This one frightened me in the beginning with "Overture", with the Nazi parade samples and Hitler speeches in the back. SKIP! The band is probably not fascist, but this one seems in some sense to push Nazism too far to the forefront. I doubt it, but still... .. Anywho, the CD as a whole seems very metal oriented, a far jump from their debut CD years back. I didn’t enjoy their debut all to much, but like many CDs from that time, if I listened to it now I’d probably enjoy it. Taste gathers over time you know! The Cd reminds me a good deal of "Herzeleicht" era Rammstein, a nice blast of industrial metal goodness, with some dance elements spruced in between. Their rage factor has also picked up, as well as the German songs. And no need to fear, non-Deutschsprechers, the German is kept very simple and anthemic, it’s not Das Ich’s complex German for sure. Good for fans of Rammstein and Oomph!, and for those just looking for a nice continuation to the German agro scene as of late. Rating: 9. Out May 20th by the way. I’m sure if you talk to the distributors nicely they may sell you copy sooner, or just talk to Music Nonstop about it.

After being introduced to Wolfsheim a couple of years ago via the Subout compilation, I started loving them immediately. But after buying ?Spectators’ and countless rounds of ?Kunstliche Welten" (Artificial Worlds) on my CD player, I sat wondering what would be in store on the next CD. More dance floor fillers like "Once In A Lifetime"? More ballads ala "Popkiller"? This one is a definite step forward, tossing away danceablility in favor of structure and disciplined playing, opting more for more subtle shifting sounds rather than the dynamic synth tour de force of past work. The way the synth patterns, along with bleeps and digital sounds, is one more to get your mind to dancing than your feet. And yes, classical "my baby hurt me" fare awaits, which normally I would complain about after 4 or 5 CDs of it, but it’s the one thing that can fit such music perfectly. "Kein Zuruch" is the high point here, an absolutely gorgeous song, with Peter’s vocals riding high and beautifully, using his charming style of German to carry just as much weight as the music itself. Their German songs always blow me back, such as "Kunstliche Welten" particularly their version with the Prague Philharmonic on the single. For those looking for another ?Spectators’ look elsewhere. For those looking for a group who may well carry the torch for a new generation of electro-pop, with an extraordinary sense of musical beauty, look no further than this CD. It is fucking marvelous, simply put, taking it's place with Alphaville's "Salvation" and Evil's Toy's "Silvertears" as one of my fave synthpop CDs. Rating: 10. If you can get your hands on a copy of the 2 disc copy of this CD, go for it! Also recommended are And One, Anything Box, Psyche, and of course Kraftwerk (to whom this is rather comparable).

Ok forget about Lush... .ummmmmm ok don’t forget about Lush, as they were the first ethereal band for me, and their music still wraps spells on me. But just keep it out of mind when listening to this. Never mind the ads and big neon signs in the store pointing at the CD "This has Emma Anderson From Lush!!", as this is something a good deal different, carrying Emma’s vision to somewhere completely different and divine. For one, Emma is on the sidelines on this one, orchestrating the music more instead of singing, leaving that to the sweet vocals of Lisa O’Niel, whose vocals remind me a bit of a better produced and versed Cranes or even the long missed and underrated Shallow. Even hardened non-pop fans will find her vocals as guiltily pleasurable as fat free feta cheese! And both work together divinely. Rather than the often driven music of Lush, this one is far more structured, offering Moog lines and even trumpets on the track "Far Away From Love". This CD also dabbles in hip hop beats on "I’ll Be" and back to pure ethereal pop goodness of yore with "Feels Like Summer". The video for it included with the domestic CD is quite nice, showing a myriad of scenes from what would seem like Cadeques, Spain or something like that. Also, on a side note, from the video Emma has gotten both more talented and beautiful with age, showing a torch in the world of often fading ethereal pop artists who come and go. And Lisa is quite beautiful herself, as well as very, very talented at the same time. Definitely recommended for fans of The Cranes, Chandeen and ethereal pop altogether, and for just sheerly gorgeous music in general. If you buy it expecting another Lush, you may just find that you’ve bumped into something different and in ways better. Away from Emma’s more bouncy energy with Lush comes a project that shows the even more mature side from one of music’s finest talents, as well as a welcome newcomer who is sure to grow and glow as time goes on. Rating: 10

Very mellow journey drawing the line between Gridlock’s synthy atmospheres, Cocteau Twins ambience (though the vocals are quite different) ala "Victorialand" and a tad bit like Frolic if Matt Chin got into some major tape experimentation. Aka a nice little mix! From the opening Atari reverb trancing along like a digital Alice In Wonderland theme (it kind of reminds me of some of the Atari usage in Gridlock’s "Further"), to the intricately placed sparse vocals seeping out like a rose vine climbing a plateau, the constraint is perfect. Everything is placed like a chef puts together gourmet deserts, with every detail placed just enough in the right places with nothing overdone. The drums are soft throbs and even at their hardest they are just plain trance-sounding, if not a tad danceable. I’d say my favorite tracks would have to be 5 and 6, "Ckaif" and "Juhl". Exactly what language is this though? It is Polish? Romanian? Though not one for moshing out and dancing to, it is a perfect relaxation CD and one great for reading to or just chilling to, like I’m doing now! Rating: 10. Also recommended are their appearance on the Projekt 100 compilation (Oh memories! Sob sob).

Goth metal/rock project from the vocalist of Sentenced (who in turn has a good bit of heavy goth sound to them), running a line between early Paradise Lost ala ?Icon’ and early Type O Negative a bit ala "Origins Of The Feces" (and women go gaga for Peter Steel after a title like that. Go fig!). The vocalist sounds very classically trained and quite bassy, singing along with dark organ lines and goth rock guitars alongside. My favorite track would be "The Exciter" with it’s smooth combo of groovy goth metal and cleverly placed synth lines contrasting it. The CD could stand to be a bit longer but it does stand pretty solid, especially in a field of cookie cutter Norwegian goth metal bands. Rating: 9.