M. Slagle (M for Matt) has been involved over the years with projects such as Side 3, Negativehate, Navicon Torture Technologies, Diathoron, Sullen Rail, Thevetat, Theologian and Dracaris. He's had several releases previously, but this is the second under his own name on the Spent Decibel label. I know that some of the projects he's been involved with are of the dark ambient/noise/power noise genres, but here on 'The Endangered Consciousness' it's electro-industrial all the way. The music (consciously or unconsciously) owes a debt to acts such as Frontline Assembly, Skinny Puppy, Haujobb and the like, while not attempting to imitate them. The thirteen tracks on this album remind me of a time in the 1990s when a whole new crop of electro-industrial artists were entering the scene, such as Index, Fenton Feckler< Gridlock, Battery, Crocodile Shop, Heavy Water Factory, Razed in Black, and too many more to mention. The music is predominantly synth-sequencer driven, full of old-school sounds that are going to take you back a couple of decades. It's the kind of industrial style you just don't hear much of anymore. One of the highlights of the album is a fairly faithful cover of Maryann Faithfull's "Love Hates" from 1995. (Haven't heard that one in a while.) Slagle's vocals are pretty decent in that raspy electro-industrial mode, also adding some atmospheric backing "ah ahh aaahs". Although that isn't the only song with vocals, it would have been nicer if there were more throughout the album. The tracks are certainly short enough to warrant them (none being excessively drawn out instrumentals) and likely would have infused a more human aspect into the synthetic machinery. Even though some of those aforementioned influences spend large chunks of their albums in instrumental impetus and atmosphere, most of their tracks feature vocals. It's the glue that sticks subconsciously in the mind of the listener and deserves a more prominent place in the music. Besides the elaborate synth sequencing, the crunchy beatwork also deserves a mention. 'The Endangered Consciousness' is one of those albums that you may have to listen to more than a couple of times to appreciate, and I know that in this age of instant gratification it may be asking a lot, but still there is some reward here.