An interesting new project from the Metropolis team combining various elements of original and modern Synthpop with that of the EBM sound is Monofader. Monofader is Sebastian Komor (Icon of Coil) and Richard Bjorklund (Spektralized). Promotions calls them a combination of Depeche Mode and Erasure gone EBM but in actuality it's much more than that however the main elements of those rather basic stereotypes do exist but are compiled in a manner which give Monofader it's on personalized 'sound'. Modern dance beats and melancholic melodies combine smoothly over a synthetic landscape from this great new project from Norway. Some of my favorites however are tracks that vear from the beaten path a bit more like "Stand Alone" (titled aptly) which reminds me just a touch of Chris & Cosey and "Solid Ground", the first track the duo recorded, which is closer to the EBM dancefloor sound but with the smoothed over vocals this project is known for. The overall sound is one that anyone who is a fan of the label A Different Drum would be proud of and I bet Todd wishes he had his hands on this one!

I continue to be intrigued as I watch the talents of Robert, Shannon, and friends. From the first time I heard Butterfly Messiah I knew they had a latent talent that would grow in time to be a force worth reckoning. While Priestess got them a bit of international acclaim, their new release Eternal positions them right alongside some of the top talents of today. Their new album combines Shannon's 'ethereal' vocals with Robert's new upscaled EBM-styled Darkwave. This is quite a jump from previous works but the likes of which was seen on the DJ Program.01 digipak released September of 2002 on their label The Fossil Dungeon. Fans of the band's more esoteric side will also NOT be let down either. This disc is full of mindful wisdom from the well of consciousness. Neo-pagans will take easy note of "The Circle" but I think one of my favorites has to be "Falling Stars". Butterfly creates an easy fusion of esoteric concepts with various music styles including EBM, Darkwave, Neo-Classical, Ethereal, Synthpop, Trip Hop, Wave, Medieval etc.. and are a band definitely worth a 'continued watchful eye'! Also, one can tell that Butterfly Messiah is a project that appreciates it's fans as the CD package is full of band photos, lyrics, etc., something too many artists skimp on these days. While it's understandable that we all have tight budgets Butterfly Messiah & The Fossil Dungeon always do their best to create merchandise packages well worth buying. This is what all those MP3 traders are missing out on - the true ART of the entire conceptual realization of 'the work' as opposed to just non-visual electronic media files. I've always been one to love holding the CD in my hand and reading the lyrics with the CD and/or viewing the inlay artwork, photos, and/or graphics. This is definitely one of the best releases I've seen this year so far!

Cyberpunk EBM at it's finest! Icon of Coil, who's last album I felt had tracks that could have easily been used in a Matrix movie, especially with the coinciding lyrical themes, has stepped it up one more level with an album cover that is very much reminiscient of The Matrix's human 'pod' farm. Machines Are Us is also the culmination of where Industrial music and sci-fi has been leading us since the 1980's finally arrived. From the themes of movies like The Terminator in which man makes machines that turn against them and all the controversy over artificial intelligence culminates into a sort of armageddon of metal and flesh. It's the same landscape pioneers like Front Line Assembly helped forge through the mindscapes of William Gibson and Philip K. Dick meeting in the combined forces of Electronic Body Music and biomechanical technology meet head on. This is one album that will pound dancefloors everywhere. So stomp those Dr. Martens in your sleekest black clothing. This is the music that the producers of The Matrix missed. Too bad for them but goths and industrialists worldwide will continue to know Icon of Coil as a dancefloor tour de force. This is the vision Front 242 saw when they first put on thier dark goggles and looked toward the future of industrial-dance music. This is quite simply music you cannot sit still to - you must move, and bounce, and romp, and dance!!

The new In Strict Confidence CD from Metropolis Records is a most unique and intriguing addition to the ISC catalogue. First the music, Great dark EBM with industrial and esoteric flavorings. "Eye of Heaven" begins the disc with harsh dark elements. The second track "Seven Lies" has a bit of an alternative rock feel to it. "Babylon" has a bit more of a FLA industrial feel to it with some standard German EBM overtones while "Closing Eyes" adds some excellent female vocals (Nadine Stelzer) and further impacts the 'cyber' feel of the musical compositions. One of the things I find interesting about the structure of the lyrics here is that each line (thought) is split between male and female vocals with one finishing the other's sentence. This is my favorite track for a possible dancefloor track on the release. "Heal" drops down to a more industrial atmospheric tone, harsh and heavy downtempo. The female vocals on "Emergency" (Antje Schultz) and "Sleepless" remind me a bit of Collide's kaRIN. "Another Night" has a bit of guitar a la KMFDM style while "No Love Will Heal" is a bit of a dancefloor twitch with ISC's signature sound. The most mediocre yet still very good track on the disc is probably "The Darkest Corridor" which also features Nadine on vocals. The only reason I say this is because this is the sound everyone is trying to copy these days it seems but ISC is one of the pioneers of it however they do much quite a bit different on the rest of the release. Lastly, Alpha Centauri is an instrumental piece which is over thirteen minutes long and begins rather ambiently and slowly builds with some aspects that remind me much of FLA at their best while still infusing new and interesting aspects of their own making including some synthetic 'hand drumming'. There is this one fuzzy bass synth sound that sounds much like a breath snort of some large beast. Now, what really struck me about this album aside from the excellent EBM stylings of ISC is the artwork and the overall compositions contained within this release. Oddly enough I received this CD only a couple weeks after beginning a CD project on my own label (Latex Records) using an Ancient Near East theme and hoping to prominently feature EBM and other electronic dancefloor music. The graphic layout on this disc features ancient Coptic script and a topless nun in a corset. The first track is "Eye of Heaven", relating to the Sun/God myths and the last is "Alpha Centauri", one of the most likely regions in our sky, according to astronomers, to sustain life in outer space. There is also a photo in the inlay which shows the 'nun' holding the head of a man wearing a crown of thorns, a crucified man, and other esoteric "clues". The entire lyrics are esoteric in origin as well. I found this all striking because I had thought my idea a bit original combining EBM w/ the esoteric doctrines of ancient origins yet here it was lain out in plain site by In Strict Confidence. An excellent album on all accounts; musically, vocally, lyrically, CD layout, and of course overall theme (which is many layered I might add)!

The latest by Aghast View is a club heavy EBM EP of dance tracks featuring a remix by the ever popular Funker Vogt. The first couple tracks are full-on EBM of top quality and track three (ClubBound) remix is a bit of heavy bass, deep trance mix which is great for after hours heavy dancing for when you just aren't ready to go home yet because you are 'in the zone'. The LastDrawn mix is a stomper. There is also a track on here called Aschentic which has some rather unique characteristics and great digital effects. A bit of a stomp heavy EBM dance floor pounder. All this is just a preliminary to their upcoming album that's still in the works along with more great mixes to look forward to.