Strange haircuts, cardboard guitars and computer samples

Information Society - Apocryphon: Electro Roots 1982-1985

http://www.informationsociety.us/2008/06/15/312/

This album is something a little different from most of what has been reviewed here, both in style and in content. Most people should be familiar with Information Society at least from the hits "What's On Your Mind (Pure Energy)" , "Think" and "Walking Away", but did you know these early synthpop pioneers from Minneapolis started out with a more experimental electronic sound? I actually must admit that I did not. Although I became a fan after they released their self-titled album in 1988, I never tried to search for their prior releases, and even now I bought this really on a whim, not knowing what to expect.

The LE package is a somewhat flimsy-seeming cardboard digipack containing two brightly colored CDs, the first titled Unobtainium and the second marked as Prophets Without Honor. An individually autographed 30-page photo booklet including a bit of history and comments written by each of the three "core" members of the band is tucked into a cardboard sleeve. (I believe only the pre-ordered copies were autographed... nice touch, though.)

None of the tracks have ever been released on CD and all have been out of print for decades (or never released). CD1 is remastered versions of the band's first releases, the INSOC EP and Creatures of Influence LP. CD2 is live and unreleased tracks, plus a couple of new versions of old songs. Sound quality is a little variable, and some songs are dominated by that somewhat distorted synth sound so popular in 80s rock, but others have more unique tones and sounds the band created themselves. The style varies between experimental synth music and synthpop and while some elements sound rather dated (or nostalgic, if you prefer), many of the songs could hold their own in clubs today.

I'm going to come right out and say it - this release is genius. The tracks are not all polished, and not every one is a masterpiece, but there is a pure and raw energy here, a sense of something new and different, something playful and innocent at times hiding a more serious message, that all comes together to deliver a powerful impact. When the earliest of the music presented here was being recorded, I was a 7-year-old kid growing up in backwoods Virginia and even 6 years later when I had become a fan of the band, I don't know if I would have appreciated it, but I certainly do now. If you enjoy experimental electronic music, such as some of Laibach's pre-WAT releases, and if you enjoy any of InSoc's other work, or other synthpop such as And One or Depeche Mode, this is definitely worth checking out. Clocking in at about 111 minutes, you definitely get your money's worth.

Track listings:

Unobtainium (CD 1)

THE INSOC EP
1. Bacchanale
2. Fall In Line
3. Growing Up With Shiva
4. Get Up Away From That Thing
5. Can You Live As Fast As Me

CREATURES OF INFLUENCE
6. You Are My Hiroshima
7. Running
8. Creatures of Influence
9. Don't Lose Your Mind
10. Fall In Line
11. Signals
12. The Swamp

Prophets Without Honor (CD 2)
1. Hey Hey Hey
2. Hooked On Pablum
3. Nothing Sacred (1983)
4. Nothing Sacred (2007)
5. The Orthodox Pleasure Song
6. XMAS At Our House
7. Disco's Not Dead (It's Only Sleeping)
8. Wrongful Death (1982)
9. Wrongful Death (2007)
10. I Hate Music
11. The INSOC Commercial
12. New And Different
13. Chant Your Way
14. Say It, Say It
15. Growing Up With Shiva (2008)

Quick update

Sorry for the dearth of new reviews this month, I've been pretty busy with work, and then I was away for a week. Since I've come back the inspiration to write new reviews has been pretty minimal, but I'll be doing a couple of joint reviews that will go up both on this blog and another site I've been helping with (I'll say a little more on Monday when it officially goes live)
I promise this place'll be more active in July!

Cavalera Conspiracy - Inflikted

Let’s face it – Sepultura just wasn’t the same band after the singer Max Cavalera left in 1996, right after the now-classic Roots. I’m not one to say the present-day Sepultura with Derek Green isn’t any good at all, but it’s just not the same thing anymore. And with Max’s brother Igor – sorry, Iggor – now gone too, there seems to be very little left of what Sepultura once was. So, when it was announced, that after twelve years, the brothers had finally reunited and were working on new material, it was a dream covered with ice cream made of pure awesome come true for an untold number of metalheads around the world. But was it actually a dream worth dreaming in the first place?

Yes. Yes it bloody well was. The Cavaleras weren’t in speaking terms for over ten years – and it shows. A decade’s worth of pain caused by a deep rift between close brothers is finally set free on Inflikted (released 24th March 2008): the title track kicks the album off with ball-bustingly barbaric force and anger, and from there on, the pace never lets up. The style on Inflikted falls somewhere between and around Sepultura’s Arise and Chaos AD, incorporating also a lot of the sound present on Max’s own Soulfly. The ethnic elements that were so prominent in making Sepultura and Soulfly sound distinct are, surprisingly, cut almost completely, showing up for just a couple of very tiny cameos in a couple of songs. Instead, Inflikted concentrates on delivering some of the most merciless thrash metal on the planet. An angrier-than-ever Max barks and roars apocalyptic propaganda like no tomorrow, Iggor thrashes away with deadly precision and Marc Rizzo’s ultra-thick riffs and grooves tear the air apart. Especially Marc Rizzo deserves a special mention, as he's really managed to conjure up some truly kick-ass stuff with his impeccably accurate and inventive riff- and solohand.

Sounds a bit too much of a good thing? Of course, no record is without its blemishes. Many of Max’s lyrics STILL show traces of English not being his first language. Seriously, what else can you do with gems like Nevertrust’s ”Nevertrust – the emo kids / nevertrust – the fucking pigs” or Hex’s ”Like a hex, like a hex / mass hypnosis will equal death / like a hex, a fucking trap / buffalo soldiers high on crack” but raise an eyebrow or two? Also, variety has been discarded for an all-out, permanent rampage mode, which might put off some listeners and make it more difficult to appreciate the amount of quality and heart present in this thing. In the end, however, the good things overweigh the very minor flaws in such a way that there’s no doubt we’re talking about one of the best metal records of the decade.

Yes, one of the best metal records of the decade. Cavalera Conspiracy doesn’t reinvent the wheel, no, quite on the contrary actually. Inflikted goes back to the principles of thrash and groove metal, showing only a bare minimum of external influences, but this possible drawback has been transformed into a strength. It’s an absolutely brutal piece of true-to-its-roots thrash metal, a crushing, relentless ride to the very end, that more than makes up for its straightforwardness with pure ferocity and the sheer excitement of finally having two of the best metal musicians in the world together again. Killer tracks like the incomparable Inflikted or the murderous The Doom of All Fires are evidence enough that the Cavalera brothers are back, and I hope they will be around for a long, long time to come.

9,5 / 10

ZZ Top - Eliminator

For those unfamiliar with this album, well, where the hell have you been? Several of the songs from this abum have achieved such a level of fame that they have been heard by almost everyong in the Western world at some point or another, so that even if the name was completely unfamiliar if the riff were played the person would recognise it. Why is it that this album achieved such massive success? Quite simply, because it's an incredible album.

ZZ Top - Eliminator

By the time of Eliminator's release, ZZ Top had been recording albums together for just over a decade, and certainly had a fairly large discography, yet it was this album that catapulted them into the massive celebrity that they have held ever since. There are several reasons behind this change, although the most obvious is that it quite simply is an extremely well done album.

Aside from that, the first major factor behind this success was the time at which Eliminator was released. MTV was still brand new and still playing music, ZZ Top had a catchy single with an interesting music video replete with old hot rods and beautiful women, and they had a unique look. As anyone familiar with ZZ Top will tell you, guitarist Billy Gibbons and bassist Dusty Hill are known for their trademark waist length beards (as an aside, during the mid '80s the Gillette razor company offered the pair a million dollars each to shave their beards off for an ad, which they refused)

The next factor has more to do with the music itself. Prior to Eliminator's release, ZZ Top had been a band that leaned far more heavily towards their blues side, and while blues was still very popular at the time in the Western market, the mass public's tastes had shifted to that of the New Wave bands and the new sounds of the musical scene of the day. With this album, however, ZZ Top made the radical decision to pair new elements of this musical scene with their classic blues rock sound. With the addition of synthesizers, heavier, more rock oriented playing, and a simpler, more driving drum beat, the band managed to encapsulate both the edgy, new sounds of the 1980s with classic blues music.

Enough of that, I'm sure most of you are thinking to yourselves by now "Get on with it and talk about the songs themselves!" Alright! I've already said that I consider this to be one of the quintessential blues rock albums (the other being 1977's compilation The Best of ZZ Top) so clearly I enjoy it. The simplest thing that I could say about this album is that there are no bad tracks. Not one. From the time that opener "Gimme All Your Lovin'" starts to the last notes of "Bad Girl" the music is excellent. This is due I think in large part to the band's history together. By this point, they had been playing music together for nearly 15 years, and they were comfortable, both which eachother and with their style. I also think that the lyrics from this album encapsulate what I love about ZZ Top perfectly, namely their humour. Nearly every track on this album has some sort of a joke in the text, excepting only the heavily blues oriented track "I Need You Tonight."

Beyond that the album is an excellent soundtrack to nearly anything. The obvious sense of fun that the band are having recording this make it an excellent background for a couple of friends hanging out, the steady rhythm make it an excellent album for long drives, for those so inclined the guitar is perfect for air-guitaring, etc, etc.

The bottom line on this album is that it is ZZ Top's masterpiece. Unfortunately, due I'm sure to Eliminator's massive success, ZZ Top have spent the past 25 years trying to record another version of it, and as such their records have not been nearly as good as they had been. But for a perfect glimpse into blues rock, ZZ Top, and the best rock of the 1980s, one need look no further than this album. Simply put, Eliminator is as close to perfect as blues rock has ever gotten.

9.5/10

Mayhem from the North

Infernal Hails My Satanic Bretheren,

Welcome to the second incarnation of “Storms from the Northern Wastelands”. My demonic eye falls upon one of the most prevalent, if not infamous, Black Metal bands to ever drag itself from out of the fiery pits of the underworld, MAYHEM! Having such an expansive history I shall be separating the article into two.

Formed in 1984 in Oslo by Oystein Aarseth, better known by his famous stage name “Euronymous”, Jorn Stubberud also known as Necrobutcher and Kjetil Manheim they are often credited with creating the modern form of black metal. Taking heavy influence from Thrash metal bands such as Slayer, Venom and Celtic Frost Mayhem is often credited with creating Black Metal as we know it today. They released their first and highly influential studio album in 1986, the infamous “Deathcrush”. By this time they had recruited a new singer Maniac (Sven Erik Kristiansen) who would later rejoin the band. This was the first major release by any of the Norwegian Black Metal bands and paved the way for what would become the 2nd Wave of Black Metal. In the wake of “Deathcrush” Mayhem would form what would become known as their classic lineup. Vocalist Dead (Per Yngve Ohlin) and the now legendary Hellhammer (Jan Axel Von Blomberg) joined the band. While recordings from this part of Mayhem’s history are few they are often considered to be the bands pinnacle by older fans. “Live in Leipzig” and the infamous “Dawn of the Black Hearts” live albums are the best known recordings from Dead’s stint in the band. On April 8th 1991, the first of many controversial events occurred among the band, the singer Dead committed suicide with a shotgun blast to the head. Guitarist Euronymous discovered the body and before calling the authorities took pictures of Dead’s corpse, usingone for the cover of “Dawn of The Black Hearts” and as legend has it, took pieces of his skull and mailed it to bands he felt “worthy”. This put a halt on the recording of Mayhem’s first true album and until new singer Atilla Csihar was recruited for recordings. As the album neared completion the studio bassist for the album, Varg Vikernes, allegedly murdered Euronymous over a dispute involving unpaid debts. His murder, and Vikernes subsequent conviction, left Mayhem with only one member, Hellhammer, the drummer. Despite this Mayhem’s first album “De Mysteriis Dom Sathanas”

Out of the most well known 2nd Wave bands like Burzum, Emperor, Enslaved, Darkthrone and of course Mayhem, Mayhem’s focus was mostly on brutality. While Emperor employed some orchestral backing and more melody, or Burzum’s attempt to create “magic”, Mayhem was all about the shock factor and anger that came with the black metal genre. While Deathcrush had a strong influence from Thrash Metal from the early ‘80’s, this influence declined until “De Mysteriies Dom Sathanas” was a completely different genre from thrash. One of the first true full album releases of Black Metal.

The music on “De Mysteriies Dom Sathanas” is fast and furious, everything you would expect from a Mayhem release. They avoid the pitfall of being repetitive with just enough tempo changes and variation to make the album worth listening to. The production qualities were, at the time, some of the highest quality given to a black metal album, something they have met some criticism for. The production though gives the album a full sound and brings out every instrument, the guitars wail and screech, the bass hums along and the drumming is some of the most impressive work you will find on any CD. The guitars, by none other then the famed Euronymous, are impressive black metal fair, wickedly paced tremolo picking abounds, but is mixed in with some impressive doomy parts, case in point the “Freezing Moon” intro. The bass guitar has its moments but is often left out like in most black metal. They were recorded by Varg Vikernes, Euronymous’ murderer and were supposed to be rerecorded but were mixed further back rather then being rerecorded. Drums…well what we can say about the drums, it’s Hellhammer manning the skins. His prowess is well known in Black metal circles and he doesn’t disappoint. This album is a clinic for any aspiring drummer as Hellhammer pours in blast beats quicker and longer then any human should, with some complex beats and ferocious drum rolls. Now the vocals, probably the most controversial bit, as Atilla Csihar does NOT have your atypical Black metal vocals. It ranges from ear splitting shrieks to an almost Gollum-like guttural half singing. Most of the vocals consists of the deep guttural singing which at times verges on almost operatic levels. More then most black metal vocals though it conveys a sense of extreme hate, like he is spitting upon mankind. As a whole the album is Mayhem’s overall strongest effort to date as it is near impossible to pinpoint favorites other then the absolute classic “Freezing Moon”. The title describes the album perfectly, Frozen and bleak with hatred seeping from every pore.

History of Mayhem continues next week, until then,

Lord Of Entropy

Holograf - Undeva Departe

Holograf - Undeva Departe

Today I'll be writing about a band that I'm fairly certain most of the people reading will not have heard of, but really should. The band in question is one of Romania's most popular and long lasting rock bands, Holograf.

Undeva Departe is sort of a hard album to talk about objectively, as it is first and foremost a best of album, with the traditional one bonus song. The thing is, most of the songs have been re-recorded or remastered (unfortunately, my grasp of Romanian is limited only to its similarities with Latin, Spanish, or French so I can't say which of those) More confusing still, some of the tracks are from previous best of compilation Banii Vorbesc. As a result of this, I'm going to try to just regard Undeva Departe as a separate entity entirely.

Holograf have been around since 1978, and were relatively prolific in that time. When this album was released in 1999, they had 6 LPs, 1 EP and a previous best of to draw from. The selections for this album leaned fairly heavily upon the mid '80s output from the band, which I frankly think was their best period stylistically, so the updated recording quality made for a good choice.

The reason why I prefer the period from which most of these songs were drawn from is because in their early days Holograf were a hard rock band, drawing somewhat on the style of the 1980s but not to excess. (As a dramatic comparison, listen to their most recent release, 2006's Taina which is closer to elevator pop than anything the band recorded prior to this release)

Because of the emphasis on the early middle period of the band's output, there is a decent amount of heavier songs, but the albums isn't all rockers. The band wasn't as well known for their slower, more ballad like tracks at this point, but the quieter songs contrast nicely with the heavier ones.

This was the first album that I heard from Holograf, and to date the only one that I've been able to find in hard copy, and I think it's an excellent introduction to the band and the sound that they carried forward up to this point. I'm not a huge fan of the band's two most recent LPs, but for those who like a sort of hard rock carried forward from the 1980s Holograf are an excellent listen.

8/10

Moby - Go: The Very Best of Moby (Bonus Remix album)

First off, sorry for the long delay between my own reviews, although Lord of Entropy has kept the place going with some excellent and intriguing looks at black metal. As an explanation, an old friend of mine was in town for a week, and I haven't been around online a tremendous amount, nor really had the time to sit down and write out a review. That said, the frequency should be back to normal now.

Moby - Go (Bonus Remix album)

In 2006, the noted electronica artist Moby (best known for his supermassively popular 1999 album Play) released a career best of, spanning everything from his early work with club music right through his (then) most recent effort Hotel. Seeing as that was just a best of with an extra song tacked on, I'm not going to bother with that for now and move right to what for me was the real reason to get the compilation. The thing about this album is that Moby either was asked by or asked many of his contemporaries in the electronica scene to remix some of his songs, which he added to the best of as a sort of bonus. Naturally, since they got to pick what songs to remix, the songs all come from Moby's work since Play, but then again his earlier work was far more club oriented anyways. I should also just point out quickly that I am reviewing the US bonus disc, as I haven't heard the international one yet. I guess Canada is counted as US these days for album releases?

The album kicks off what I found to be something of an odd choice, Play's one club heavy song "Bodyrock." The reason why I find this odd is that the song was alike to Moby's early work and really didn't need any tweaking to make it a good club track, and it's the only song on this remix album I could really say that about. The end result is alright, it's not my favourite on the album but I'll give the remixer credit for making an interesting and totally new version of the song.

As we move into the next track, my curiosity with the album is justified, as the song is a remixof the last track from 2002's 18, the gospel influenced ambient track "Why Does My Heart Feel So Bad?" This is not a club track originally, and at least for the middle and end of the song the remixer does an excellent job of making it danceable, but the minute and a half intro of dramatic somber piano (added in) really detracts from the song. As a curiosity it's worthwhile, but I can't say I really like the track.

"Natural Blues" was one of my favourite tracks from Play, as it combined an excellent blues beat and vocals to a dance backdrop, but the remix really took the entire melody out of this song. Basically it's a rave track, with little melody and a repetitive bass line augmented by little keyboards. I think this could have made a great dance track if it had kept the original melody at least a little.

"South Side" is really very similar to the last track, in that the melody was all stripped out and made into a somewhat featureless electronica track.

"We Are All Made of Stars" is a more intriguing song, and it perked my interest back up somewhat. It still strips the song of all its original melody, but the end result is far more interesting than the last few songs. When I first listened through the album, this was enough to keep me going. Basically, it's a drum and bass track with keyboards and a little bit of distorted vocal noise in the background. Interesting, and very different from the original, but again it's not particularly impressive.

The next track I was really excited about, for two reasons. First, "Extreme Ways" is actually the song that made me go and look up Moby, and discover he had been the artist behind so many songs I'd heard and liked, and second because it as remixed by one of my favourite trance DJs, Dutch electronica superstar Tiësto. And I will definitely give it credit, this is my favourite track on the album so far. It is very much in the style of one of Tiësto's more sedate numbers, lacking the deeper sound of his more club oriented tracks, but it is interesting right through, and it keeps enough of the original melodies to keep it recognisable. My only complaint is with the vocals, despite keeping the majority of them Tiësto has tweaked them somewhat and they come through flat and a little boring. Aside from that this was a successful remix, and gave me hope for the rest of the album.

"Jam For the Ladies" is another track I really liked in the original, but by this point I was generally not hopeful of anything particularly stunning. Luckily this track surpassed everything else so far on the album. Basically the remixer sped up the BPM and vocals and added in heavier amounts of keyboards to the mix. This one got me moving around a bit as I heard it, which was again a first on this album. My biggest complaint is once more with the vocals, as they have been sped up to the point of sounding almost silly, but it's still a good track.

And now we get into the best two songs on the album, both from Moby's then most recent effort Hotel. First up is the '80s style "Lift Me Up" which becomes a pleasant little electronic song. It's not especially complicated or interesting, but it's a nice listen, and is a frequent play for me. The real winner, however, is it's follow up track "Raining Again." The initial intro to the song is similar to the original, and keeps basically the same melody and vocals, and overall the song sticks to the original, but where it really wins for me is in the addition of heavy club beats and less prominent vocals. This is what I had hoped for and expected when I picked up the album, so I was very pleased when this came on.

The next track, "Dream About Me," is largely forgettable, again just a pleasant little track good for background noise, but album closer "Slipping Away" is a little bit more interesting, if just because of how much more danceable it is than the original, but honestly I just don't have much to say about it.

Overall the album didn't really blow me away, it had a few real gems on it but for the most part I really prefer the originals. Now, this is to be expected on an album composed entirely of remixes by different artists, but I guess somehow I had expected a little bit more. If you're a fan of Moby it's worth hearing, if just for the curiosity factor, but I think ultimately this is more aimed at the hardcore fan than the casual listener, and due to Play's unbelievable success and broad appeal, I suspect the majority of Moby listeners are casual fans.

6/10