Co-released by Amon/Never Known's AFE and Leeza's Moonfear (web.tiscali.it/leeza), Kabal's cd-r is a very interesting work which manages to keep your attention focused despite being very long (13 tracks, 70 minutes). Actually, all tracks - even the apparently more minimal and repetitive ones - show great taste in assembling layers of rhythms and melodies and subtly varying the patterns before they become redundant. Kabal seems to prefer nocturnal, slightly obsessive atmospheres, in a classy electronica/IDM which reminded me of Autechre, Future Sound of London and A034 The Insider, another Milanese musician contiguous to Kabal's genre... while never stepping in paranoid fields, and often taking a breath with more relaxed tracks like "Atrial 222" or "Free Bong - Cyhexatin mix", which even reminded me of Kraftwerk due to its nostalgic synth melodies... Excellent layout based on almost abstract photos of crashed cars and metal rubbish.

In some odd way, think of Juno Reactor's "Shango" without the techno dancehall beats,and more emphasis on the trance elements and organic drumming, conjuring images of jungles and gliding across shadowy night cliffs. Or dancing with the Indians in some ancient nocturnal rite now forgotten in these times of technology and strip malls. While not totally revolutionary as the promos might say, as it is goa-trance and not a new genre, it is quite a feast for those into organic drumming. The beats are danceable but for some reason I don't feel like dancing to them so much as I do absorbing them into my mind. And the atmospheres to boot definitely give it that cryptic atmosphere aforementioned above. I'm not quite sure but I wouldn't be surprised if they did a Sepultura and got real tribal drummer(s) in here, which may be the case with our friend Momodou Kah,who provides the driving rhythms therein. And also the ubiquitous Robert Fripp of King Crimson fame is on here, providing his always interesting guitar lines. The guy seems alot more active in his older days than in King Crimson's prime, ever notice? I never heard all too much of their work, but I think it's on my list now... The title track is one of my favorites on here with it's sparse ambient sounds, and "Taking Flight" as well. "Offspring" also has a nice little way of linking together sounds into a nice little symphony, as Roach is known to do. I love the noise effect when it rises up! So I reccomend this for fans more into organic music,goa and African percusion, and ambient styles. It may not be so much for the dancefloor as it is for the mind, but hey give it a shot, I'm sure alot could dance to this given the right mood. I'll try to sometime, and look goofy with my little rave dancing to it. You watch some basement DJ is garaunteed to make a club remix of this stuff! Rating: 9. Also recommended is Juno Reactor's "Shango" and anything of their's for that matter!

As you already know Prikosnovenie is a label dedicated to ethereal sounds and dark folk culture. Well this first Daemonia Nymphe's album couldn't fit this genre in a better way. The band is composed by Spyros Giasafakis and Evi Stergiou and for this release they have been aided by seventeen other musicians. The sound of the band is really particular because they wanted to base their sound on their Greek roots using uniquely reproductions of ancient instruments. Everything in this CD is based on ancient Greek culture, also the lyrics talk about ancient Goddesses, Nymphs, etc. Also from the titles you could get some hints. "Message Horn's Enchanting Echo", "Ida's Dactyls", "Summoning Divine Selene", "Hades", "Dance Of Satyrs", "Korai Rejoicing In Antron", "Nymphs Of The Seagod Nereus", "Hymn To Bacchus" and "Invoking Pan" are the titled of the inspired tracks of this Daemonia Nymphe's first album. You know that I don't love that much folk music and dark folk in general but I assure you that this CD contains nine thrilling tracks and if I say so, you've got to trust me! :)

Surely this project created by Konstantin Myzireb (sampling) and Vlad Buben (voice, programming, keys) will make the happiness of everyone who loves industrial music for it's coldness and hypnotic power. "Le Cauchemar" is a good trip between monolithic wheels and swirling loop sounds, sustained by filtered voices and some melodic lines.The first track "Porto"will introduce you in a synthetic nightmare with church choirs under decomposed patterns of noise. "Cointreau" and "Chartreuse" are mourning laments of dying ruined gears, but the best track maybe is the five one, "Play for it", where upon a trip-hop rithmic basement mount up obsessives keyboards, that remind me some good songs of the early Coil, very gloomy and threatening. However all the six tracks sounds dark and full of decadent spirit, ideal soundtrack for a slow descent into deep restlesness.

"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.