Telegrammetry and Hypervoxx Recordings-REVIEWS

Telegrammetry ~ Hypervoxx ~ Buzzenbark Recordings

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THE REVIEWS

Wie gut, dass es noch Bands wie die Spanier Gradual Hate gibt, die sich mit ihrem düsteren Endzeit-Electro ganz in der Tradition der frühen In Strict Confidence, Yelworcs oder Hocicos sehen, anstatt mit bis zum Aufschlag aufgedrehtem Verzerrer die nächste Hellectro-Sensation zu mimen. Die dreizehn Stücke von „Asphyxiated World", in lyrischer Hinsicht eine erschütternde Bestandsaufnahme unserer Gesellschaft, sind musikalisch die reinste Offenbarung, denn die vermeintliche Leichtigkeit, mit der Gradual Hate sich hier einen potentiellen Clubhit nach dem nächsten aus dem Ärmel schütteln, ist beinahe schon beängstigend. Und dies, ohne dass Gradual Hate sich kommerziell anbiedern würden oder in stumpfen Songwriting-Schemata verlieren würden. Tracks wie „Weakness Man" oder „Dancing On Ruins" gehen gut ins Ohr, vor allem aber auch ins Bein und wissen mit unbändiger Spielfreude zu beeindrucken. Die düstere Atmosphäre des Albums spiegelt dann auch das Image einer strangulierten Welt wieder, die sich in ihren letzten Zuckungen windet, so dass „Asphyxiated World" in seiner Gesamtheit ein wirklich hervorragendes und vor allem zeitloses Album darstellt

The Spanish duo Gradual Hate makes dark electro EBM and Asphyxiated World is their debut album. They perfectly fit in the current club centred generic dark electro trend with tracks like ‘Suicide’ and ‘Wind’. Furthermore Gradual Hate takes the familiar approach, with mostly, distorted vocals (although the clean vocals are quite good at moments), 4.4 beats and phat sequences. This is combined with military samples, which as such is not very non-typical for an EBM band. Yet Gradual Hate does show some originality with their processed guitar sound in some tracks. A certain old-school flair can’t be denied with this band. Regularly it reminds of Evil’s Toy, Leaether Strip, Funker Vogt, or other 90’s names in the realms of dark electro. This recording sounds apocalyptic, dark, and often particularly atmospheric, despite the heavy club centred approach of electro. The packaging may look a bit cheap, musically this is quite decent though.

Covering the gamut from heavy instrumental power noise to straightforward growling EBM, Weatherhead 3 is compromised mostly of unsigned acts from all over the world. Citing contributions from locales like the UK, France, Japan, the USA, Sweden, and Germany, it provides what will probably be the first samplings of many of these acts for all but the most devout industrial connoisseur.
Though the production is at times slightly slipshod, some EBM talent surfaces despite such homegrown label limitations. Already a Hypervoxx Records discovery, Mordacious' "Death in Denial" proves that they may be this stealthy label's act to watch; juxtaposing damp vocoder growls with humming synth stabs and clear hi-hat rhythms, it's a catchy blend of terror EBM and staccato trance. Although fusing orchestration and EBM is not a new trend, Akron's "X-Revenge" does a commendable job of stitching pointy Wagnerian strings, horns, and snares into a militant formation. A similar usage of strings later appears in Ferrum Dei's "Ascendency of the False Prophet;" like Psyclon Nine minus the black metal influence, Dei pairs sawing violin with acerbic static-laced chatter, wailing specters, and vitriolic demonic gurgles. Helmed by Tommy T. (owner of DSBP Records), Diverje kicks off the second disc with flare via a remix of "Stitched" by Mordacious. Through the bristled fog of Tommy's tortured snarls, Mordacious' humming synths and handclap snares give his Frankenstein horror-tech some stomping urgency.
However, where low production values tend to mar EBM, it's far less evident during Weatherhead's noise-oriented fare. Clanging to a sheet metal drumbeat, Stahlschlag's "Acute Netzzerstörung" rattles like an air duct shaken loose by a warehouse rave. Powered by a steady bass thump, it rattles through aluminum tunnels while blasts of static stutter and staple their way in to this turgid soundscape. Less techno in its temperament, ESA's "Tand" surreptitiously enters under the guise of a miasma of buzzing, organ-like vibrations, and aloof harpsichord stutters. However, this surreptitious void is shredded halfway through by a ravenous machine; grinding its teeth like a steel rat, it leaves only tatters of its early atmosphere to waver and sigh between chomps. Lastly, Organic_Cage's "Programm Interrupt" is a grinding juggernaut in the vein of early Terrorfakt. Outside of occasional outbursts from vintage movie snippets, it's an unrelenting throbbing of clockwork rhythms and pressurized blasts of white noise.
Despite occasional moments of tinny production and creative lulls, there are some diamonds in this rough that display a bit of creativity outside the well-trodden terror EBM and futurepop mindsets. Still, perhaps its biggest fault is that Weatherhead 3 marks the first volume to include a second disc; with 50% of the material excised, one might miss out on a couple of decent pieces, but it would far more solid as a whole.

La discográfica norteamericana Hypervoxx lanza al mercado el debut de este proyecto alemán iniciado durante 2003 cuya primera obra se encuadra en la clásica onda alemana de bandas como Blutengel o Black Heaven, es decir, una electrónica oscura que bebe de elementos como el future pop en el manejo de estructuras y secuencias melódicas, alternando voces masculinas y femeninas según se van sucediendo los cortes, unos más acelerados (en donde se nota más ese toque futurepop) y otros más pausados, de corte más oscuro.
Durante la escucha de “Statement” da la impresión de que el Cd recoge diferentes etapas de la banda, ya que los temas denotan falta de cohesión y homogeneidad si los oyes de un tirón, con lo cual es posible que hayan sido grabados en diferentes momentos a lo largo de la trayectoria del grupo. Además, algunos de los doce cortes son remixes que, imagino, habrán servido para actualizar dichos cortes, cosa que en cierta manera hace que el resultado final quede un poco deslabazado, aunque no es excusa para disfrutar de buenos cortes, como el que abre el disco, “Hard to die”, cuyos arreglos recuerdan a los VNV Nation del “Advance and Follow”, con una voz más oscura y áspera. En otros cortes como “Mein Hass” introduce riffs de guitarra que le suman mayor contundencia al tema en cuestión. Voces femeninas son protagonistas en cortes como “Queen of Beauty”, recordando muchísimo a Blutengel, tanto en la forma de cantar como en la cadencia del corte en sí. Esa deficiencia en la producción de deja entrever en temas como “Shadowland”, “Locked in silence”, cuya producción, si estuviese un pelín más cuidada, afectaría al resultado final del trabajo. Otros buenos cortes son “Nackte Angst” , “Break the silence” y “Schwarze Seele”, que muestran una producción más lograda y diferentes tratamientos vocales, mostrándonos la cara más elaborada y de la que espero que les sirva como punto de partida.
Un debut con su cara y con su cruz, por algo lo es, pero que nos muestra una banda con cierto potencial. Habrá que ver qué nos ofrecen en el futuro. De momento, animarles, pues ya han dado el primer paso, y también felicitar a Hypervoxx por darles la oportunidad de hacerlo.

Gradual Hate is a Spanish dark electro industrial project. The cover is striking for the colours are a bit dirty, this seems to be do-it-yourself. The main preoccupations of But, what about the music in a genre that has so many copycats and has got so popular on the dark dancefloors?

The most important elements of course are synths. Dark synth may sound a bit atmospheric (Suicide), melancholic (Wind, Weakness Man), complemented with an abrasive sound (Heaven and Hell) of very good effect! Globally, stereo effect (Gradual Hate, Broken) is not rare, but quite subtle.

The voice are quite diverse. We can find a distorted vocoded voice (Weakness Man, Back of Mirror) getting even harscher (Wind, Gradual Hate), hysterical (Broken), rarely a gothic « crooner » voice can be heard (Heaven and Hell), or a discrete soft male voice giving a really melancholic and melodious touch (Weakness Man).

Samples also are present on almost all tracks in the form of distant echoed samples (Wind), other usually linked to warlike events (Broken, New Highway & Isolation), one that sounds like a voice through a speaker (Dancing on Ruins), classical/religious chants integrated with an excellent result (Gradual Hate, Elektro Radio-Sex-Station) or Kenji Siratori (Reptilian Control), who really seems to be a reference in the postindustrial milieu... Overused? The atmospheres build by the whole are anguishing (Wind, Back of Mirror, The Sound of Desert, Suicide), fascinating ones (Back of Mirror, Heaven and Hell's intro, New Highway & Isolation), 'psycho' (Broken), deeply gothic (Heaven & Hell) and for the most, dark (f.i. The Sound of Desert, Broken, Suicide).

Rhythm is quite linear, usually not harsch but mild beats not distorted at all. We however can find on « Gradual Hate » and « Reptilian Control » heavier, stronger beats, yet not distorted. On « Broken » and « Dancing on Ruins », metallic noises enrich the rhythm and give a rawer industrial touch. High pitched electronic noises (Wind), metallic (Broken) or other kind of weird noises, high-pitched fineries (The Sound of Desert, Gradual Hate, Wind) add some variety to the whole, while electric guitars' sounds on « Gradual Hate » and on « Dancing on Ruins ». But, especially on the second they sound convincing enough to bring something amazing to the music!

For sure, it's really difficult to innovate in a genre that has been so widely followed. « Asphyxiated World » is not amazingly original. But it has good arrangements and efficient atmospheres in most of its tracks! There's a good amount of fineries and sound's layers so that experienced listeners open to classic EBM. But, catchy melodies are indisputably the advantage of this band: let's point for instance « New Highway & Isolation ». But, tracks such as « Suicide » or « Weakness Man » also are worthy! Comparisions with reference bands of electro industrial such as Hocico (f.i. Elektro Radio-Sex-Station) and Velvet Acid Christ, in terms of rhythms and synths sounds, are unavoidable. But, it seems the arrangement, the mix between elements doesn't sound like a copycat and you can't remain insensitive to some tracks... If « Asphyxiated World » won't create a revolution, it however truly makes one believe that not everything has been made in the genre! Make up your own mind on Gradual Hate's myspace.

Mordacious Mortem es el único componente de este proyecto americano afincado en California. Fue en 2004 cuando comienza su periplo musical con autoproducciones y la aparición en diferentes recopilatorios , con HYPERVOXX grabaría su primer larga duración denominado “This Emptiness” en el 2006.

En 2007 ficha por TELEGRAMMETRY y edita este “Torture Tactics” con el cual ha dado el salto definitivo hacia Europa. Musicalmente no aporta nada nuevo, quizás incluso peque un tanto de repetitivo en sus propios temas, con una misma estructura y tempo, claramente enfocado hacia las pistas de baile, aunque algunos temas gocen de muy buena calidad como es el caso de “Confesión” donde la buena conjugación de secuencias lo hace muy destacado. Los ritmos no están muy bien logrados si realmente quieres hacer Dark electro.

En definitiva en mi modesta opinión un disco bastante flojo y como suelo decir últimamente “más de lo mismo”, aunque habrá que estar atento a un siguiente trabajo porque estoy seguro que lo único que le falta es un poco de madurez.

Drinking from 90s electronic body music and early electrodark, the Spanish duo formed by Avencio and Miguel sprinkles their music with thick political and aggressive messages. Their attitude exudes disdain for alike sounding electro-dark projects of the last years and differs thematically form most of them yet still follows many of the same patterns, especially in the more thumping dancefloor players like “Suicide” or “Wind”. They remain interesting in the more primitive songs, with the introduction of guitar distortion, more melodic intrusions and the significant and intricate arrangement work. “Gradual Hate”-track is the perfect example, with an industrial rock feeling, early EBM attitude and noise inspired details. Remarkable and interesting debut for a promising band.

German act makes its debut on HYPERVOXX with this 14 track release! A good blending of electronic and synthpop, with some dancey tracks that have a harder edge to them...Industrial synthetics and some introspective work as well...This has a good old school influence to it as well, and will appeal to synthpop fans! Includes a remix by AKRON!

Well, I’m quite late on this and I hope that the guys of the Miami Vice don’t get me for this. The Hypervoxx label, a division of the FL-based Telegrammetry, returns with this long awaited release, a new part of the “Weatherhead” series. Since the last year has been a very difficult especially in the private life of label chief B. A. LaRed, a release like this DCD compilation offers hope, that things will be running smoother in 2K8. Yes, this time the “Weatherhead” compilation has grown to a DCD set and the staff around B. A. had to do some hard decisions, since more than 110 projects/bands have reacted on the call and have sent in stuff for consideration to take part. So at least you’ll get a quite quality oriented sort of a newcomer-compilation with only a few familiar acts but dozens of talented unknown names. Some of the Telegrammetry/Hypervoxx-recording artists of course are included and all of them are doing their very best to offer new and exclusive stuff. Greece-based AKRON continue with their cinematic instrumental music on their new track “X-Revenge”. STAHLSCHLAG, based very near in my home area, continue their drastically Rhythm/Noise installments with a new tune. “Acute Netzzerstörung” (is this title correct printed???) comes out quite in vein of the current acts out of the ProNoize roster and this seems to be intentional. E-THIK is another act worth to mention here, their “Machtuefall” (again the question: is this a typo?) is rather more dedicated to classic forms of EBM instead of productions out of the nowadays Hellectro rush, plus the male vocals offer decent distortion effects. Although a parade example out of the often criticized Hellectro camp, the best appearance available on CD1 got provided by MORDACIOUS. Somehow SO it has to be sound if you like to take a step into this genre – well worked out synth bass lines and textures, a constant good rhythm work – this new MORDACIOUS track entitled “Death In Denial” beats almost everything of Mr. Mordacious’ previous compositions. CYANIDE REGIME, out of Miami and sorted under a comparable musically roof, give with “Vanquisher” an unfortunately already discovered, but still a quite valuable appearance. BLC Productions own act STIGMATA NL gives out another hellish teaser of their up and coming debut album out in the coming months – musically relations with MORDACIOUS are recognizable. Another rough and noisy tune got provided by ESA (didn’t they release an album on Hive Records?) and accomplishes the first out of two CD’s.
CD 2 starts with another unreleased remix work on one of the latest DIVERJE smasher tracks, “Smell The Blood”, this time remixed by MORDACIOUS. The new HYPERVOXX-recording act GRADUAL HATE, a duo out of Spain, is also featured with their track “New Highway And Asolation”. This one is taken from their debut “Asphyxiated World” – so let’s agree to rate it like this: well-done and valuable to take part on this comp, yes, but nevertheless one of their weaker tracks compared to some of their tunes on their album – soon, very soon more about them! Sweden’s TWZ, recently signed to the Hungarian-based Advoxya-Records label, give out an alternative version of their new track “The Grid”, originally available on their up and coming new album “Evolution”. As a trademark of them, their synth textures used as manipulated bass lines still offers them a sort of special niche in the scene. But the best track of this whole compilation got provided by an also to me quite unknown act named SCHISM TRACE. Reminds strongly on a mixture of old X MARKS THE PEDWALK (“Abortion”) mixed with older FLA, excellent programmings, good sounding vocal manipulation and an addictive melodic content makes “The Failure” to nothing what the title may announces. BRAINCLAW are counting surely to be one of the better known acts available on this comp and their rich experience sound- and production-wise is recognizable in every second of their exclusive remix on “Feed The Machine”. Addictive hook lines as usual, just another great work of this BLC-recording male/female duo. Germany’s [ORGANIC_CAGE] are surely one of the big up and coming artists for the rhythmically Powernoise genre. “Program Interrupt” though isn’t a favorite of this act, but a great example how this solo project treats his machinery.
A stylistically wide-ranging collection of newbies and established acts are featured on here, and so this new “Weatherhead” compilation reminds a bit on some BLC compilations out of the “Interbreeding” series. Quite good comp if you’re on the hunt for some new talents and so worth to spend some bucks on!

This is a pretty cool sampler for all lovers of dark, harsh electronics and powernoise-endzeit music. Hypervoxx here released a very interesting sampler featuring mainly little names from the dark electro scene, but with some convincing music. The debut of the first disc is quite heavy and irresistible. Bands like Stahlschlag, E-Thik, Twinsine, Mordacious and especially Andromeda 5 deliver some hard-pumping dance assaults. Twinsine reminds me a bit to the electro-industrial dance style of Monolith while Andromeda 5 sounds quiet dark electro-cliché like, but do it an irresistible way. Some attention grabbers are Cyanide Regime and ESA. The 2nd disc is less interesting although features some recommended cuts. First there’s a real cool opener from Diverje (probably the most experienced band from the sampler) and next a few interesting tracks from Gradual Hate, the sweeter electronic form of Schism Trace and last, but not least the more into powernoise cuts from Stainless.4571 and Organic Cage. This is an essential sampler for all lovers of the genre who’re in search of new bands!

Spanish duo Gradual Hate's approach to EBM owes less to the trance and pop influences of recent acts than the heavy mechanized aggression that typified much of the '90s scene. While their quasi-military trappings are intimately familiar to industrial fans (the band has even been known to perform wearing gas masks), the liner notes include a quotation by Michel Foucault, suggesting that band members Avencio DM and Miguel LS have put a lot more thought into their aesthetic than most bands that employ similar effects. The music itself highlights that same thoughtfulness; the duo's style of programming and production doesn't use the latest technological bells and whistles, but DM and LS don't fall into the latest traps either. This is heavily industrialized dance music, full of classic clanking beats and creepy synth pads and devoid of the overly dramatic trance builds or gratuitously comedic samples often used to pander to the club crowd. Tracks like "Wind" and "Broken" are high-BPM stomps, full of reverberating snare hits, apocalyptic keyboard atmospheres, and coldly distorted vocals sure to appeal to fans of Armageddon Dildos or early Suicide Commando. Guitars make an occasional appearance, but never quite reach the spotlight; on the band's signature song, "Gradual Hate," the emphasis is on the bass synth and the darkly cinematic choir pads, not the looping power chords. Though there's not as much musical variety on Asphyxiated World as there could be, a variety of vocal approaches keeps the songs from sounding too much alike. "Suicide" is pure aggression, vocals distorted to a rasp, while "Heaven or Hell" is almost goth, its moody verses adorned with little more than cavernous reverb. "Elektro Radio-Sex-Station" lies somewhere in between, with gravelly, lightly distorted drawls and darkly sexual themes very much in the vein of Leæther Strip's early work. Japanese spoken word artist and avant-garde cyberpunk writer Kenji Siratori, who's been making guest appearances on all kinds of albums lately, shows up on closing track "Reptilian Control," which starts with clipped, robotic vocals and industrial background ambiance before launching into a high-tempo club track. While Gradual Hate's firm stance within the boundaries of the EBM scene makes a massive crossover success unlikely, Asphyxiated World is sure to appeal to purist fans, placing the group alongside fellow contemporary artists like Severe Illusion and Noise Process who are keeping the classic electro/industrial sound alive.

El complejo mundo de la electrónica más contundente, avanzada y sobre todo underground une sus fuerzas en un recopilatorio que recoge las formaciones más innovadoras y creativas de géneros afines como el Electrodark, EBM, Electro, Industrial…
Se trata del tercer lanzamiento del recopilatorio “Weatherhead III” que ha conseguido abrirse camino en el difícil mundo del mercado musical aportando sangre nueva y un amplio abanico de perspectivas de la electrónica oscura y radical.
Formaciones reconocidas y otras no tanto aportan sus criaturas, un total de veinticuatro temas, en donde como suele ser habitual en estos formatos muchos de sus cortes son de carácter exclusivo o aún no se han editado.
Grupos como Organic Cage, Twinsine, Andromeda 5 o Stainless.4571, nos deleitan con el lado más Industrial del álbum, en donde los ritmos maquinistas y los ruidos son en esencia sus grandes virtudes. Asociado a este género pero con ciertas connotaciones más dinámicas se encuentra la formación Stahlschlag, la cual en su corte ‘Acute Netzzerstorung’ muestra su carácter Industrial-Power Noise cercano al sonido de los reconocidos Feindflug.
Otro amplio espectro que se recoge en “Weatherhead III” es el género donde se engloba el Electrodark y la EBM. Formaciones como Synaptic Defect, Mordacious, Cyanide Regime, TWZ se apegan al estilo en su lado más salvaje y Electrodark, mientras otros grupos como E-Thik mantienen el estilo con unas connotaciones más bailables, o Schism Trace, en donde basa en ritmos de la antigua y nueva escuela EBM. Una de las formaciones a destacar en este campo es Stigmata_NL, la cual con su ‘Satanus Malificarum’ consigue destacar entre el maremagnun del álbum. Esta circunstancia no ha pasado desapercibida para la industria discográfica, siendo el sello BLC Productions el encargado de editar su debut a lo largo del 2008.
La mezcolanza de estilos y tratamientos musicales es una de las principales bazas de este recopilatorio. El poder observar las diferencias y los variados espectros musicales dentro de un género hacen que este doble álbum sea una reliquia. Así se puede observar como formaciones como Ferrum Dei consiguen fundir a la perfección en un solo sonido elementos tan dispares como la EBM, Electrodark y el Metal.
Como era de esperar, algunos remixes han sido incluidos en el cd. De estos destacar el del corte ‘Stitched’, editado originalmente en su último álbum Diverje, pero esta vez reelaborado magistralmente por Mordacious.
Como cierre del comentario hay que hacer una mención especial a la que es sin duda el tema bandera de todo el recopilatorio. Me refiero concretamente a ‘New Highway And Asolation’ de los españoles Gradual Hate. Un tema en donde se conjugan todos los elementos necesarios de un corte de éxito. Estilo, calidad, fuerza y oscuridad en una sola canción que engancha desde su primera escucha y que nos permite comprobar la consolidación de Gradual Hate tras su extraordinario debut con “Asphyxiated World”.
En definitiva, un total de veinticuatro temas recogidos en un doble álbum indispensable para conocer la esencia actual del género más avanzado y oscuro de la electrónica.

Brand new Double CD from the hard working Hypervoxx label! Dark electro, Harsh Industrial, Terror EBM, Power Noise bands are included here and totally new and fresh sounds, exclusive tracks are within...Also, these are LIMITED EDITION which means once they're gone...they're REALLY gone!Bands include MORDACIOUS, DIVERJE, STIGMATA NL, BRAINCLAW, AKRON,ESA, TPK, SPIT STATIC, FERRUM DEI, STAHLSCHLAG, ANDROMEDA 5, SYNAPTIC DEFECT, ORGANIC CAGE, GRADUAL HATE, SINO REBUILD PROJECTS, CYANIDE REGIME, TWINSINE, TWZ, ACC:XESS, STAINLESS.4571, SCHISM TRACE, SUBURBAN PROTOTYPE, E-THIK,EVLENT CHAPTER!

La publicación del primer álbum de la banda Gradual Hate ha supuesto una de las mejores sorpresas que nos trajo el ñoño 2007. Con un carácter y una personalidad indudables, el dúo español hace gala de un estilo basado en el sonido Electrodark de ayer y hoy. Un género que en tiempos pasados era alabado por una legión de seguidores y que ahora se ha desvirtuado en parte por la potenciación de los ritmos y su innegable orientación hacia la pista de baile.
Miguel y Avencio, dirigentes de la formación, han tomado un camino diferente apartado de las tendencias actuales más facilonas,dejandose llevar por la original esencia del Electrodark de primera época, eso sí, todo ello sin olvidar que nos encontramos en el siglo XXI y que la tecnología y los medios han cambiado. Por todo ello, al escuchar su primera criatura “Asphysxiated World”, se puede percibir los gustos por la electrónica oscura más manufacturada, radical, repleta de mensaje y de indomable espíritu. En resumen, han sabido reorientar el estilo hacia su original y verdadero camino sin olvidar los nuevos instintos.
Un total de trece temas componen la estructura básica de su primer álbum. En donde podrás encontrar todo lo necesario que busca el buen amante de la electrónica oscura. Ritmo, pasión, rabia, samplers, estribillos de delirio, algunas guitarras y una voz desgarrada componen, en esencia, la particular forma de ver la música de estos valencianos. Cortes instrumentales, como ‘Dancing of Ruins’, cargados de atmósferas, ritmos contundentes y guitarras como séquito. Canciones con gancho desde su primera escucha, como ‘Elektro Radio-Sex-Station’. Temas de bandera, de los que no se dejan de escuchar, cargados de la oscuridad y el carisma necesarios para convertirse en un éxito indudable; ‘Suicide’ o ‘Gradual Hate’. Composiciones que rompen una extraordinaria atmósfera para transformarse en un nuevo tema cargado de energía y fuerza, como en ‘Wind’, o simplemente acordes donde se denotan sus gustos por la Darkwave, como ‘Heaven or Hell’, son en síntesis un escueto extracto de la extraordinaria mezcolanza musical que encontrarás en “Asphysxiated World”.
El proyecto Gradual Hate no busca un sonido cerrado y previsible sino todo lo contrario. Continuamente se intenta invadir nuevos campos introduciendo diferentes argumentos sonoros para crear un sonido que es fiel al estilo, pero que en definitiva deja una puerta entreabierta a otras ideas y a la intrusión en su música de otros artistas. Esta última idea se ve reflejada en la colaboración junto al prolífico artista Kenji Siratori, quien incorpora al temazo ‘Reptilian Control’ su saber en la voz y los textos.
La temática de las canciones se fusiona continuamente con un ideario político en donde la denuncia social, la injusticia y la muerte se observan en casi todos sus planos. Como complemento, en su web puedes encontrar un manifiesto político que no tiene desperdicio alguno. Échale un vistazo y convéncete de que el mundo no es como la 'sociedad' lo plantea.
Otro de los caracteres más significativos de la formación es, sin duda, su cuidada estética militarista. Cargada de simbología, en donde las máscaras de gas, los uniformes y la guerra juegan un papel preponderante que lógicamente se refleja en su música.
Las dificultades que encuentran las bandas noveles en la actualidad para publicar sus discos se hace evidente cada vez más, a pesar de ello, la formación Gradual Hate a conseguido abrirse un hueco y ha editado su álbum bajo el sello Hypervoxx Recordings. Un sello no muy conocido pero que tiene la capacidad de arriesgar en sus productos, carácter que muchos sellos ya establecidos no tienen o perdieron en el camino.
El primer disco ya está editado, su calidad es más que evidente y es esto precisamente lo que al final queda. En definitiva, un disco de obligada compra por los seguidores del estilo Electrodark y amantes de la vertiente más oscura, novedosa y radical de la electrónica. ¡Te lo vas a perder!

A priori, he de comentar que tras la edición de este primer trabajo, por fin en un sello discográfico, de los valencianos Gradual Hate representa el fruto a la paciencia, la dedicación y la constancia, un hecho que demuestra que el trabajo bien hecho más tarde o más temprano recoge sus frutos, razón por la cual uno ha de quitarse el sombrero ante este dúo formado por Miguel y Avencio, el cual, tras estar bastante tiempo editando su trabajo de manera autoproducida el sello americano Hypervoxx les brinda la oportunidad de dar a conocer su sonido gracias a una mejor distribución y en un mercado, como es el actual, cada vez más difícil de cara a la subsistencia de los artistas independientes. El caso es que, tras mucho tiempo de negociaciones y de haber movido su música por medio mundo ha llegado la respuesta desde el otro lado del charco. Y es que parece que los americanos se han puesto las pilas con la electrónica oscura, siempre mutándola y convirtiéndola bajo su impronta, esa idea de mezclarlo todo y no limitarse a un sólo cliché, y es ahí donde la música de Miguel y Avencio encaja a la perfección, con un estilo que bebe de muchas influencias dentro de la electrónica oscura, principalmente EBM, pero trazando un puente entre dos décadas, cuyo primer punto, el de la electrónica de los noventa, parece haber sido olvidado por las nuevas generaciones, pero que, afortunadamente, nos basta con la presencia de este dúo para recordarnos todos esos grandes portentos que surgieron durante la pasada década, más esas ganas e intenciones de sonar diferente, de hacer algo distinto a partir de dichas influencias.
Gente como Abscess, los Placebo Effect de la última época, los FLA más épicos y contundentes o la agresividad de Evils Toy se dan la mano en un cocktail en el que la música transcurre a velocidad trepidante, plagada de secuencias de bajo muy pegadizas y sonidos de diversas tendencias electro (siempre de vanguardia y ligadas a estas músicas de culto) sin olvidar esa carga de samples que nos sitúan en el caos de la guerra y sus consecuencias, temática principal del proyecto, sobre unas voces que se complementan, siendo la de Miguel mucho más rabiosa y agresiva, y la de Avencio algo más grave, dotando a los estribillos de un punto épico, como es el caso de “Back of Mirror”, que junto a “Elektro Radio-sex-station” (genial juego de voces), “Heaven or Hell” y “Weakness man” representan una auténtica tarjeta de presentación de lo que es el sonido de Gradual Hate, mezcla de potencia y oscuridad, siempre dentro de un contexto electrónico. Aparte de estos cortes antes citados cabe destacar la furia de “The Sound Of Desert”, donde la melodía se vuelve más protagonista, en un corte rápido algo más industrial en su comienzo, la riqueza de matices electrónicos en la ejecución de “Gradual Hate” o la inclusión de guitarras en la introducción “Dancing on Ruins”, un elemento que, vistos los buenos resultados, sería interesante contemplar el desarrollo que puede tener en el grupo de cara al futuro.Como ves “Asphyxiated World” tiene un poco de todo, bien producido, sabiamente ejecutado y dejando claro que esto es sólo el comienzo, pues ya tienen anunciado un trabajo con el autor cyber-punk japonés Kenjii Siratori, del cual nos ofrecen un corte en este disco, el último del tracklist llamado “Reptilian Control”, sin duda un aperitivo para esperar esa nueva entrega que nos han prometido saldrá este año que viene. Mientras tanto puedes disfrutar de este soberbio disco, recomendado para seguidores de la buena ebm oscura, ajena a tendencias actuales ni posturas “de modé”. Un sonido que, como nos han demostrado Gradual Hate, sigue vigente cuando está bien hecho. Este disco y su directo por estas tierras el pasado mes de Noviembre nos lo confirma. Enhorabuena.

A new and interesting dark electro project from SPAIN that makes very clear their intention of being made highlight in the converged
electronic scene and not with the help of forced "crossovers"so in fashion lately in the electrodark scene, if not making use of the sounds of last decade, much more, dark and so missed .The band has an aesthetic militarist, almost apocalyptic, replete of you chewed of gas and underground refuges, where the letters possess a strong load politics and social accusation , social manipulation? ,Injustice? , War? Gradual Hate

readjust is an EBM project born out of Germany around 2003 in Germany through the mind of JayKay, the man behind the song writing (though he has recently brought on other members, including this release). He prefers to write about the every day tribulations of life, but it alos has the gothic club sound as well as those subject tendencies lyrically. From what I can understand this is your general EBM project with psuedo-harsh vocals. The band is attempting to do something different but whether or not they've acheived their goal remains to be seen.For me, \"Statement\" wasn't nearly as powerful as the biography of the band had led me to believe it would be. Let's start with the vocals. The vocals are neither harsh nor clean, but \"rough\" as the biography puts it. They're not quite deep enough to be goth, not harsh enough to be listed with the likes of Psyclon 9 and certainly nowhere near the clean ranges of VNV Nation. They almost sound as if some old thrash metaller decided to put down his guitar and whiskey and pick up a drum machine and absinthe. The vocals are the worst part about the album and they could certainly be better in either direction, annoying for the most part. The music isn't slow enough to be droning but not upbeat enough to make one want to dance to it. It reminds me of early attempts at EBM with more melodic sounding industrial projects such as Leaether Strip. This is by no means a club sound, though the music itself would lead you to believe otherwise. I have a feeling people more into the melodic industrial sounds would really enjoy this album. The last thing is the lack of effects/experimentation and the drum machine tone. The cymbals weren't even attmpted to sound non-cheesey from the sounds of it and why would a band not take this opportunity to do a better job in the mixing department by adding small tweaks like effects and whatnot to mix it up a bit? I remember them doing it with the guitar in the Rolling Rock Mix of Mein Hass and it worked out pretty good. Also Queen of Beauty features some very beautiful and talented female vocals. Probably my biggest disappointment came with Locked in Silence -- This track had the potential to be everything the band stated they are in their biography, but instead it just lacked the power on the drums that it desperately needed, even though the power was there on earlier tracks and not in the electronics.As a first attempt for readjust this is a nice attempt. There are many things to discuss and a large area of things needed to be worked on, but it was pretty impressive as far as the direction they're trying to go. It really reminds me of the old school melodic stuff, and it would nice to see them learn the right production/mixing techniques to give them the edge they need (Review by Lord Lycan)

Mordacious 'Torture Tactics' is the follow up of his previous successful release 'This Emptiness' only a year ago. Mordacious is a US talented artist with live performance experience and some very much promising compositions and ideas. This brand new release proves his eager for an immediate step forward only months after 'This emptiness' release. After a careful listen I will point out the positive and negative aspects of this cd.
It is clear that the sound now is better and the whole is more enjoyable and danceable (Confession is the best track and a very good example of this band's talent). Mordacious distorted vocals, very similar if not identical to those of Suicide Commando, fits well with the tracks, music ideas from the industrial and the trance genre mix up nicely giving a melodic but at the same time dynamic result to the whole.
Personally, I was satisfied till the 5th track of the cd, after that I felt that we are dealing with same song structures with different vocals and riffs. Maybe it is the fact that the CD contains so many songs and it gets monotonous after a while. I would be more positive if there were less. The synth sounds are always the same, various instrumentations might have brought to the same songs a different result. The production is too loud on the high frequencies making it impossible to be heard loud and one may notice some lack of creativity in the drums. All these force a very nice album indeed to sink below the line. It is a remarkable release but he will need something more if he wishes to establish himself into the industry. I can see that the appetite is there so I'll sit back and wait for the next step -that I hoped to see in this release- which I am very positive that will come in the near future. (Review by Vassago)

Listening to The Readjust, I feel like experiencing a déjà vu. I listen nice electro-brainwaves from young and gifted groups, which however lack the experience and are afraid to risk enriching their sound with new elements and to differentiate. The album starts dynamically with two lovely, strong and rhythmic pieces, Hard to Die and Mein Hass (rolling rock mix) and goes on with a sweet, melodious piece with the contribution of Gundula Schikora’s soft vocals to enrich it. Shadowland is a very good and strong piece, which is my favourite in the album, that creates an impressive atmosphere. This distinguishes it from the rest since its sound has more industrial elements. The My Star and Nackte Angst keep the interest undiminished, however after repeated hearings it turns a little boring since the melody does not differentiate and remains continuously at the same level. In general is an album with nice, rhythmic and strong compositions, which if enriched with other sounds would do more to justify the Readjust. (review by Spyros Z)

It is rare these days that an album comes out of nowhere to shock and amaze with an incredible display of originality. One can rest assured that Statement is not one of those albums. ReAdjust treads very familiar ground here and seems intent on making sure that their footprints blend in with all that has walked the path before. While Statement is certainly not incompetent, there is nothing here that rises about the expected level of competence. Everything happens exactly as one would expect with nary a surprising moment to be found. The result is an album full of uninteresting compositions that stand as perfect examples of background club music. What makes Statement particularly frustrating is the fact that it is apparent that everyone involved in this project knows how to write and arrange a piece of music with a decent level of skill. One is left with the feeling that this album is the result of incredible laziness. There are certainly far worse efforts out there, but there is also nothing here that makes Statement worthy of your attention.
Due to the generic nature of this release, there are really no standout tracks, save for one: "Born to Die." "Born to Die" stands apart from the rest of the bland offerings on Statement because it is a blatant rip-off of Skinny Puppy's "Assimilate." The main melody line is only a slight variation on Puppy's infamous club staple. "Nackte Angst" also features a main melody line that sounds as if it is lifted directly from Slayer's "Seasons in the Abyss." When looked at in a larger context, Statement is a portrait of much that is wrong with electronic music these days. There was a time when industrial music in particular was daring, challenging, and waved a giant middle finger in the direction of the staid and conventional. Now, industrial music has become much like all other forms of modern entertainment: self-referential and self-satisfied, marching along the mechanized path to the time-clock to pump out the repackaged, lifeless, orthodoxy-approved product of a culture that has willfully sold itself to its enemies. The end result is rage-inducing, and for all the wrong reasons.

“Acousticophobie” is a debut CD of Stahlschlag, released on Telegrammetry/Hypervoxx US label. The band was formed recently (in 2006) with intention to create industrial/power noise atmospheres artists enjoyed themselves. All the work is divided between Nicole Rahlf, respondible for song writing, sampling and artwork, and Sebastian Sunkler, responsible for song writing and electronics.As far as I could hear, the name of the band - “Steel stroke” - and the title of the album, meaning fury syndrome, crisis as a result of sound stimulus, completely correspond with the material presented on the CD. Heavy industrial beats, pulsing bassline, absence of smooth synth passages and any other hints on sensitivity create abrasive soundscapes. Speech samples give a hint on human presence from time to time, but it happens not that often. But generally, although all the means of expression stay the same, sound varies from track to track: sometimes the tracks are dry, rhythm-based dancefloor hits that suddenly turn into chaotic noise-based pieces and sometimes both go together within one track. You won’t find broken rhythm structure, everything is pretty simple. The structure of the track becomes more complicated closer to the middle of the track, while new sounds and patterns are added to the basic pumping rhythm. If I had to, I would compare the sound, atmosphere and general approach or sound organisation with the ones of such bands as Sonar, Xotox, Hypnoskull, maybe Imminent Starvation and sometimes B’nai B’rith, especially when talking about dry pulsing beats.As for the cover, I couldn’t estimate it in the beginning, because I couldn’t see unobvious elements I saw a bit later, when paid a bit more attention to the graphics. When I first looked at the cover, I saw nothing but a few writings and some green scrawls on the black background. But later I realised that those green scrawls may turn into fanciful designs – faces, that show different human emotions – mainly fear and horror. Green images remind ancient wooden idols that stiffened with expressive grimaces on their faces. However, I’m sure that other people may see something else – anything their imagination can afford.I don’t think it is the kind of music people listen to staying at home alone with a book, a cup of coffee or just being in bed and enjoying the moment. It is rather the one for active deeds, like spending time with friends or just walking along the street and observing industrial landscapes of contemporary industrial cities. Yes, it indeed may become a soundtrack for the walks under the grey sky when it is about to cry, but still has a bit of strength to keep it all inside. (Review by ZG)

It's slow to start, but Stahlschlag's first full-length album offers some solid club tracks for power noise fans.....The problem with Stahlschlag's debut album is that doesn't make much of a first impression. The opening track, "Routine" is aptly named; it is indeed a routine excursion into raw EBM beats and loops, and it's workmanlike but repetitive. "Echolalie" and "Wut" aren't much better; the former is fairly solid but a little on the simplistic side, while the latter's use of flattened power noise beats and synthesized speech gives the impression of a Combichrist track without the slick production values. All three tracks are uninspiring; they've got decent dance beats, but they're neither hard enough to give you an adrenaline rush nor soft enough to provide much of interest in the way of texture. Luckily, things start to get better by "Maschinendynamik," a more industrialized club track with lots of distorted snares and a more energetic BPM rate. "Klanglehre" offers the album's first real killer, cranking up the metal squeaks and reverb-soaked kicks to a frantic pace somewhere between gabber and power noise. "Wunschkonzert" is slower and more ominous, with German samples providing a bleak, militaristic flavor that should appeal to fans of early :Wumpscut: and Feindflug, and "Generator" works its way from a screechy synth line to a raucous clatter of hard-edged percussion. There's plenty of interest here for power noise aficionados, and Acousticophobie does an admirable job of taking on the genre from a more primitive, minimalist angle. Just make sure you put your CD player on "Shuffle" mode before you pop the disc in the tray. Otherwise, you'll probably get bored and turn it off before you get to any of the good stuff. (Review by Matthew Johnson)

Mordacious' "Torture Tactics" displays some of the best and, unfortunately, worst harsh electro and EBM elements on offer today - melodic, driving synthesizer lines and angry, powerful vocals coupled with clichéd common time beats and uninteresting, repetitive sequencing.
Yes, Mordacious definitely feels at home behind a keyboard, creating simple, catchy melodic hooks that help define the mood in every one of the songs on the album. In fact, I would go so far as to say that he delivers better synthesizer work than many more established artists in the genre, like Suicide Commando or Hocico, while still remaining true to their obvious influence. His characteristic vocal treatments are testament to this. The only negative in this regard is the similarity of sounds across the album - bassline synths are varied and deliver definite groove, but the melodies rely on only a few basic presets that are slightly tweaked when needed.
Sadly, all this excellence becomes clouded by the percussion element of the album. Personally, I found the overly simple 4/4 dance beats very repetitive, and the instruments themselves could have been equalized and compressed better. Kicks are a little clipped and hats are just a tad high-pitched, creating unpleasant reverberation in the upper register. Longer builds (coupled with layered synths, not just snares, like on "Cry For Me") would build better tension, too, and probably lead to more dynamic breaks - a trick from commercial house music that Mordacious could well learn.
In the end, there are definite gems on this record (my personal favourite being the harder mix of "What To Say" - one example of where the drum work is spot on) and there is undoubtedly room for development. With time, Mordacious' music can easily grow from horny, angst-ridden adolescent bitching into mature, cynical brilliance, unconcerned with what others think. (Review by David vander Merwe)

The dark electro EBM genre exists long enough and is quite populair so a a whole generation of second rate bands has come. Most of the time these are bedroom projects with on the pc produced music without much quality, variation and an awfully bad sound. Mordacious however uses real gear as well. Sometimes there are some good exceptions to be found which ensure new blood is added to this subgenre of industrial electro. Mordacious is from America and it is a solo project that has gigs and had some succes in 2006 with the CDR release This Emptiness. Torture Tactics is the first full length official CD release of Mordacious and it is a step forward. The sound is better and the music sounds nice and danceable, with a great deal of trance compared to the industrial component. With that this release is not really dark except for the growling vocals and the thematic content. Unfortunately Mordacious has not achieved to develop himself any further musicwise.The tracks sound too simple, not layered enough and too much alike. Mordacious belongs to the large amount of less talented artists that try get some of the succes of the popularity of this genre of music that has been made big by bands such as Hocico and Suicide Commando. (Review by TekNoir)

STAHLSCHLAG, another brand new signing from Telegrammetry Recordings, release their first official cd titled “Acousticophobie” Acousticophobie is a greek word referring to the one who is afraid of the sounds rather weird, since this is a music release we are talking about. The whole project was a complete surprise to my ears because I am watching Telegrammetry from their very beginning and never imagined that they would invade into the world of noise. To me that was a smart move since the specific band has great potential to move forward in the future and to challenge, head to head, with other bands that have already been established in the scene. The album refers to those who worship industrial noise, with cutting edge electronic sounds, hard drum kits, powerful samples, ideal to dance till you faint on the floor. This could be easily released under the name of any famous label of the specific genre such as ant-zen or hive. What I would like to hear from them in the near future is a little more experimentation with their sound and attitude and what I mean by this is that if in some instances STAHLSCHLAG had a couple of techno or catchy analogue synths involved this would have been simply magnificent instead of monotonus as it turns to be after a couple of continious listens. Truly one of the most worth mentioning release of its kind and with a bright future.

Total Pain Kollapz, a one-man project from Sweden, was created by Tony Pettersson as an “anger management project” – the way to let anger and frustration come out. Probably this fact gave the whole idea the shape it has now. This album was difficult for me to perceive and understand (I don’t think I understood it competely), for sure many nuances are left unnoticed. But it is clear, noone is able and ready to understand what is happening deep down within another human being and this album seems to be exactly the case. One doesn’t need to be musically educated to compose as one doesn’t need to be a professional cook to cook. Someone once said that one has to start writing when he feels he cannot keep silent any more. Probably it is true for musical compositions too. And it seems that Mr Pettersson followed this way. Human emotions can give birth to different things both gorgeous and ugly, but all these “definitions” are subjective when it comes to putting in words or sounds something that a person has inside. Many people are limited by such concept as harmony in its common meaning (I guess I’m partly among them). TPK seems to be free of such boarders and this freedom on one hand gives him much space for experiments and ways of putting emotions into sounds and on the other hand it restricts the amount of people that can perceive this album and value the work done. There’re kinds of music based on the main melody line and other patterns just draw a frame for this tune, other kinds are mainly based on rhythm structures which capture listeners attention and melodic patters play a role of a background. This album is difficult to characterise from this point. Here synth patterns are quite simple, there’s no much poliphony (which sometimes confuses unprepared people who want to follow the melody line and eventually can’t), they don’t play the leading role, repeating the same again and again they rather create a background together with straight rhythms, whispering voice and samples, traditional among post-industrial acts. From this point it rather remains ambient music, with no main tune that leads the listener through the track, tries to hypnotize a listener (for example, track “Faithseeker” can be a good example). TPK is influenced by EBM and dark electro acts, but it seems to be not as simplistic and “straight” as old EBM and not as “dark” as dark electro. There’s something in the middle, transition phase. It seems music doesn’t always need to be complicated or harmonic to find its audience. Some people prefer simple, even if a bit chaotic acts that deal rather with human emotions than with music theory. I guess this act is also going to find its special audience, in the long run underground music doesn’t count on mass listener. (Review by ZG)

The previous album “The emptiness” of this American solo-project revealed a few good ideas although suffered from a lack of elaboration and a sound, which was too cliché. The “cliché” remains on the new album, but Mordacious seriously evolved in the global production. The main sources of inspiration brings me to Tactical Sekt, Suicide Commando and other SITP. There’s no single trace of originality in the writing, but the songs are kicking. With cuts like “What to say”, “Follow your fears”, but especially “Lost” and the “Filgaya rmx” of “What to say” mordacious has the potential to conquer dance floors from all over the dark electro-globe. The sound is pretty linear, but the danceable tempo, distorted vocals and icy tunes will catch the freaks of cold EBM. A last cool piece I want to mention is the somewhat different and instrumental “Deadman” reminding me to early Vomito Negro! This is definitely the best band I’ve ever heard on this small label! (review by DP)

’Acousticophobie’ is a lashing sound assault from a fairly new German Industrial/Power Noise act, Stahlschlag, They’ve been invading the scene since February 2006 with a malicious onslaught of an industrialized electronic sound, experimentally and intriguingly violated by an unsettled but pulsating rhythm, a harshly processed din and imperative samples. Stahlschlag leave no prisoners in their crossfire – this is a rage-fueled dance floor raid. Dance or die! Released by the Miami-based Hypervoxx Label.

Stahlschlag is a German duo, which here shows some few good ideas in mixing electronics and industrial. Well, it might sounds quite typical, but when adding a few technoid elements like on “Echolalie” they prove to have some good ideas. It’s a pity that they don’t dare to explore a little bit more the techno-possibilities in addition to their dark stuff. They prefer to dive into the big cliché of dark electro-industrial power. It works good on the “Routine” and “Wunschkonzert”-tracks, but rapidly ends in certain monotonie on most of the other tracks. This band has much more potential than they show here! (Review by ED)