BETA is a one-man project hailing from Anaheim, CA, consisting of Ian Velasquez and he presents us here his first official CD out on BLC Productions. We have here an album full of hard and almost danceable Dark Techno/Electro music but surprisingly without any vocals. I personally expected that this would be the biggest flaw at all, to release a 78:00 min long intrumental album, but my judgement was wrong. Really true, this is Dark Electro full of refreshing ideas, innovative programming and a huge amount of uncountable noises, effects and samples. This is somewhat innovative and I haven't heard this before for a long time. If I should give you a hint how it sounds, I would take DISMANTLED combined with later NOISE UNIT for a comparison. Outstanding tracks can be rich found here, "Heretic", "Vengeance" or "Splintered" will give you enough food to set fire on the dancefloors, while tracks like "Absolution", "Fait Accompli" and "Escape" are slower and designed for your mind. Adding to this ten original tracks four remix works by well known bands like SCHATTENSCHLAG, AGONOIZE, IMPLANT and SKOYZ. Another outstanding point is the excellent graphically manipulation done by no one else than Wilhelm Steiner, the Deaddreamer (www.deadreamer.com). This is a marvelous release which should be purchased immediately.

23 EXTACY is a mutual project out from the Salt Lake City area consisting of Chris Alvarado and Kevin J. Cazier (LITTLE SAP DUNGEON or his solo effort PERCEPTION CLEANSE PERCEPTION). They play a kind of Hardcore-Electro-Metal with some rather chaotic ingredients as well and they do release here their second full-length CD. The whole music is almost guitar-driven combined with some nice Dark Electro sequences and with some brutal vocal efforts. The song structures are hard-banging with full speed, it awakes here and there some chaotic Punk attitudes. This is surely not the soundtrack to float away in a fairytale, no, it doesn’t take any prisoners. Personaly I like of course the more Electro-driven pieces like "Kill a DJ" or "Rise and Fall" but also this tracks are pretty much in the globally mentioned style. Remarkable – and with a funny hint – is the hardcore cover version of DIVINE’s "I’m so Beatiful", an Italian disco icon from the Eighties who died in the meantime (can anybody remember the original song?). If you feel you need to rinse your brain with some acid you should give this piece a try at first. Released out on Kevin J Cazier’s label Dungeon-Recordings, check also out the entirely DSBP catalogue.

Another debut out on BLC Productions, but for this band hailing from France it is already the second full-length CD after the own released "Yell of Fright" CD (distributed and co-released in Europe by Pandemonium in 2003). OBSZÖN GESCHÖPF, so the German band name, translated it means "obscene creature", consists of Remzi Kellici and he presents on this album his kind of Dark Electro/EBM music. The band name and several names from the track list like "Face of Swine", "Strip of Flesh", "Hate and Despair" or "Dead Christ" will give you a hint of what kind of music you can expect here. Thematically based on crimes, sex, horror/splatter and all black chapters of human being, Remzi plays a somewhat old-fashioned minimal Electro music with some similarities to SUICIDE COMMANDO’s first works like "Critical Stage" or earlier combined with some more steady EBM-influenced baselines. Adding to this some raw sawtooth sequencer works and rarely included strange Alien-like vocal performances which give some tracks a binding hypnotizing approach ("Resist" or "Fright Night"). This is surely not new or in any case something innovative - but it has an own charismatic feeling. It cannot be compared with the often and over-polluted "We sound like SC/Tactical Sekt-attitude" where too much bands are trying to copy simply the mentioned acts – no, this has a more classic touch and also the sounds of this have an analogue edge. Outstanding tracks to my taste are the both dancefloor stompers "War" and "Dead Christ", on the more hypnotizing kind of this band I would recommend the already mentioned "Resist". If you look for the real dark and sick EBM with a nostalgic touch you can’t go wrong with the OBSZÖN GESCHÖPF. Keep on your style, Remzi!

Maybe this can be called to be the comeback of the year? Right on, FEKTION FEKLER have made their good name in the world wide Electro/Industrial scene lately 6 years ago with their last CD "Kling Klang Bedlam", released in Europe through Out Of Line, in the United States under the flag of the now defunct Pendragon Records. After this there was a long time in silence and nobody did really know what happened. And now they are back, this time under the flag of the polish Black Flames Records and this new CD "Into the Sun" is a real time journey back. The style of the compositions is still the same, the vocals have their rich and sometimes dramatically influence like before, the drum and percussion work is just like usual, yes and also the sounds can easily recognized as the ones done by FEKTION FEKLER. This means that the music of this band hasn’t received any new addition, the whole increasing technology especially in case of soft synths, VST, software samplers and so on seems to have no entrance in music of the glorious brothers Robert and John Bustamante. Or in other words: FEKTION FEKLER still know how they want to sound. Like it or not but this CD has a lot of good points and features which stand out, it is alive, it varies a lot in styles and it has – as usual for a FEKTION FEKLER CD – its own identity. Maybe their music is not conform with the typical Electro/Indus stuff and also some outstanding tracks are hard to find here but again – who cares? FEKTION FEKLER remain themselves and if you like their previous works then you must have also "Into the Sun". Enjoy it as a whole album, as a floating unit.

Highly chart positions at the Metropolis sales, licensed from Warner Bros. for a participation on a Matrix DVD set – well, a lot of success for an almost new band with their first official debut full-length CD, if we don’t count their self-produced "Refractions: Remixes in a Different Light" to be this. Hailing from Cleveland, Ohio, this three-man project has earned a lot of praise in advance and with this "Codebreaker" they proof easily that all the fine words about all their previous works and compilation appearances are well deserved. Mainly based on danceable EBM/Electro themes they give the listener a wide amount of new sounds, strong distorted but enjoyable vocal impressions and a steady rhythm work which will let your feet bleed! It’s nice to see (and to hear) that they did not forget to include their excellent ability to create fantastic melodic layers in their tracks, "System Sabotage", "Everything’s a Lie" or the more slower piece "Skeletal", which awakes some PUPPYan reminiscence, are here to mention. My personal favorite is "Nightcrawler", also slow and nearly in the same way like "Skeletal" because it features all the good points in UV’s music in one track. Two remix works taken from their "Refractions: Remixes in a Different Light" did also find their way on this CD, "Skeletal" by TEXT BLEAK and – more interesting – a RAZED IN BLACK remix of "Dementia" which pushes the speed of this track from normally 110 to 144 bpm. "Codebreaker" is a fine and well produced full-length CD with more than 70 minutes full scale Electro/Industrial, which works for the brain as well as for dancefloor action. One of the favorites for the "Best album in 2004" contest!