DEF CON 1- INDUSTRIAL DAWN- ‘Various Artists’ (Armalyte Industries, Cat No. ARMCD 001)
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Is there such a thing as ‘Cheesy’ industrial music? Once this hybrid rock dance genre appeared to be a celebration of all that was challenging and pioneering in contemporary music. These days it appears that any hot shot thinks that they can conquer the industrial dance floor with a sampled Slayer riff, a chart friendly techno rhythm and a distorted Darth Vader impersonation. |
Or in the words of Armalyte Industries co-founder Gilez Moorhouse, music which is "no more than hard chart techno with all the menace of a neutered rottweiler with dentures". He and Armalyte partner Dave Chapman (Of the band Punishment State) have recently issued this compilation to act as a platform for the various artists who have appeared on their live bills and to open up a forum for the unsung heroes of the industrial movement.
Perhaps the worthiest card in their deck is the long awaited first studio recording by popular live powerhouse Sulpher. Of all the bands to appear on an Armalyte stage, past experience would suggest Sulpher to be the most organic act on the CD. Well, surprise, surprise, as featured track ‘Fear Me’ has to be one of the most dance floor friendly tracks on offer. It may for the most part consist of a relentless techno pulse and Rob Holiday repeating the words "Fear the Needle" ad infinitum, but listen to the buzz saw guitars and try not to feel that Trent Reznor’s crown of all things cyber metal is about to slip!
Amongst those that shared the first Armalyte live bill alongside Sulpher (At the Violent New Breed Event) were the Pain Machinery. Whilst on the night the band suffered from a somewhat sub-standard sound mix, their representative track ‘Escape’ demonstrates just how perfect they can be in the right environment: A barrage of mental nosebleed distortion mixed with brooding 242 bass.
The other stars of Violent New Breed, Punishment State place a new mix of ‘Efficiency Born’ in the spotlight. Given a spacier, less intense re-make, the track is still a standout, although it’s easy to feel that the cinematic horror show of ‘Opium for the Masses’ or a newer track such as ’New Dawn’ would have sat better alongside the other tracks on offer. However, this remix is guaranteed to tie the masses over until we can follow the vodka trail to the State’s next live outing.
It’s easy to forget how long the Chaos Engine have been doing the rounds (Five years?) and ‘Custom Built For Anger’ deviates little from past Engine productions. Perhaps most notable for the versatile vocal palette it allows leader Lee H, a man who needs no voice coder, being one of the few industrial front men who can actually sing! It’s a great track, but as with all of The Chaos Engine’s studio output, it fails to capture the sheer barbarity of the bands live shows (Which are an experience unto themselves!).
I’ve been hard on The Saints Of Eden in the past, and maybe now is the time to readdress past misgivings; If only because ‘Slow Stay’ is possibly one of the finest elements of the compilation. A glacial, more ambient creature than much of the neuron bashing material on offer. Whilst such a sound was easily lost live, ‘The Cure gone trance’ fair far better in the studio and if anything display that the brain blending aesthetics that so many ‘alternative’ dance acts adhere to can be easily surpassed by a decent melody and haunting melancholia.
Many other old mates of Vision Thing also put in an appearance, including Oxime 187, Cubanate, K-Nitrate and The Aggression, as do Katscan (Who’ve been listening to far too much Gary Numan). As a compilation Def Con 1 assures us that new frontiers are still being broken within this ever expanding and exciting genre. Remember in the words of Armalyte themselves, it’s industrial evolution, not revolution.
for more info write to- Gilez, 4 Fairfield Close, Mitcham, Surrey, CR4 3RE.
For More on each of the following bands, click on the appropriate name-
DEF CON 1 ,
The Camden Underworld, 26/05/2001
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In the second Back to the Future movie, Doc Brown notes that’s its as if every event in the path of time and space can be traced back to one date - October 12th 1955. If you’re fan of alternative music the same could be said of May 26th 2001; In London alone this night we not only have Ozzfest, but also gigs by Sigue Sigue Sputnik, Womb and the latest Armalyte Industries bash. |
Taking the latter as our drug of choice we find ourselves at the Camden Underworld for the launch of Armalyte’s new compilation CD ‘Def Con I’. Sadly due to the obligatory problems with the trains and public transport, yours truly is a good hour late, and thus misses opening acts Caffeine Kill and The Aggression. A shame, as a past meeting with The Aggression proved them to be that all too rare thing in the music business - A bunch of genuinely nice guys (Not to worry, we’ll be looking at their last CD ‘Pure Liquid Ego’ soon).
Still we’re lucky to catch the post apocalyptic cyberbilly hell of Needleye (MSV); And no, I haven’t got a clue what the MSV stands for- Multiple Scarred Victim? Moist Sweaty Vagina? Murder Shirley Valentine? With a band like Needleye such triviality doesn’t matter, they could call themselves Steps and their sheer aural violence would render any name invalid. Needleye are Disaster Area from the Hitch Hikers’ Guide To The Galaxy given flesh: Vast Fear Factory derived bursts of thundering juggernaut guitar crossing a wasteland of barren synths and aggressive punishment beats. Homicidal singer Duncan Wilson is the bastard offspring of Deicide’s Glen Benton and Phil Anselmo. Mohican totting synth player Richard Gorbult gleefully fingers his micro synth over his knees - If Satan ever possessed Jan Hammer this would be the result.
After Hellstomper of Vision Thing favourites the Pain Machinery has spun some classic EBM tunes, the stage is graced by headliners The Saints Of Eden. The Saints are another offshoot from the ever-growing family tree of the Nephilim. Saints’ leader Cian Houchin played bass on the 1996 LP Zoon. But when Carl McCoy opted to disband that incarnation of the Nefilim, rather than join his former band mates in Sensorium, Cian elected to step out on his own, with a string of critically acclaimed albums following suit. But whereas Sensorium continue to explore the ethereal cyber metal of ’Zoon’ (Click here for a review of Sensorium) the Saints are a more contemporary animal; menacing guitar strokes played above trance like beats and spectral keyboard washes. Such a dance friendly sound owes itself well to club environment, but tonight is a live performance and as such the Saints can’t quite make their sound transfer over to the correct degree.
There are some truly stunning computer generated visuals on display, but such is their impact that they over power the band completely. A repetitive bass drum is fine on a dance floor but soon grows tiresome after three songs and totally drowns out the other elements of the band. There’s a live bass player but I can’t remember hearing a single bass line all night, Cian’s sadistic voice is present but totally inaudible above the beats. They way in which the band are all tucked into the right of the stage hardly helps matters as for all the stage presence they possess they might as well not even be there. If the Cure ever went trance, they’d sound like the Saints, but even that proposal would be hard pressed to fill out the length of a set as long as this. By the end of their set there’s a larger crowd gathered around the bar than the stage, and despite Cian’s best efforts, their show is soon forgotten. Still, Mr Houchin bears an uncanny resemblance to the late Kurt Cobain- maybe a cover of ‘Smells Like Teen Spirit’ would jolly along future shows?
THE AGGRESSION- ‘Pure Liquid Ego’
Is it me or is just about every exciting new electro band of the moment hailing from the other side of the Atlantic? After the scene being virtually Euro dominated for all too long, The Aggression continue an unrelenting surge for dominance of the world’s alternative dance floors. Hot on the heels of their first UK gig at the Armalyte Industries’ Def Con 1 launch party, ‘Pure Liquid Ego’ is a bridge between the band’s past and future with four new tracks (Missionary Man, Beautiful Losers, Hey! and The Cross) sitting alongside a collection of remixes from the band’s 1997 debut ‘White Line Override’.
Described in layman’s terms, The Aggression are the EBM equivalent of Ministry, captured at the Chicago legends’ golden moment between their ‘The Mind Is A Terrible Thing to Taste’ and ‘Psalm 69’ albums; Before Al Jorgensen and Paul Barker disintegrated into a mess of bass heavy arrogance and self parody. However, what sets The Aggression apart from their hard beat peers is that whilst many a hard techno metal band would barely give the listener a chance to look back, the band don’t live purely by their name and are more than capable of adhering to equally melodic principles. Proving that accessible industrial need not lose it’s edge (Depeche Mode please take note!). Such is the band’s level of fluidity, that there are moments such as ‘Beautiful Losers’ which would no doubt be labelled ‘Darkwave’ in certain quarters. Even the vocals of main man F J De Santo recall the cryptic menace of Xymox leader Ronny Moorings.
The remixes are all placed in safe hands- ‘Permanent’ is re worked by a certain Wayne Hussey, which manipulates the track into a far better stab at an electro Cure song than anything Robert Smith attempted on ‘Bloodflowers’. Salvo’s reincarnation of ‘Missionary Man’ (Which despite the title is nothing to do with Wayne!) is an Aryan war dance that puts Rammstein to shame! If the mixes suffer from any shortfall, it’s that F J’s vocals are unnecessarily wrapped in layers of echo and distortion when his commanding voice renders any form of mechanical manipulation redundant.
Like the out put of Seattle’s ADSR label, the Aggression offer a high voltage barricade of noise that sits as comfortably on the dance floor as in the sweat of the mosh pit. We await new LP ‘Flood’ with baited breath. Contact- Tinman Recordings, P O Box 1114, New Brunswick, N J 08903. www.theaggression.com
