Call me behind the times or just balancing way too much band wise, but this is my first time hearing this established and accomplished group. The vocals Of Dara Rosenwasser are sheer genius, like a line somewhere between Jarboe circa The Swan’s "World Of Skin" and the vocalist of Mira (Gina I think her name is. Really tall and nice person in person by the way!). They emit that sense of cold atmosphere that seems to have an aura of warm and comfort inside of it as well, the true definition of melancholy. The guitar work of Eric Cooley gives it a soft gossamer to crawl on like a spider crawling across it’s web on a summer’s rainy day. The drumming reminds me a bit of Opeth’s jazz-style drumming, very controlled and never clattering at all. Everything on here perks with a certain sense of balance and grace, able to pull off many elements that others make look very corny indeed. To me, it’s hard to pick a highlight from such a CD, but if I would have to choose I’d have to say "Dyslexia", "In Between The Folds" and the dance remix of "She’s Got A Halo". Another brilliant CD in the Projekt roster, but his time a little more so than usual. Definitely recommended for fans of later era Slowdive, Mira or the classic sound of 4AD. Rating:10. BTW, I’m doing an interview with the group as we speak, so I’ll keep you posted in the meantime. :-)

With my recent emergence back into metal (not fully of course!), the first two tracks "Bait And Switch" and "Srendi Vashtar" got me to head banging a bit! Who ever thought I’d headbang to Faith And The Muse?! Those two are somewhere between ethereal and thrash metal a little bit, like Testament (minus some of the big riffs) with some of the best damn ethereal vocals this side of the Rio Grande. This CD is overall a mix of styles, with everything from their Flaminco-driven goth rock textures to trance to metal/rock elements. This group has always been a rather large ink blot on the face of a bland, overly marketed yellow canvas of an ethereal scene. And reading the interviews with them they are some very intelligent people as well as intelligent musicians. For those who are wanting something a little more daring in their ethereal and goth rock, rather than the same old divas belting out Cocteau Twins covers over and over. Rating: 10. Also recommended would be Rhea’s Obsession, anything by them.

From the crew that gave us Funker Vogt and Ravenous (no not the black metal band!), comes their third side-project and it’s second release. The first one from Fictional to me wasn’t all that great, nor really showed off any of Ravenous’ or Funker Vogt’s mastery of the digital keyboard (though I think F.V. for the most part is rather redundant, they do have some definite high points). But this CD combines their recently found love of synthpop with their trademark techno/EBM sound, all topped with a very strange sort of futuristic pop. One of the ones that really got me to scratching my head was "The Weatherman", which is a great song, but rather... ... ... ... ... .bizarre. It’s basically about a intergalactic figure who controls weather, crossing that element with that of a debonair character in love. "Dorian Grey" is another one that kinda confuses me on the storyline idea, but the music is as interesting and melodic as it is bizarre. The opening part starts with a (yet again) futuristic Transylvanian style organ line, and a steady bass line carrying it on the way through. "IntenCity" sounds like a sort of, well... ... ... Frankie Goes To Hollywood in the 30th Century floating around on a space station (well, minus the gay connotation), with some of the best digital keyboard work seen in some time. The crew behind all this makes fine art of out of one of the biggest musical taboos of our time: Digital keyboards and digital sequencing. I doubt this would sound nearly the same if it were done on analog equipment at all. "Voyager" is another high point on the CD (overall, it has no apparent weak spots), with it’s stomping bass-drum line and thick vocoder use, set on the choir boy voice of Jason Bainbridge (who I believe also does the vocals for Ravenous). If I were to make any comparison of this group to another, I’d have to say "Silvertears" era Evil’s Toy, a little bit of Ravenous, Cleen, and SPOCK. If you’re into the whole futuristic pop/electro-pop thing like me, this one should be right up your alley. But do expect a little something more than ballads and ditty little pop songs, as there is a strong story and theme to this whole CD, as well as some great musical oddities. Anyone who sings about causing literally a thunderstorm in someone’s brain and love at the same time has definitely got something strange and captivating going on. Rating: 10. Also recommended are Cleen’s "Second Path", Ravenous’ "Phoenix" and Evil’s Toy’s "Silvertears".

EBM has become a very misinterpreted term these days, with Future Pop monstrosities (you know who you are!) lumbering about under the guise of EBM and the market hysteria around it. But this band, hailing from war-torn Tel Aviv (Israel), brings about a new energy and brings us back to the true definition of EBM: driving techno beats lined with organic industrial drumming (kinda like Crocodile Shop), sharply done trance-synth lines, and those classically trancey, droning vocals. The lyrics are very enigmatic but very clear as to their meaning, such as "War", giving us the general idea what they are expressing without being bland nor vapid about it. Every track is simply energy defined, with a shot of pure emotion shining through. It sounds pretty much like the group Assemblage 23 wish they were, but could never come anywhere close to being (no insult intended, as Tom is a very nice guy!). As the first band of this kind from Israel, I’m becoming rather certain this scene and band (along with Mexico) could easily give Germany a run for it’s money very soon. Rating: 10

Listening to this Cd, I’m reminded of Haujobb’s "99". No, no drum and bass, minimalized techno, or anything of that nature. But think of the hidden track with all the sound effects cut into sections. This does not so much go as a set of structured songs as it does a sound museum, and quite an interesting one at that. Long sets of blips and recorded sound blend in together, creating some very interesting soundscapes that would make any sampler’s wet dream come true. A little more structure would do this CD a little better, but once you really get in tune with the sound of the work, it grows on you. Also, such is the main principle with minimalism: to let each sound carry it’s own weight rather than being put into a blender and submerged. And thinking on this guy's symphonic record and live shows, this would make a very interesting piece on the Arts Channel or even on Bravo. Rating: 8. Also recommended is Coil’s "Worship The Glitch" and their earlier works.