ebm / industrial

Today, pretty much ever metal fan knows the name Ministry. Songs like 'Jesus Built My Hot Rod', 'Just One Fix' and 'N.W.O.' are well known and loved within the industrial metal scene. But before Al Jourgensen became the industrial icon he is today, Ministry was something quite different. Back in the early eighties, he was active in the world of electro and EBM. The album contains some of those tracks, from early demo version to live recordings and cooperations.

There are some awesome songs to be discovered. 'Never Asked For Nothing' and 'Self Annoyed' are some of my favorites, reminding me a lot of my favorite Ministry full-length 'The Land Of Rape And Honey'. 'Love Change' does something strange with synth pop, almost mutating it. Like some others, the song comes from a 1982 live recording, showing a whole different sound than we're used to, but I guess that's the general idea.

In those early days, Ministry didn't sound so angry and harsh. He seemed more interested in the gloomy side of the electronic scene. 'Game Is Over' brings on the guitars, but in a way many of our favorite gothic rock bands do. Even A Flock Of Seagulls come to mind here. 'Let's Be Happy' and 'Wait' will probably make you doubt yourself and look at the cover to make sure it's actually Ministry. Then again, even The Cure was a synth pop act at one moment in time.

'I See Red' starts sounding like the Ministry on 'The Land', perhaps mixed with Nitzer Ebb and Front 242. The whole gets heavier, gains intensity. '(Let’s Get) Physical (Banned Version)' finally blasts the overwhelming early industrial metal in our faces. This thing grinds Olivia Newton John's song into a massive piece of industrial to grab you by the throat. This is probably the angriest piece of music on this compilation.

By the end, you get four tracks from cooperations, starting with PTP (classic EBM), Pailhead (harsh industrial), Revolting Cocks and 1000 Homo DJs. In total, there are seventeen tracks, providing an excellent overview of those early days. As one fan to another, regardless of the era, I recommend the hell out of this. Your collection simply wouldn't be complete without the compilation.


​Serge

industrial / EBM

Ah, Ambassador21, the often imitated but never equaled industrial hardcore duo from Belarus. Throughout the past few decades, these people have clearly put their mark on the industrial scene with their harsh, relentless sound and their explosive live performances. And it doesn't look like their reign of domination is about to end soon. But what would you expect from a band that has the punk-attitude flowing through their veins and lives in the same sick and twisted world you and I do?

The album opens with something between an intro and a song. In that aspect, the title track 'Human Rage' is an excellent start for this album. You can feel the fury building up while you're slowly being lured into the world of Ambassador21. 'Fear Level Red' follows and brings in all the elements that make this act what it is. With hardcore beats, fierce vocals and a murderous tempo, this song rages on, soon followed by some more. 'Revelation' is the single, which might indeed be the most radio-friendly song on this album.

Well, the sound from Ambassador21 is quite far away from being radio friendly, but they do seem to follow recent directions and novelties in the electronic scene. 'Metal' is another harsh, industrial dance track that seems to incorporate some modern sounds. 'Cannibals' starts out as an electronic version of 'Eye Of The Tiger' before turning into a Skinny Puppy meets Morbid Angel's 'Illud Divinum Insanus', something like that. 'Scream Your Name', one of my favorites, and 'Before We Die' even come up with some dubstep beats. Not a lot, but some.

That being said, yes, there are quite a few Thunderdome-style hardcore beats to be found here, but somehow I think even some of the most hardcore gabbers will fear the dark noise that Ambassador21 bark out. The atmosphere and tempo of the album are simply asphyxiating, They never let your rest, never let you lick your wounds but instead maintain the immense beatdown track after track. 'Do Or Die Time' and 'Empire Must Fall' might be the most "metal" tracks. I really dig the guitars in these, like Slayer meets Neophyte, maybe.

The album closes with 'Black Dot', another smasher which ends in pure noise. And if that isn't enough electronic brutality for you, you can always get the limited 2CD version with remixes by Nullvektor, Hydrone, Monkey 13 and some reworked versions of ep-tracks. Who I recommend this to? Well, first of course to all Ambassador21 fans out there. They can blindly trust this act to deliver the goods. Second, I'd like everyone who thinks electronic music can't be heavy, intense or brutal to check this out, you might be surprised...if you survive...


​Serge

EBM / industrial

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