorrow'. and in the somewhat slower 'Wake Up'. The fact that I think I can mix this one perfectly with 'The Macarena' doesn't matter that much. That says more about my DJ-mind than it does about this song. Fact remains that these are all possible dark dancefloor fillers, perfectly suited to get some more goth parties started.
Serge
