This is a limited CD collection of live outtakes, remixes, covers, acoustic versions, and unreleased tracks by ThouShaltNot, known mainly for their unorthodox combinations of Noise, Darkwave, and Classical musical structures. The first track is a poundingly noise heavy version of “Without Faith”. This is followed by a dark industrial version of “Cracked”. Unfortunately I have not yet had the pleasure of hearing their debut self-titled release that this track comes from so I can’t make much of a comparison. The same applies for the other tracks from the same release; “Polarity” and “Crash”. The “Polarity” acoustic version is a guitar and vocal version. “We’re In This Together” is a cover of a Nine Inch Nails song from the The Fragile release. Their version is hard and heavy at times and very electronic while at other times softer and containing female vocals in the chorus. It even ends with an interesting acoustic guitar bit. My favorite parts of this are the female vocals and the acoustic ending however I don’t find this sounds anything like the original at all. I love the way they begin “The Weakness of Words” with acoustic guitar, almost Xymox-like, and seamlessly drop in the electronic beats. The version of “Crash” here is rather ambient with some electronic blips and bleeps and a touch of Noise influence in the distorted beats. This track drops right into a piano version of “In Hopes of Flight”. This is a very interesting acoustic performance. “Dying Boy” is a previously unreleased track and while it’s not a bad song it’s not one of my favorites on the album and one of two in which you can hear Alexx’s voice a bit more raw and with no effects. What I do really like about this track is the beat box part of it. The live version of “Without Faith” is actually ‘very’ raw and the track is sung to a somewhat different rhythm scheme than the original. I don’t really like this version much at all. Blackwater is a rather poetic interlude sort of track with more than a little effects on the vocals and heavy Noise beats but is only about a minute and a half long. This is followed by “Trench Warfare” which sounds like some old-school industrial rhythms mixed with orchestral pieces and hard vocals. Strangely “Scales On Scales” sounds familiar in regards to the vocal melody but I can’t figure why. Anyway the music for this piece is actually lounge-like and very nearly comical sounding. “Icepaper” is a 40 second track of a very mild ambient effect. This is followed by the David Bowie cover of “Within You” from the Labyrinth Soundtrack. ThouShaltNot’s version is actually darker than Bowie’s and more somber. It sounds almost like The Clan of Xymox in it’s general music structure complete with Cure-like guitar, electronic rhythms, electronic ambience and even a slight touch of what sounded like choral backing and moves into some hard and quick beat electronics. This is a very interesting and unique interpretation of this classic piece. What follows is a version of “S0ren Grey” which begins a bit simplistically; rim taps, backing ambience, and soft vocals. This changes as it becomes almost a hallow and somewhat haunting electronic ambient bit. “Pillbox Tales” begins with some electronic sounds much like mechanized hydraulics followed by a soft marching snare and soft bell-like tones. The beat slowly hardens but remains somber, a skill ThouShaltNot has perfected it seems. As with many of their songs they add short noise effects in this overall quiet track which somehow works to make the piece more contemplative. This track later drops into a very moving drum-n-bass rhythm. It seems this is actually a cover of a song by The Cure. Strangely I don’t remember this one as it seems to be a very limited release track from the 1986 version of Boy’s Don’t Cry and was featured only as a B-Side. At least that is as much as I’ve been able to find out about it so far. Thanks for making me do my homework on this one. It’s stuff like that that makes this industry more interesting at times. The next track is also one I like quite a bit, it’s an acoustic guitar version of “The Sting” originally from The Holiness of Now. The coda of “Cracked” is much harder, faster and heavier than the other version on this release. Now, nearing the end of the CD we have a cover of the Rolling Stones song “Paint It Black”. This is actually a live version with no overdubs and is really quite dark and actually used live drums instead of electronics and seems to have a minimum of electronics only as ambience. This version is sung with much passion. Lastly, and probably most amusingly, is a song called “If I Only Were A Goth” which is set to the music from The Wizard of Oz’s “If I Only Had A Heart”. This version however has lyrics like, “I’d be fitter, I’d be taller, go clubbing in my collar with skin pale as a moth. Dressed in black I’d go creeping when the normal folk are sleeping, if I only were a Goth. With my hair up I’d look fancy like Souixsie and the Banshees with silk or velvet cloth. Dressed in boots never sandals and the room would be lit with candles if I only were a Goth. Yes I’d want to die from the bottom of my heart impure. Would I like another clove well sure and after that we’ll go listen to The Cure.”. There are the usual vampire references and they manage to fit in the names of other well known people in the scene as well. This song reminds of something you’d expect by Voltaire and is quite hilarious. This album is an amazing collection of works by this rather new band to hit the scene and displays quite a bit more of their acoustic side as well. ThouShaltNot is a band with amazing versatility although there are a few times on this release where the vocals aren’t the cleanest but that’s because they were not studio productions so that fans and others can actually get a feel of what the band is capable of without all the electronics. They continue to astound me with their unique combinations of acoustic and electronic elements as well as both underground and classical forms of music. This is not the type of release I’d recommend for someone who is not at least a little familiar with the band or who are not sort of fans as there are many raw elements which would only cause others to become ‘very’ critical of them. Those people should stick to the studio releases like The Holiness of Now instead but for everyone else this is a very interesting bit of work with a few interesting surprises as well.

© Copyright 8/2001 TG Mondalf. All Rights Reserved

This project is a bondage themed industrial rock project which has such a hard edge sound it borders on punk, or rather goth-punk in some cases. I first heard of Spanking Machine (SM) from the Megatropolis 2001 compilation project from Cybortronik Media featuring “Evil Kitty”. The first advice I’d give to anyone listening to this for the first time, skip the first track on your first listen then listen to it later – it’s so noisy and hard edge an less structured than the rest that it may turn listeners away from the album before you can hear what they are about and get to the ‘meat’ of the album. The second track, “Discipline” would have made a much better first track with it’s grinding guitar riffs, punk-esque female vocals and rhythmic electronics and live drums. “The Push” is just too difficult as an introductory track but on later listens it fits perfectly with it’s nearly Berlin-like structure and hard analog synth sounds. “Fallen Angel” begins like a combination of hard elektro vs Kraftwerk and builds into a dark synth-rock structure. “Deathryde…” has some nearly metal guitar and some very heavy rock oriented rhythms. SM shows they can truly rock as well and reminds me of something akin to Lords of Acid or White Zombie. In contrast “Flesh Chamber” is very dark and melodramatic and has a nearly Christian Death feel to it. “Evil Kitty” is one of the obvious favorites on this album combining hard dark elektro and rock-n-roll with in-your-face sexuality. “Pleasurebound” is mostly composed of sampled bits and noises with a touch of piano in the intro to create a bizarre, dark yet ethereal start but with a very heavy rock main composition. Just say, “Yes Mistress”. “Wet Nightmare” reminds me of those sampled bits from White Zombie where they use grinding guitars, drums, and samples from things like old Batman episodes or 1950’s documentaries. The vocal samples here are all in reference to ‘wet’ dreams or nocturnal emissions. The ninth track, “Nazi Love Slave” continues their hard edge punk-industrial-rock feel while maintaining their strong BDSM and fetish themes. The final track, a “Deathryde” remix is very elektro based and features almost no rock or guitar elements and is more industrial feeling instead and even includes the heavy noise-buzz bass beat found in some EBM or Noise projects and an interesting vocal effect. This last track is great for Goth-Industrial nightclub play. Overall Spanking Machine brings many elements of several years of underground music and culture into one highly original combination and do it in a manner that lends both a well structured and produced sound as well as some rawer elements as well. Punk fuckin’ rock!

This 2002 release of Butt Boy seems to have a general theme of fairie bondage. The first track "Walz of the Imps" is supposed to be an obscene night forest dance of imps. Given this you can easily see how the music fits this as it is visual music much like "Night of Bald Mountain" is. This album already shares certain trademark sounds like the usual 'ahs' found on previous albums and various purcussion instruments such as xylephone and various bells and woods. "Riding Centaurs" slowly builds a pace until you are virtually 'galloping' musically.
"The Ritual of the Whip" takes on a wholey different pace and atmosphere and seems a bit more suspenseful with some minor bit of bass beats. There is one sound that travels the speakers so that you feel it is passing or circling you. Tension slowly builds in this track as does the overall composition. The fourth track also begins at a much calmer pace but then builds into a bizarre combination of thumps and growls. It's interesting at the least.
Track five uses some interesting sounds to begin with and the composition is a bit unorthodox but the following bassline is very casio-box to me. The concepts behind the music display the artists creative thinking - unfortunately the synth sounds used detract from the overall sound of the compositions. The best part I like on this track is the nearly orchestrated sound it builds into.
Hmmm, Succubi on a gay man's album? Okay if you say so! Personally I feel this composition is too light and floating to fit the presence of the succubi. Also, the militant snares don't fit the atmosphere either. The concept is interesting, the music track is okay but the two do not seem to match in this case, at least not to me. I think the ritual dance of the Satyrs may be something this artist would more likely associate with and the musical composition tends to imply the same in that I can feel more passion of the artist put into this one. Personally I think this is the best composition on this particular release.
The only thing I can say to the artist is invest in some new equipment. The compositions and concepts are very interesting but sometimes get lost in the nearly 'video-game-like' sounds which many of the currently used synths for these compositions have. I also like the 'Conundrum' release better than this one as this one has too much of what I would consider standard 'factory' keyboard style, technique and sound to it.

First off the alias of the artist/composer Butt Boy is enough to make most straight men cringe. However the name is chosen simply because the artist writes music for what he calls "head-trip sex" and the composer is also an openly gay male in the BDSM, bondage, scene. First I'll say that personally I think a more tactful name should be chosen for this music project as the name itself drastically limits the audience and the music is not specifically something that only gay men or even fans of the bondage scene can enjoy. Of course the only reason I've ever heard of him is I use to live in Dallas Texas and while traversing local shops for fetish gear ran across his CDs which were described to me as a sort of cinematic industrial. I never did work up the nerve to bring a Butt Boy CD to the counter or even have one sitting around my massive CD collection as my friends would ask too many obvious questions. As silly as it is, and as confident in my own heterosexuality, I was 'afraid' to own a Butt Boy CD.
Well, now that I'm doing reviews and my curiosity was piqued, I was reminded of this music by my recent exposure to Robert Lloyd Anderson. Thus, I contacted Butt Boy in hopes of finally finding out what this was all about and maybe helping another independent artist further their musical success.
First off, the music is very interesting even though a bit simplistic at times. It reminds me of electronic New Age combined with a bit of Industrial and sometimes even Gothic influence. The first track is very airy sounding with lots of sampled choral 'ahs' and is very much like some early New Age I've heard though I can't place the artist now. Much like the music on those computer animation compilations set to music called "The Mind's Eye" series. The second track reminds me of a halloween album I've heard called "Music For Your Nightmare" which was all original compositions on synth. It has a feel of suspense and the sound of an early 1990's video game. The third track becomes a bit more dark and has a rather organ-like sound, like a gothic vampire playing dance music. I specifically like the bottle bells and deep 'ahs' here. Track four is very interesting and reminds me a bit of bands like Die Form and Chris & Cosey minus lyrics and a bit more light in texture. Track five has a deep 'umpa' sound that is interesting, almost carnival like but this would be a Killer Klown carnival. The final track, all nameless, is much more tempered and ambient in origin and ever so slightly reminds me of the general feel created by the works of Midnight Syndicate only a different style of music.
This album has some interesting beats, grooves, and atmospheres. It tends to be a bit simplistic and reminiscient of video game music at times. There is also a bit of an overuse of some sounds like bottle bells and 'ahs' are very often used - sounds that anyone with an inexpensive keyboard can easily concoct. At times the synths sound a bit outdated as well - sort of Casio-like. However, it sounds like the composer is simply doing the best he can with what is available and/or affordable and at that the compositions themselves can easily stand alone. Sometimes the unobtrusiveness and simplicity of the track simply lends more to the stimulated imagination making this music very likely quite suitable for it's purpose.
If the project name were changed to something for a more general audience and if the synth sounds are updated slightly this composer could easily gain a worthy amount of recognition. Overall it is not bad work and a worthy listen and I'd be curious to follow what he will do next.

First off, this album is better than their last release. I've been dreading doing this review because I don't know how I can be nice about some of what I have to say. However, there is something about The Chaos Engine that I have a hard time getting past. It's as if they are trying to be both pop and underground at the same time and thus becoming part of the very media garbage they seem to be against. With statements like "the only thing for sure is that each and every song will have more pop hooks than Britney Spears entire recorded output and yet still pack enough finely honed rage to give your parents nightmares for months" are such contradictions that one can only look at them as being as pretentious as Sigue Sigue Sputnik. With that being said "Me & My Army" really does sound like a pop song with a bit more aggressive electronics and guitars than would be the norm. They combine elements of Industrial, Techno, and Rock with pop-like hooks to create their main song structure. A bizarre combination indeed but one that I don't believe would ever entice true underground music fans. Maybe pop culture fans of bands like Korn, Stained, etc.. but not the industrial crowd. Sadly(?), they won't get the pop crowd either because of the heavy use of electronics. Basically they are a group that tries to be both Punk and Pop at the same time - like P.I.L.
Now, I said this album is better than the last and it is true that it is much easier to listen to but is not the sort of thing that would sit on my preferred listening shelf. However, anything that does not have an industrial-techno cover of the fucking "Barbie Girl" song has to be better than the last album! The bands singer has a voice which reminds me of Howard Jones, of whom I do like, mixed with elements of industrial and other electronic music plus sampled guitar hooks and songs like "Nerve Opera" are very listenable and not bad at all. It's the overall product of the band that grates my nerves. If some of the songs on this album were taken and put somewhere else not associated with the pretentiousness of The Chaos Engine and given another name then it would be a good product to sell and a decent album to listen to and people might actually get into it. Instead the combination and media statement made for promotional purposes on behalf of the project come off as nothing short of cheesy, pretentious, crap!
Maybe it's just me but the band simply needs a new image or they need to boost up the level of cheese and pretentiousness to make it very catty instead. Sigue Sigue Sputnik were at least interesting and they didn't play half as well as The Chaos Engine. This band comes off too much as hypocritical in my book but maybe I'm just not getting the joke somewhere. In order to pull off something like that you better sound damn great! I've tried to find the witty or humourous side to this band and I just can't find it. Maybe it's just a type of humour I don't get or maybe they really are seriously pretentious hypocritical twits!