After two years in the working D.Loop made it and thanks also to the revived Spittle Records (they originally released the "In limbo" MLP back in the 80s) Limbo fans are able to listen to songs that only few had the chance to listen to. EARLY WORKS (1984-1987) gathers the very first songs recorded by the Tuscan combo for their first demotape (self released back in 1984), for the "In limbo" MLP plus early compilations participations and a bunch of unreleased tracks. The two CD pack comes in a deluxe package that reproduces a gatefold double album package with inner covers and all. Using original graphics as well as the color version of the painting they originally used for their first tape, the release contains also interesting liner notes both in Italian and English language. The whole recordings have been remastered and the result is really good: clean and powerful. The sound has no flaws and it gives you the opportunity to check the early goth electronic tunes of the band. The Virgin Prunes inspired vocals, the powerful bass guitar, the raw synths, everything is there to be discovered or revived into your memory. Personally these are the Limbo's recordings I prefer, because they were sounding like a post punk electronic band on the wild. You can check some tracks and purchasing the CD directly from the band through their myspace page at http://www.myspace.com/limboit

I must be honest, Latexxx Teens didn't raise my sympathy as I'm quite disinterested into bands that on their photo shots look like bad guys in disguise and make-up but I tried to close my eyes and to focus on the music of their first album DEATH CLUB ENTERTAINMENT. Well, the result isn't that bad as their mixture of metal with electro e.b.m. influences (they sound like a sort of Marylin Manson coming from Germany even if they are Italian) is catchy and powerful. In my opinion their perfect audience are the goth metal kids with melodic needs and Latexxx Teens did a good job by finding many catchy tunes and they also did a good job with the sound production. I hate to talk about music industry categorizations but... I'm not part of their target.

Named after the mythological seven headed monster as well as the secret terrorist organization of the Marvel Comics, Hydra is an English band that born from the ashes of Third Door From The Left and Birth Complex. Their first full length is titled WORSHIP YOUR DISEASES and it contains twelve good industrial post punk tracks. Try to imagine a post punk band with anarchic influences and substitute guitar and bass and drums with synths, samples, a drum machine and metal percussions and you'll have pretty much the idea of how Hydra sound. The trio has a good taste for melody and don't feel the need to hide the vocals under tons of effects, because lyrics are part of what they are (see also the choice of covering a Crass song titled "The sound of free speech"). Did you love Play Dead, Portion Control, Discarge and Skinny Puppy? Well, Hydra could satisfy your senses with their mix of aggressive, melodic and percussive industrial sound. I liked them and I highly suggest you to check some of their tunes here http://www.myspace.com/slainofthehydra.

Do you remember the Off Beat "O-Files", a release series of 4 EP’s offered by 4 different acts completed to a full-length album? Well, this new Rupal Records release picks up this idea and offers free space to their most prolific acts during the past months, DAVANTAGE, WYNARDTAGE, ANIMASSACRE and ACYLUM. These bands of course are taking advantage out of this offer and can provide some nice and additional content to their last not-that-old releases. Every band also has received enough space in the booklet to offer an own cover art, which documents another similarity to the mentioned Off Beat pendant.
DAVANTAGE are opening this MCD-marathon and they are also responsible for the main title "Capture & Tension". This one is a rather emotional Futurepop-tune, but with matured synth arrangements highly above the average. "Translate My Heart" comes out even straighter and more club-compatible, while the additional remix works by RUPALHEADS ("Capture & Tension") and DISMANTLED ("Is Mars Waiting?") can’t rival with the quality of the originals, especially the latter one comes out quite uninspired.
Comes then WYNARDTAGE alias Kai Arnold with the logically and often announced continuation of his train of success. "Peace Of Mind" is in all the second track he has produced with the female guest vocalist, Carola Müller, of the German Dark-Electro/Wave-act PROSPECTIVE. The first track he did compose with her was "When We Are Gone", originally released on his smasher-album "Praise The Fallen". The difference of Carola to so many other females in the dark and hard Electro/Industrial scene belongs on the fact, that she CAN REALLY sing. What a revelation compared to some singing chicks, which preferable take care on their look and style. The instrumentals of "Peace Of Mind" are following the known WYNARDTAGE-path without offering anything new or surprising, but they are also a bit shadowed by the glaring quality of Carola’s voice. An additional remix done by the Estonian act SUICIDAL ROMANCE is featured, but it can’t cause any attention. The mentioned "When We Are Gone" got featured here as well in remix by PAINBASTARD – and again, nothing beats the well-done original. Plus there’s to mention the special bonus track which is "Midnight Crucifixion", which an original composition by the Holland-based artist ROBRT DOPE. He has teamed up with Kai Arnold, so this composition got re-arranged featuring the typically WYNARDTAGE sounds and ROBERT’s distorted vocals.
After the elegant DAVANTAGE and the still dark and emotional WYNARDTAGE, the scenario turns more and more into aggression, because the Bulgarian vertical-starters ANIMASSACRE like to say "hello" with a new Hardcore-Techno/EBM tune named "Mecha Tremors". Still heavily inspired by several Japanese Cyberpunk comic-art (and so is their cover art...), they give an additional rather driving Dark Electro track entitled "The Great Collapse", plus the "I-still-need-to-discover-them" Ukrainian act GINGER SNAP5 offers a Hellectro-related remix on "Apathy" in a quality, which would give proud to some or another NoiTekk-recording artists.
Comes finally ACYLUM a.k.a. Pedro Engel and his bombastic Harsh EBM/Powernoise sound outfit. His multiple-layered and ominous sounding ambience still rawks my socks and even if he plays with some drastically samples and an overall menacing Powernoise-like rhythm construction, it means purest enjoyment to sink into this wall of sound. "Alone", available in 2 different versions, is the main track here and kind of a remake compared to the version on the last ACYLUM album "Mental Disorder". Complimented again with the drastically lyrics and vocals of the WYNARDTAGE-mastermind Kai Arnold, this one is and will be one of the more assessable tunes from Pedro, especially with the great string orchestra inserts for the second "Dead End"-version. 2 additional tracks to satisfy the longing fans, "Breaking The Chains" and a co-production with Robert Kulawik of SONIC VIOLENCE EXPERIENCE ("Beton Kopf", no :WUMPSCUT: available here...) got featured here. Last but not least, and still worth to mention is a special bonus track "E-Prisoners" provided by RUPALHEADS meets ACYLUM.
Of course, this "4-EP’s-pressed-on-1-full-length-CD" edition clocks with nearly 79 minutes and fulfills any demand of the fans. A highly recommended release, but also a kind of thorn for the responsible people behind Rupal Records. How can a possible second edition match with this one, if the best horses in the stable got already used here? Well, the future will tell us...

Good work finally pays of and it warms my heart, that there’s somebody out there, who gets rewarded with a deal to record a first debut album and to release it via the Canadian Experimental/Noise-label Bugs Crawling Out Of People. WORMS OF THE EARTH alias Dan Barrett works in multiple fields of the Electro/Industrial/Noise genres, be it with the issuing of an online magazine with the same name, or be it with the compiling of some download-able compilations, which can provide here and there some better known names. If somebody out there deserves a bit more attention and exposure, then Dan is the one for all of his efforts for and around the scene. This official debut album of WOTE offers a diverse mixture of styles, mostly and started with rhythmically Powernoise ("The Whore", "Famine Wears The Mask Of Prosperity"), but you’ll get also some calmer, more Electro-minded works too ("Dew Falling Over The Garden"). Generally the music of WOTE isn’t at all the new invention of the bulb, but this album comes out quite respectable. Several collaborations are presented on this album, too. We have at first a new word-core assault by the omnipresent Rock n’ Roll Supergod IT-CLINGS, king of the Jews, with the typical title "Big Fucking Titties Or A Fuckable Mouth (Of The Succubus)". Some remix contributions mostly done on the track "Whore" turning some parts of this album near to the Harsh EBM/Hellectro genre, no wonder, if names like the new NoiTekk-act DYM, DEAD MANS HILL, EMBODI, VICIOUS ALLIANCE or TO MEGA THERION have laid their filthy hands on the WOTE originals. An interesting and generally convincing debut for sure, while WOTE can’t bring up anything new to the genre. Please note that the first 50 copies of this album will be accomplished with a special bonus CD, which features 4 additional tracks, plus 5 remix contributions. Try to get it!