This EP features brand new tracks not previously released called "It's Time" and "Monument" as well as "Machines" from the early demo Synthesis. What fans will first notice is the harder club beat and elektro styling of "It's Time" that has a sort of darkwave-EBM sound to it that the band never previously had. Ah, when I see bands I love improve this much I just love it. Shannon's ethereal vocals and Robert's industrial interests were meant for this type of structure. Butterfly Messiah never sounded so good. Both the first mix and the Dance mix are great for DJ club play so I'm hoping they will not be timid and take a risk on these guys, they are well worth it! "Monument" contains the somber dark synth orchestral and ethereal vocal style the band is more readily associated with. This is great for those unfamiliar with the band to check out to get a bit of a taste of what some of their other music generally sounds like, however this track has it's own unique aspects as well. Butterfly Messiah are the only band that deftly combines ethereal elements with hard industrial and mechanical elements. The man-machine concept is one that has been done many times in cyber-industrial but Butterfly Messiah take a more spirit-machine angle on the perspective created with their own unique combination of sound. If anyone is curious about what a younger Butterfly Messiah sounded like this EP gives them the opportunity with "Machines". However this mix is not the original version so there is something here for fans too. They've cleaned this one up a bit and added some overall effects to it that give it quite a bit more body and ambience. The original is dry in comparison to this version (Nice job Robert!). Lastly, is an instrumental of the title track. Without the vocals it sounds much more EBM oriented and may be why it was included. I hope this is a good idea of what is to come from the band in the future!

This Salt Lake City project, Symbiont, offers one powerful debut release with "ology". This is hard elektro, heavy aggression, dark venting without real violence. As many have said who have heard this CD so far they are a welcome refreshment of a dying breed in todays underground Goth/Industrial scene dominated by Future/Synth-pop and EBM. This is a harsh return to the dark agression of early goth/industrial and brooding violent moods. However, Symbiont is not one of those copycat sound-alike bands. EVERYTHING on this disc is highly original, well thought out, and masterfully produced. Every layer of every track and every sample is masterfully contrived. From the very first track, "ology" the title cut, this release lets you know what you're in for with some hard EBM styled beats, unique sampling, and very harsh/dark vocals. Symbiont is in my mind the culmination of what the DSBP Records sound has always been about in the first place. Symbiont just does it better than all the rest with a much more modern texture to it. Heavy club beats, harsh distorted vocals, and dark brooding moods. This is a must hear! I haven't been this excited about a hard/dark industrial project in quite awhile. The second track "Evilation" adds a tiny bit of techno influence that is subtly utilized amidst hard metallic beats and clean cyber sound structures. Symbiont mixes quite a few styles and lots of their own experimentation in this one release. The third track "Consummate Saturnine" for instance begins on a more somber and melodramatic tone of dark ambient. This moves gradually into a more classical sounding piece composed in an industrial style with vocal samples and screams for overall effect. "Step Child" goes back into a nearly Hocico styled harsh industrial-EBM with some hard driving quicker paced Noise rhythms that drop into a very harsh industrial body rock. What follows is one of my favorite tracks that will be of high interest to vampire fans and Anne Rice afficianados as well. "Aggro Culture" begins with a female vocal sample, a whimpering individual fearing death. This is followed by a male speaking about Death being no respector of age, etc.... Vampire fans will recognize this as the Theatre of the Vampyre scene from "Interview With A Vampire" in which the woman is killed on stage by hungry vampires. The samples used mix perfectly with the heavy EBM-Industrial styles and heavily distorted lead vocals. The overall track gives these samples the forefront of the attention. My favorite part of this is the attention to detail that the band uses in the second sample segment where the woman's voice is looped saying "I don't want to die" with various sighs, screams, and gasps in between. This is done is such a way that it avoids repetition of a single sample looped but instead creates a structure of it's own which matches the rhythm of the music in perfect sync as well. I was wondering when somebody was going to finally sample that part of that movie. After this is a hard Noisey ballad called "Rancor" with some more interesting samples in which we discuss the contemplation of death. Following this is "I Blame You" which begins with lots of noise and builds into another hard club hit. "Skinned" comes next and drops the pace considerably. This is where the album takes a unique dark turn. With an almost trance-like feel to it while maintaining the heavy rhythms the vocals are highly synthesized here. This later builds into another danceable track. "Fear IN Justice" follows this overall mood with a few quieter interludes while "Tri-polar" begins with a few ambient industrial textures and a sound which constantly pans left and right in a trancelike manner. Also, soft ambient synth is also used, like something you'd expect of Robert Rich or Steve Roach except that there is a certain brokeness to it that gives you an 'altered-state' perspective. This is followed by piano and vocal samples (I won't give away all the details here) but then the track builds into a driving EBM rhythm. Now this gets real interesting! The percussion beats used are all stomps like a drill team doing a routine to some kick-ass EBM-Industrial. This is a technique that many thought of doing in the 90's when Ministy, FLA, and Skinny Puppy were still the rage and militant dark industrial was the key to many new local industrial bands. Symbiont have actually achieved it! They have reached the state of harsh darkness akin to Electric Hellfire Club, Velvet Acid Christ, and Skinny Puppy with the harshness of bands like Hocico, Marilyn Manson, but all the wonderful EBM club beats we love that fits the modern age. The samples used are very selectly picked and oftentimes drive the track's theme and are an integral part of the track like the way TKK use to do it. At the same time other samples like screams, grunts, moans, etc.. are used like the 'impact' samples used by Front Line Assembly. Still yet others are used for sheer ambience, texture, or sound techniques like the marching rhythms and others. Symbiont not only have mastered creating an extremely dark album but also one that is both moody and very club oriented at the same time while utilizing practically all industrial sampling techniques in unique and masterful form. If this is a debut I can't wait to hear more! The entire album is lovable and each track for it's own reasons.

Telegraphic is the new debut album by the new synthpop band Axoe featuring Evan Sornstein of the band Battery. Battery was known in the 90's for their signature melodic industrial and powerful female vocals. For Axoe Evan has teamed up with vocalist Patrick O'Connor to create new electro-pop. Axoe draws on a combination new wave, synthpop, smooth ebm, and 'new romantic'. One thing they are not is copycat of previous new wave and synthpop bands of the past. Axoe brings their own unique style and musical blend to the genre with a heavier lean toward the 'new romantic' mood I think. Telegraphic is an impressive release especially considering that this is self released by the band and not with the help of a label. Of course with modern technology this is becoming easier all the time. However, Axoe is not about to forget their friends and lists individuals like Shannon (Metropolis Records), Kevin Archibald (Dystopian Records), David Friede (Cohaagen Music), David Richards (NinthWave Records), and Todd Durrant (A Different Drum) in their special thanks; all individuals who are strong forces for the promotion of new and independent music and excellent people as I've come to know them myself through my work here and with Latex Records. One of the things I really like about this CD is the subtle variance they use to create the variance of mood which always makes for a good release. While much of the album has a 'romantic' feel to it I especially like the synth work on "Waiting" where there is a bit more of a grind to it. Oddly they do this without losing the melodramatic mood at all. This sounds like an album I expect to grow on me more with every listen sort of like Hednoize's "Searching for the End". However unlike the mentioned release Axoe has a much softer and 'moody' sound that is unique to them.

Alfa-Matrix offers a 4 in 1 concept of 4 CD singles on one full-length disc. Strictly limited to 2000 copies this release features singles by Aïboforcen, Epsilon Minus, Plastic Noise Experience, and Hungry Lucy from the Alfa-Matrix catalogue. While this is a unique format it seems to be an excellent way for a label to introduce their artists to new listeners and give something unique to fans outside the standard compilation album format and get more people to buy the singles, possibly. Aïboforcen stategically position themselves in the new generation of EBM fans with a combination of energetic rhythms and melodic female vocals. Here we have the "Testing New Waters" single, four tracks one of which features a mix by ArtOfFact Records' Headscan. Recommended tracks would be "Give Me These Wings" which features a bit of male vocal too and the Headscan mix which adds a bit or a darker feel with some trance elements to the song. Epsilon Minus, based in Canada, start with "Through" in which the vocals are very smooth and match the EBM-Trance/Synthpop based music texture perfectly. The "Freedom" mix by Angels & Agony has a bit of the latter band's musical elements and a slight lean toward minimalist synthpop. In all honesty the vocals are bit weak only in the first portion of the track but as the music builds to more of club-based rhythm the vocals are much stronger as is the track overall. That however is my only criticism for Epsilon Minus as Jenn's vocals kick on most tracks as she has a great voice with enough power and sensuality for this type of music format. This is extremely evident with the next track which is mixed by Massiv In Mensch, another ArtOfFact Records artist that rocks this genre. Lastly, we have the album mix of "Through" which is a bit quicker paced, an excellent song. Next on the list is Plastic Noise Experience who begins with "Clean Head", a track with lots of Noise elements but with a pulsing dance beat and harsh whispery vocals. A bit more hard-edge and dark than the previous artists Plastic Noise Experience show another side of Alfa-Matrix. PNE is Claus Kruse whose compositions are more of an EBM-Industrial format. Alfa-Matrix describes him as, "harsh vocals and a very distorted type of sounds with virulent vibrating melodies", which is right on target. This single also includes remixes of the same track by Pzycho Bitch and Implant. The Implant mix is a bit cleaner and more of an aggro flavor while the Pzycho Bitch mix takes us in the exact opposite direction with a slower pace and more of a Power Noise rock-n-rhythm. The other track by PNE is Mechanical Beatz which reminds me of old SPK with the female vocals similar to the more operatic stuff by Die Form. Lastly, is Hungry Lucy, a sort of trip-hop gothic EBM in which Christa's vocals are very smooth and harmonious and the beats throb with a rhythm you can't help but move to. I love that 'twisty' electronic sound in the first track "Her Song". One of these days I'm gonna figure out how that's done (War-n?). War-n does some amazing synth work on this project that utilizes many genre elements to help create a totally unique sound in my book. Everything from Techno, Euro-pop, Synthpop, Industrial, Gothic, EBM, Trip-Hop, and of course a host of other club styles meld together smoothly in this interesting project. Haunting and danceable at the same time - love it! "Fearful" features mixes by Aïboforcen (my fave mix on this one) and Implant. The song "Storm" drops us back into more of trip-hop feel likened to Portishead with vocals as smooth as Tori Amos and music with a dark/ethereal dance beat. Alf-Matrix brings some great new and original works to light in this first of the Sqaure Matrix series!

Behind The Scenes' 2000 release Homeless is Gothic Rock like I haven't heard in quite some time. Upon first impression you get solid rock-n-roll riffs and bass line with just enough electronic ambience to give it body but not to overrun the overall rock feel of it. Deep and dark like Sisters of Mercy with 'spidery' lead vocal somewhat reminiscent of Peter Murphy but with a smoother and more melodious style befitting of genre mainstays Clan of Xymox. With that being said - what else is there?