Good old fashioned aggro metal in the trash vein as usual here, kind of along the lines of Ministry, but not as heavy. They could have stepped up the electronics a bit, but the mix between the electronics and the guitars is purposely the scope of miniamlism, so it works out fine. For those more into the pure electronic sound go for The Fair Sex,their side project. My favorite track on this one is "White Skinned Heroin" the opening track to the CD. Good CD for those longing for the days of old school aggro-industrial before the onslaught of NIN clones took over the scene. Rating: 8.

Remember the "Projekt:100" compo? Well this is very much in the same vein for those looking into Projekt’s sound or getting introduced into ethereal-darkwave. This also includes Unto Ashe's unreleased "Don't Fear The Reaper". I still say go for Projekt 100, but hell, they’re both inexpensive so try both.Rating: 8. Also recommended is Projekt’s "Across This Grey Land" and their new one "The Arbitrary Width of Shadows".
Sadly it's only available at Hot Topics, that god awful excuse for a store. Get the CD then torch the place!

Pure all out reverb and feedback noise here. But one bad note is the lack of pitch and shift here, which leaves noises on the CD kind of like a long drawn out drone, like track 2 for example. Running these atmospheres through distortion could make them a bit better, and some sense of pitch would do it even better. Tracks like "A Twist A Turn" though are good examples of their minimalist edge, incorporating the snap bassline ala Coil’s "Worship The Glitch". Also the enigmatically titled "{... ... ... ... ..}" has a good flowing effect. The artwork you can tell was done by hand, with blotches of silver and black ink dotting the vellum lined CD liner notes. Rating: 6. Give these guys some time though, and I think their sense of melody will start to kick in, giving their distinctly minimal sound a bit more of an edge. A lot of noise groups start like this, so it’s understandable. I love the name of the label by the way too! Go quick too there are only 30 copies of this I just found out!

OK, on a personal side note before the review... ... ... ... .. We have almost all either experienced cancer or someone who has gone through it. And anyone who has seen either can tell you the biggest burden oftentimes is the financial costs that lie underneath for treatment and radiation, often leaving the patients dangling between being cured and being left homeless. This CD is a charity to help the Minnesota Oncology Hematology Foundation, a foundation which helps patients of cancer maintain a normal life while going through the treatments. The girl on the cover was saved by the foundation from homelessness and certain death. And she is stunning to put it simply, and she is beyond gorgeous! Any person would would leave her homeless must be made of stone.
On to the music now! The CD starts off with none other than Black Tape For A Blue Girl and their track "Kinski" named after the infamous actor Klaus Kinski (don’t ask me the connection I’d like to know myself!), who happens to be my fave actor. After seeing Mira in concert and hanging out with the guys, I’ve opened up a lot more to their music after being curious for a while. "Open In Silence" seems to toss away any Slowdive comparisons and is a mark of maturity to me. Audra is a band that’s growing and to me still is to reach their potential. The new CD seems a step in the right direction. By the next CD I guarantee you may just see a milestone in the goth scene, which dearly needs it. I like their new-found narrative lyrical style, though. Now onto Voltaire’s "Vampire Club"! Needless to say I fucking love this track and is a great spoof much of the goth club scene needs! I love this guy’s humor too, very Johanne Vasquez style. Some of the other highlight’s include LoveSpirals and Unto Ashes (two fun bands to interview),with some familiar tracks. I also have fallen in love with Mors Syphilitica, but this is the only other song I’ve ever heard people play in clubs and on compos. The lady singer’s voice is pure heaven, floating between operatic and ethereal without falling into the usual "I’m gonna hit the high notes like Liz Frazier" trap. And the guitar just smooth and gliding, very silky and mixing with the vocals perfectly. They are definitely going on my X-Mas list this year!
Good CD, good cause, in short. And this association may well end up helping you or someone you love one day, and plus it’s a good intro to the Projekt style of music. Plus at 3.95 what better are you going to buy? If you want to make a donation directly to the society, the address is: The Minnesota Oncology Hematology Foundation,405 Piper Building,800 East 28th Street,Minneapolis,MN 55407.
For further info call Margie Sborov at 1-612-863-8751.

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!