Ahhhhh, X-Mas... . The smell of pinecones roasting on the fire (or something like that. Or was it elves?hell toss them in there too), people unwrapping gifts with materialist glee, and religious banter, as I shut my cranky atheistic self into my room for cover. You can tell I hate X-Mas, and I’m not a cheery one to have around the house at that time of year, but this CD is something good to come out of it, and the series in general. Projekt has always been music made for winter time and it shows why this is my choice music to listen to on a nice winter day inside.
Lovespirals kicks in with their special brand of babymaking music. I can’t help it, everything this bands sings and plays sounds so kinky and sensual, but still so classy! And it is the first time I’ve heard someone sounding dead on like Liz Frazier without being a knockoff. Frolic also sounds divine as usual, this time bringing the vocals back to the front. Their last CD was one you could easily fall into, especially if you’ve got nature around, and was one of my favorite CD’s of last year. Faith and Disease sound strangely serene on their take of "Silver and Gold", not like their usual dark selves. Miribalis is pretty good. Summer Bowman and Dru make a good pair dueting, work very nicely together (it's currently a full blown project as well that's just signed up on Middle Pillar), each one stepping aside to give the other a chance. I like the last song of Lynn Canfield (the girl from Curve, I believe)*, "Let your Sister Pet The Kitty Too", it’s half Super Mario music and Lynn singing about gifts and cats as well. It’s playful which is odd to hear from a Projekt CD, but knowing Sam and all them they can be a playful bunch as well.
I hate the holidays and I hate everything about it, but even for the many out there like me who feel the same way you’ll love it too. So hang a reindeer (or is that a mistletoe?) and grab some eggnog and have some fun with this one.

*Sam pointed out to me that Lynn Cannfield is the singer of Moon Seven Times and Area, not the singer for Curve. Oopsy daisy! I apologize about the mistake! Both look and sound very familiar so I got confused!

ASYLUM is an Italian project headed by Dario Sisto and RATTUS IN SANGUINE is his third demo after 1999's "Ploratus" and 2000's "Vox Silenti". By listening the eleven tracks of this CDr the first thing that comes to my mind is that Dario recorded these tracks impulsively caring most about the effect than thinking about the final effect. It seems that he did these tracks being fascinated by early S.P.K., nowadays e.b.m. and industrial music but he forgot to give a form to his project. What I mean is that it's difficult for me to understand what's going on with him by reading only titles like "Barbie Trip", "Everybody's Dead" or "Lesbo Sado Dance". In this way there's a lack of communication and even if some atmospheres and sounds of his instrumental tracks are quite interesting (tracks like "Everybody's Dead", "Dead Stars Light" or the electronic "Human Model"), the listener can find hard to approach Asylum's work and it's a shame because Dario, in my opinion, could give a shape to his ideas and create something really interesting. A particularity of this demo is that it seems to be a split between two different bands. This because the first six tracks are totally different from the other five which show the influence of bands like Kraftwerk (see also the industrial version of "The Model" that closes the CD).

This CD is the most schizophrenic album I listened recently, for sure! The twenty two tracks of so called "breakz / elektro / experimental" music are full of inventiveness and freshness and are capable of catch your attention in a second. Each track seems to have been composed by a deranged robot while he was trying to perform "Radioactivity" being on acid. Also the r'n'r reverbered/distorted guitar on some tracks plays slowed goth/surf tunes while electro bleeps jumps here and there. It's a shame I haven't got any news about the guy who did all this and also his webpages at www.nnt.edu.gr and www.iroiro.gr aren't reachable: it's a total mistery. Listening to "C/My Documents / My Music" it's like to listen to the whole Warp records discography pouring out of a blender having a genial cowboy as barman. Give a listen to this one if you are searching for new stimulating weird delicatessen.

Lately a lot of bands from the Middle-East are coming out and have things to say. Based out it Warren, Michigan, this four piece comes from most respectable experiences, including the amazing Orange 9mm, and gives tangible proof of their expertise with a blasting ProTools-engineered 10 tracks industrial metal record that finally kicks some ass!!! Their self-produced and self-released "Amplified Fragments" brings you electro sequencing with dance stylings, pounding industrial rhythms, gothic pad melodies and most importantly a huge compressed crunchy distorted wall of sound of electric guitars (no wonder Orange 9mm is part of their background). You may go right ahead and compare them to early KMFDM, some Ministry, definitely a lot of Headcrash (for the usage of guitars), and most definitely Die Krupps (one of my favourite bands - now DKay.com), Alien Sex Fiend and others. It is safe to say that these guys have the talent and the right cards to become major players in the electro-metal scene, where lack of fresh and original material has been taking over in the past few years. I have been looking for a new powerful abrasive aggro-industrial group for a while and I may just have found it with Firewerk, at least in part. Being a huge fan of that particular branch of the genre I feel that they can do even better, but I say so not with disappointment, but rather with excitement and expectations for what I am positive will be a great follow up record. I am really looking forward to this one!

FINALLY!!! Finally somebody did notice this great Australian band whom I've been supporting and believing in for so long (some of you might remember they have been interviewed in Chain D.L.K. and featured on one of our CD compilations). Somebody, namely the Belgian label 3rd Brass Collective, has finally helped them get out of the limbo of self-released CDs (not that there is anything wrong with self-releasing CDs and doing-it-yourself, on the contrary, but having a label will probably help them get their music around the world and most importantly spread the very important message that Eye has been propagandizing with so many efforts for such a long time). J. Citizen, aka Eye, is the man that has been dedicating his life and his music to the spreading of anti-animal-abuse and anti-vivisection knowledge. Besides Eye, and his other musical projects Elf, he's also been running the Blatant Propaganda 'zine (http://blatantpropaganda.com), which I suggest you check out as soon as possible... Anyway, before I get carried away with complimenting Eye for his politics, I guess I have to let you know about the music too, right? ;-) Well, Eye plays solid electro-industrial music with an edge. Heavily inspired by old-school Euro EBM (think Nitzer Ebb for example) but also close to some acid cyber-punk. Frenzy beats, distorted guitars, political lyrics, crunchy synth lines and a shit load of vocal samples from the pharmaceutical, political and scientific every day scenario that annihilates us. Titles like "Goods and Services Tax", "Blind Progress", "The Vivisector", "Mandate", "Action = Life", "Does this look like Science to You?" should give you a grasp of what the themes are. John Cult, of 3rd Brass Collective, has assembled this vol.1 CD with tracks from various other Eye releases spanning between '94 and '01, so basically this is nothing new for fans of the band (except for a nice colour cover), but it's a great starting point for those who do not know Eye yet. Me? Well while you are getting to know the integrity and the sounds of this great one-man musical project, I will be looking forward for volume 2... 'Cause there will be a volume 2, right John? Right?