Since this project hailing from Hamburg, Germany, received some well reactions with their contribution for the "Advanced Electronics Vol. 3" compilation ("The Protagonist", also on this CD available), the audience was waiting for a debut release. Signed to the fall of 2005, FADERHEAD are recording now under the flag of the German Accession-Records label. But also with the creation of a website there’s still a lot of mystery behind this act. Some might expect a typical 242 inspired EBM project regarding that "R23" copying guy - no info, no further names, no biography - so there’s still the question of what’s it all about. Old school EBM with hard and straight kick and snare work is surely one integrated music style on this debut release, but this not another NEP cloning rip-off. Parts out of other music styles are sparse included, but I would say that the global kind belongs more to minimalism. Simple constructed bass lines and synth parts concentrating on the essential - I must admit that I expected a bit more. Favorites can be named with the harder and danceable tracks like "O/H Scavenger" or "Burning / Dancing", and check also out the hidden track to the end. Surprises can be found in the lyrical content, FADERHEAD are one of the very few out of the genre which avoid to fill in that "Cyber-Death-Murder" pattern. This release features textures about the club life ("The Beat Has Started") and real love songs ("Melt Into Your Eyes") instead, plus there’s also a strange vocal performance called "Mattaku" in Chinese/Japanese or what-so-ever lyrics. Again - it is satisfying for a debut, but a bit more efforts to the music would work well.

Another fine and long awaited debut release out on the Russian/Hungarian Advoxya label. Like their label mates of SCHYZZO.COM, IMPACT PULSE could enter a lot of attention with their appearances on the last years’ compilation "Post Alcoholic Body Syndrome (Death) 1". On this Advoxya comp this band presented an own composition ("Without Fear"), a remix work for IMMUNOLOGY and a track with their Techno/Trance-based side-project NOTHING NADA. Musically this duo plays a refreshing style of modern EBM/Electro music, comparisons a re maybe possible with a mix between CUT.RATE.BOX and later FLA to their "Epitaph/Civilization" phase. The tracks are mostly straight and well danceable produced, also the melodic background fulfills all expectations ("Slaves To Forces", "Without Fear"... there could be easily named 4 – 5 tracks more...). Some tracks show a slight hint into the Futurepop genre ("Come", "Prince") by using lesser effects on the vocals. Also a beautiful female vocal performance is included, featuring Linda Deamon on the track "My World". Their side-project NOTHING NADA offered a remix for their outstanding track "Without Fear" throwing in a more smooth attitude – interesting version, but I definitively prefer the original. This Hungarian duo doesn’t show any flaws here and they are talented enough to play in the same league like the European acts. This is one of the best debut releases of the still young year 2006 – check it out, you can’t live without it. Amazing work!

Shame on me! the review of this 7" has been delayed 'till now...my record playerf was broken, I've been kidnapped by alines and many other bullshits. by the way better late than never. "Power noise is da shit!" here and it will rip your ears apart erasing that smile of every listener caugh off guard: the music is dead serious. The first side is a great noise-blast that will give an hard-on to all the fans of Masami "Merzbow" Akita and early Murizio Bianchi, a simple cover but a name that leave no misunderstanding: Onebomb>Onetarget, the message is clear. The first side of the 7" fills perfectly in the genre, thus you're gonna receive nothing but a pure noise-blast. On the b-side of this vinyl the sound terrorist changes the blend but while the noise matter is almost analogous, I can't say I appreciated the "power-noise meets electro-keyboard" thing, somehow the idea and the result are odd but it's all a bit misleading or maybe out of focus. Notwithstanding both of the songs, as I've already said, have a similar forge, but on a two track records it works quite well. That's an overall good release above all if that's a debut.

Active since mid 90s, Monoid is one of Martin Steinebach musical projects. In his first decade Monoid released two tapes, a couple of CD-Rs and several CDs ("Totalausfall" and "Schnittstellen" to name a few). CROWD CONTROL is his latest CD and it has been released by Ambassador 21’s Invasion Wreck Chords. I don’t know if you are updated about the political situation in Belarus (it seems that the political elections haven’t been really democratic and it seems that someone cheated) but you’ll realize just by looking at the cover of this CD that CROWD CONTROL seems to be the perfect soundtrack to the latest social news. Anyway... Talking about music, Monoid gathered in this release fourteen tracks where Martin tried to diversify the sound giving to some of them a rhythmic harsh industrial treatment and to the others a sound more based on distorted melody. In this way sonic assaults (see "Fall" or "Crowd control") duet with the primitive e.b.m. sound of "Crushcraze", "Firewall", "Software" and "Rote lippen".

Who's Daniel Lentz? judging "the book by the cover", ergo, by the high standard of the cd (plus a visit on his personal website), I guess this composer is in the midst of his composing-maturity. "On the leopard altar" begins with a contemporary composition that probably pays tribute to the minimalism-serialism of Steve Reich and Philip Glass, above all that's the impression given by the "loop effect" of the keyboards and vocals connection. If that association is for real when analyzing the first and the fourth track, the mood brings close to Glass' Koyaanisqatsi. "Lascaux" maintains an enchanted tone but the astonished listener is immediately forced into a minimal-ambient-"new age alike" (!?) environment...and don't worry, here "new age" doesn't stand for "relaxing and boring". Indeed the music is quiet but I'd say it goes much deeper sounding: "karma-relaxing" and therefore not just your average "after-work-music-to-calm-the-nerves-of -poor-white-upper-class-big-town-citizens". The title track has the shape of a real song, at last isn't it true that many minimalist composers speak about a common pop/folk root?. The requiem is really inspired, but it happens quite often when classic musicians deal with the "final departure" I don't know Debussy enough to say if it's true this music is so influenced by his works as they write, the only thing I know for sure is that the sound is contemporary for real. Giving a look at his personal website I've noticed Lentz's canvases paint rightly his music: warm, simple and relaxing.