"Velvet" is an album oriented on a gothic rock/darkwave style, with metal influences, in the vein of late Tiamat and Moonspell. Some good melodies created by the keyboards offer some pretty cues, but the hard guitar riffing is too much expected and in it's totality this belgian band unfortunately don't convince. The songs structure remains always bounded to old schemes, denoting a lack of personality and a poverty of ideas. Moreover, Star Industry spoil the Roxette's best hits "The look", with a terrible cover.

It's good every now and then to take a break and revel in the joys of classical music, and I do this more often than no! I am a firm believer you can do anything to Beethoven's 5th and 9th symphonies! ANYTHING!And my worship of Das Ich is only further proof,and the almighty Helium Vola and Deine Lakaien. Two things are obvious with this group: (1). They have more melancholy than the usual classical group (2). They have all had some pretty thorough training to have done this. The man behind it spent several years in the oldest and most respected line of choir in the world, and it shows why they'd pick him. This music is very moody yet beautiful on top of it all, perfectly flowing and catching you in it's spell of violins and piano lines before you even notice it, you're jsut a little more peaceful. My favorite track is their splendid cover of Black Tape For A Blue Girl's "I wish You Could Smile", with it's plinking keys and ethereal atmosphere perfectly complimenting one another. Track 4 also is a highlight with it's Baroque style of playing, which seems to me like a lost art. Great little CD to listen to in the park or when you're meditating or just relaxing. Even for classical purists it's a pretty solid bet. Just gorgeous music for those who appreciate it! Rating:10. Recommended for those into Black Tape's "As One Aflame Laid Bare By Desire" and neo-classical in general.

Seeing they toured with Apop recently made me a bit worried considering my blood hatred of the new Apop stuff. But I'll give them this : they do the whole techno pop thing alot better than Apooptygma ever could! The lead singer is quite adept, and kinda reminds me of Rhea of La Floa Maldita with more of a swagger. To mention anyone in the same breath as La Floa Maldita is no light praise at all! The rest is just good simple pop pleasure, pure and simplely joyful. I wonder though when looking at the cover "Is that Jimmy Kimbell from the Man Show?" on the left,haha. The first single "It's Not Too Late" is probably a hit over in Germany since they actually go for good pop like this, and it's made for Euro radio,pure and simple. Painkiller also caught my attention as well as Obsession. Every track on here seems pretty solid and catchy except for Megaphone, which tends to mire a bit. I'd love to interview this group but someone already beat me to it! In short,nice and simple techno pop oldfashioned and simple,kinda like Beborn Beton or Anything Box but a bit with more techno feel, and a incredibly cute lead singer with alot more swagger than idiots like Apoop can ever think of touching! Rating:9. And also it comes with some goodies like a password for 10 free song downloads and 30 songs plus those. :) I say go for it!

Ever seen the film Amorres Perros? That is the world of Mexico I think of when I hear this band: bleak,desolate,corroding and melancholy in it's decay. They are the voice of the poor and downtrodden in Mexico City come to a violent life, uncensored in their portrayal of domestic abuse,corruption,murder,perversion,and in general the decay of the human fabric day by day. Cold dance rhythms line up against terrorizing vocals in distortion and horror movie rhythms taken out of the corroded pueblos of Mexico City. Kinda along the lines of the great Kalte Farben or Placebo Effect and that is the closest I could compare them. Many say Wumpscut,but where Wumpscut tends at times to just toss out schlock and shock like a child, these guys are as serious as an aneurysm and sincere as Anne Sexton's suicide note. To understand why Hispanics have such a high love of life, you have to understand what they came from in Mexico, and Hocico is your tour guide of terrors and a blunt lesson of this. The first track,Pandemonium,pops open with classical piano lines culled from some horror film,matching perfectly with the cover and the Legend movie sample. Instincts of Perversion,a brutal cutthroat account of spousal abuse told through the eyes of the wifebeater. Totally uncensored and seemingly reveling in a DeSade-esque guise. Wounds is my favorite track, the kind of song violent uprisings are made of,which I think it calls for. Sample lyric: "I'll be here by your side to raise this gun,this gun in my hand/Nation I feel kind of away,now time to reclaim what is our's" in reference to revolution the old fashioned way, most presumably by the underclass. If there ever is an uprising in Mexico you'll be hearing this blaring on the speakers without a doubt. Forgotten Tears is also another solid song, a song about dying forgotten in the streets and shantytowns of that area,which seems all too common. What I miss is their Spanish tracks like "Espinas en mal", which for a change show how emotive the language can be. Hehe can this be the new face of the Latin hearthrobs? Not fucking likely and that's why we love them! I have said it before and I will say it again as a newer fan of their's: they have revived my faith in industrial completely. Dismantled too. See these pissed off Hombres de la Mal on tour starting in November and I'm there with you! Just don't get too close or you may faint from the bile. Rating: It's Hocico,that's my rating! I had them play this on the dance floor a couple of times,and all the teenie goths there hit the dirt! Try it sometime!

Another great little group brought to my attention by Sam Rosenthal of Projekt......... To me, ethereal and pop are strange bedfellows,given ethereal's moodiness and pop's liveliness. La Floa Maldita hit it with a rare perfection,and Rhea's French-tinged vocals are still a standard in all of ethereal (the language of love never sounded as good as when it came from her). This is a little different but just as good of a benchmark. Armed back to back with two amazing vocalists,Antje Schulz and Stephanie Harich, this CD is a tour de force of ethereal pop pure,simple,and elegant all at once. The first song and single "My World Depends On You" is perfect soundtrack material to some Euro romance film set in the summertime. Slow and driving,and doubled up with two vocal layers on the chorus, it is something to behold, even for staunch pop-doubters like me. "Pink" opens up with a kind of western guitar roll, of course played very slow before giving way to the atmosphere laying underneath and letting the German vocals roll out. And if you have a friend that says "Oh German isn't sexy at all" point them to Chandeen. This is the sexiest I have EVER heard it,and backs up my point that it is a gorgeous language to know (hehe alles wir weisse das)! "Days In Time" is another atmospheric guitar track, and the vocal work of Stephanie will melt your heart in her soft vocal trance. The breathy style of ethereal vocals never sounded better except for "Heute Nacht". "Walking" has a poppy,Portishead type rhythm drum line on top of pop-laden vocals and bounce. The contrast of the poppy Trip-hop drum line and the pop vocals play quite nicely, making it the highlight behind "Heute Nacht". "Heute Nacht", meaning Tonight for all the nonGerman speakers out there, is the highlight of the CD. Sensual as hell, German has never oozed such sexiness before (well,except for Franka Potente! But we're talking musically!) and this is the ultimate proof it can give even French a run for it's money! Just pop on this track and get ready to make some babies,garaunteed! Even if you don't understand what they are saying,the vocals and words are so sensual it won't even matter. It's the song R&B wish it could make. And if you do understand the German, you'll understand the mood of pure sensuality,just let it flow over you. "Apples and Oranges" is the pop hit that US radio would be too idiotic and cooperate to appreciate or allow to be a hit. It's a cover of an old Pink Floyd gem from the Syd Barrett era,given a whole new twist. I could bounce and skip along in the park on a sunny day to this little ditty. It's such a guilty pleasure! Overall, no filler in this whole CD at all. Each track compliments one another,and the vocals are simply some of the best in the business. This band is only rivaled by Machine In The Garden and La Floa Maldita (whatever happened to them?!?) in my mind. And plus some goodie bonus material I will let you see for yourself! Definitely give this band a try,and I garauntee you won't regret it. Even my Britpop-loving best friend was aching to get her hands on this CD. So pop it on and get ready to make some babies,as she says! Rating: Why even bother? Some things speak for themselves, so I'll let it talk for itself ;). PS: The two singers are also some of the best lookers in the business. Bist wir so schon damme!