This is actually a review based on the demo copy I received from WTII Records and not the full release. The demo has 7 tracks on it which are tracks 06, 01, 02, & 03 from Disc 1 and 05, 03, & 12 from Disc 2 in that order. I had not had the chance to hear Beborn Beton before but the name had passed by me once before last year sometime and I was very excited to finally get the chance to hear what the rave was about.
The first track "Life Is A Distance" begins with a slightly Voltaire like combination of strings and electronics but is very very smooth. The vocals are also very well performed and overall while this could be a darkpop song it is very catchy. However, the very next track "Another World" has become an instant all-time favorite of mine. This song has a very strong and very well produced Synthpop feel but with a darker edge to it. It's a very danceable track and the lyrics are nothing short of haunting and ring like the words of someone who has 'crossed over'. The lyrics begin something like: "There is no use in dying when still I seem to be undone. There is no use in trying to find again the love of someone. Why have I gone and come so far when I've been headed nowhere. I have been walking quite a while love, feeling lonesome." The chorus continues: "Don't you worry, they won't find my body. I want you to know I found peace in another world. Don't keep digging, I want you to leave back away from the place where my ashes are buried." And all of this set to dance music! Anyway, it reminded me of circumstances like that portrayed in the story of James Van Praagh which aired on TV awhile back in which he communicate with spirits. I've always found topics like this and movies like The Sixth Sense very interesting and putting a piece so nicely produced to great dance music with a bit of Synthpop and maybe even EBM influence is really great.
Every song on this little demo is simply awesome. "The Colour of Love" is like a more modernized version of New Wave with a harder edge to it but with all the European smoothness of Modern English. "Poison 2002" is more EBM influenced but with a solid song structure. I just can't get over this guy's voice not to mention the music. "Im Innern einer Frau" utilizes a more techno-ebm combination and it's all in German and I can't quite catch all of it as my German is 'nicht so gut' but the title roughly translates as "In the inside of a woman". There is also a synth effect they use on one of the backing vocals which is sort of buglike in the sense of the bugs in Nightmare Before Christmas when Oogie Boogie gets unravelled. There is a very cool remix of "Another World" by Apoptygma Berzerk which I think surpasses much of their own work. It's more dance/club oriented and less EBM but they created a harmony to the chorus track using effects on the vocals which is pretty amazing sounding and adds an interesting touch to the track. Lastly, there is "Peach" remixed by Cut Rate Box. This is a very dark sounding track but not without the strength of technology which all of Beborn Beton's work seems to have.
I think I found a new favorite! I can't wait to hear the full release of this album as well as more of Beborn Beton. If you are a fan of either Synthpop, EBM, or just good dance music this is an absolute MUST. I've had this demo for quite a long time now, about a month and half I think, debating whether I should write a review on this fragment of the release or not. It has barely left my CD player since. This fact alone has convinced me that I had to write this review because people simply NEED to know about Beborn Beton's music.

This is a club heavy collection of Psyche tracks and remixes including a remix of "Goodbye Horses". The first track on this release to grab my attention is "Memento" which starts out with a Depeche Mode like bass grind. It's got a nice groove to it and a dark synthpop feel to it combined with the smooth vocal harmonies Psyche are known for. The mix of "The Hiding Place" on this disc is doen by Massiv In Mensch with the influence of the bouncey dance beats with heavy technology and slight trance feel like their latest album Die Rein. This is a very nice track indeed as it features two of ArtOfFact Records top bands coming together. The first mix of Renegades sounds like a live mix (or at least it has lots of crowd noise on the intro). It's begins with piano but quickly moves into a thumping deep dub rhythm.
The track I found most interesting is the Tokyo Club Mix of "Goodbye Horses" as the original had some interesting melodies but this club mix takes the song to a completely new level. There's just something about the beat of that single that screams gay disco but I love it anyway.
Dropping the pace quite a bit and modifying the overall tone and structure the song "Eleven" reminds me of Art of Noise when ambient. That's the only way I know how to explain it. It has that same pipe-like sound combined with ambient piano and environmental textures. A beautiful piece! This is probably my next favorite next to "Goodbye Horses" though they change the entire song about midway through as it evolves into a much more upbeat rhythm and percussion thing with a choral sound added in then replaced by a nearly standard techno drive. This is a very intersting mix of styles and textures and completely unexpected. I like surprises (5 points guys).
The original version of "Damaged Soul" I think is clear enough and outshines the mixes. Lastly, I don't know what that synth effect is on "Prisoner To Desire" but I love it. The vocals at the beginning sound so 1980's though. Of course it was done in 1987 but included here anyway so I guess it's forgiven as it is still interesting if not a bit confusing.

While Massiv In Mensch virtually exploded on the scene with their ArtOfFact debut Belestandes Material whose trademark sound was hard industrial with high energy rhythms and harsh vocals, this release is much less harsh. With Die Rein they have taken a bit more of a turn which encompasses synthpop while maintaining their hard and heavy attitude toward club oriented dance tracks with a lessened focus on the harsh and industrial sound. There is still quite a bit of heavy rhythmic thumps, pounds and clanks but not as much as before. This album also seems to have a bit more of a focus on the instrumental track and an almost hardbeat trance influence from time to time. They have maintained high energy without a doubt and are showing some versatility which is always good but I do miss the nearly gutteral German vocals. This album is more likely to be more compatible for a wider range of late night dance club play. While this is more focused on dance music it still remains atypical of the usual genres of dance music, techno, and trance.
One of my favorite tracks on the disc is "Mein Erstes Bonbon" which translates as My First Drop. It is, like much of the album, an unusual marriage of techno, trance, synthpop and industrial rhythms. The only thing I don't like about it is that it begins using some traditions rave sounds. There is even a track titled after the band which sounds like Prodigy's original style in many ways - the orchestral slams and hyper-rhythms. The only track with a bit more vocal and the only with female vocals (I think) is "Endorph-Fusion vs. Reiner's Festung" and is the only track which sounds a bit more like the first album. "Schneiders Sphaere" is a very smooth track too and is one of the best on the disc along with "Entferner" - all very different tracks.
While this is a great album by itself I miss the vocal combination from the previous album and prefer less techno influence. I do however like the exploitation of variance from the original album to display that the band is not just one sound and one style but can play different forms of music.

© Copyright 8/2002 TG Mondalf. All Rights Reserved

This is the debut solo project from Dark Muse (aka Phyll Smith of Eyescream Jewelry known for her unique one of a kind, hand-made jewelry). This is an audio journey into very dark ambient, minimalistic, ethereal music. It has a very otherworldly quality like the works of Robert Rich, Steve Roach and Patrick O'Hearn - all ambient electronic artists but also a very dark ethereal muse like quality and is thus very aptly named. The overal quality of her work is simply haunting. She states, "I have been creating sounds with voice, all my life & approach vocals in sound with pure emotion & raw power of experimentation ... While using my voice as an instrument, I am able to manifest textures & layers of patterns with depth.", and this is the secret to her sound. The only other dark muse I've heard who does this is Diamanda Galas but Dark Muse is not the harsh violence of Diamanda but the soft and darkly flowing haunting sounds of the siren call. I'm so impressed with this debut release that it's hard to believe this is a debut at all. However, it is obvious that there lies years of talent which has been awaiting the moment of release from this individual.
I simply am not aware of any other music, art, or singing like it. Completely original and extremely experimental yet with a strong sense of professionalism. Her vocals layer in such intricate ways that it will take several listens to sort them out. That combined with the ambient and experimental electronics create a force which has the feel of primal subconscious energy. If you like ambient, ethereal, or gothic of any type I would highly suggest you give this a listen as there are no comparisons.

© Copyright 8/2002 TG Mondalf. All Rights Reserved

Butterfly Messiah are an amazing duo from Tampa whose music combines strong Darkwave and Ethereal elements with Industrial and dance music to create an otherworldy and dark sound. The members are also openly pagan and their views are evident in their music as well. The CD is, I think, the first official release by the band released on Fossil Dungeon. The CD jewel case has a silver mirror like look to the inside where the disc sits as does the disc itself and a beautiful yet dark insert booklet complete with band photos and lyrics.
From the first time I heard Butterfly Messiah as was at least as impressed with them as I was The Changelings except their music also combined cold electronics with lush ethereal qualities and dark spirituality. This release opens with a track from their demo EP Synthesis called "Land Beneath the Waves" but this is the only previous track you'll find on this release that I am aware of. All the other tracks are brand new for this CD however the first track does sound a bit cleaned up in the studio.
"The Wicked" begins with industrial-like twitch beats and a brooding bassline. Shannon layers her Projekt-like ethereal vocals on top of the mixture. The chorus is a combination of whispers and what almost sounds like taunting. This is just a sample of the combination of sounds you'll hear with Butterfly Messiah. "Introspection" has a sort of funky beat but the backing effect is a breathy vocal chantlike sample. Here Shannon trades the vocal spotlight with Robert who performs more of the harsher bits while Shannon blends in almost ghostlike later in the track.
Butterfly Messiah are the first band I've heard to successfully combine the softer elements of Ethereal based music with the harder beat oriented elements of industrial. "Visitor" is an excellent track with a distinct Gothic Rock feel to it while "Ring The Bells" begins with an almost old Cabaret Voltaire feel to it which soon turns into an electric guitar buzz more cold and hard than Christian Death. However one of my favorite tracks is "Eternal Undone", a song with a definite pagan theme. Robert's vocals are hard and cold - nearly mechanical - while Shannon sings beautifully muse-like, element in contrast holding successful union of rhythm and timbre. The changes in this song are very interesting as well - sometimes very cold while at others very ghostlike and dreamy.
Shannons layered recordings of her singing on "When Autumn to Winter Resigns" has a very madrigal effect to it and sounds much like it was recorded in a wide, empty chamber. "Reverie" is more of a smooth guitar and synth piece with vocals that has a very This Mortal Coil sound to it.
Butterfly Messiah continue to be a band that I have strong desire to watch their career and they have proven that good music really can get it's start on MP3.com and make it's way to a decent label.

© Copyright 8/2002 TG Mondalf. All Rights Reserved