Curve - "Chinese Burn"(Universal)
They're back! Throw Garbage in the bin, the queen is back in the Republic(a) with a new single. After a three year break and Toni Halliday's dalliance with leftfield dance music and blonde hair, the original and best female fronted, ass-kickin', ball-bustin' techno-goth noise machine is back. It seems the break has done them good, 'cause "Chinese Burn" is their most focussed track yet. They now seem to know exactly what they want to be - goth-tinged industrial noise-mongers - and are determined to make the world sit up and take notice. "Chinese Burn" kicks ass big time and blows away the clinically commercial pretenders. The four remixes are fairly pointless, lacking the punch of the main mix, while "Robbing Charity" and "Come Clean" are fairly standard b-sides. But, "Chinese Burn" is a powerful return from a great band and a sign of great things to come.

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Pist.On - "Number One"(Music For Nations)
Some people may object to the inclusion of a "metal" band in this section, but they can fuck off. Where would goth or indus be without the influence of early Black Sabbath or early Alice Cooper? Nowhere, that's where. While they, and much of the rest of the genre are now little more than a bad joke, some acts have produced good stuff over the years. Brooklyn's Pist.On are one such act who has taken the best elements of metal, added a lot of alternative elements - goth, post-punk, indie - and created something pretty new. Type O Neg's Josh Silver produced this, but he has succeeded well in allowing them develop their own sound without creating a Type O 2. At times the stuff works brilliantly, at other times not so well. Opener "Parole"is far too like Metallica for its own good, but for brilliance there's "Turbulent" - pure Black Sab-esque moody psychedelia - "Gray Flap" - powerfully melodic with a pomposity and depth that would make Jim Steinman jealous - and a cover of the Smith's "Shoplifters of the World Unite" - a reversal of the usual formula with kick-ass verses and a quiet melodic chorus and power that would wilt Morrisey's daffodil. From there on, things settle into a more formulaic style - chords crash, solos scream and the vocals range from melody to an animal-like roar. Competent, but not ground breaking. That is until the final track, "Exit Wound",- a majestically atmospheric piece that ends it all with incredible style.

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Empire Hideous - "Act IV: "It's Just a Matter of Time"" (Black Vatican)
New York's finest and most popular goth act, it seems. NY must be in a bad state. Myke Hideous and his motley crew of musicians aren't all that bad, but they're not the best in the world either. The three tracks on this tape are in the style of classic goth, which is fine for the Sisters and Bauhaus, but in 1997 it sounds very dated. A large dollop of atmospheric keyboards with a dash of guitars and some spooky vocals is the recipe for Empire Hideous. A lot like the Fields of the Nephilim without the gravely vocals. This is a band that's renowned for its live performances, but they have obviously failed to capture that energy on tape. A big hat and demonic make-up just ain't enough.

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Fear Of Dolls - "All Monsters Eat Children" (Demo)
Seattle, the city of grunge, the home of Nirvana, Pearl Jam, et al. has a goth scene. OK, perhaps not, I don't know. But, it does have at least one goth band, and one with a very cool name at that. After that "Barbie Girl" single, a fear of dolls is very justified. This is a million miles away from that bubble-gum pop number. This is full, emotional, atmospheric, gothy stuff by new Seattle band Fear of Dolls. The androgynous vocals,the indecipherable mix of instruments, the slow, heavy wall of sound. While they have been compared to Sonic Youth, they have much more in common with the Cranes, early Siouxsie & the Banshees and early Cocteau Twins. The main flaw with this 10 track release is that most of the tracks sound alike, but the collection makes great background ambience. Expect good things from them when they release a proper album.

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Grace Overthrown - "Child/ Rolled Into One" (Unmastered Demo)
Two tracks by a new, female-fronted dark electro band, G/O. "Child" is all quirky, soft and childlike vocals with a looped electro backing and guitars that rise and fall throughout. The music reminds me of nothing more than the soundtrack to "Hallowe'en". "Rolled into One" has more kick, with bitchy vocals - I've never heard a more insincere "I'm sorry" - and a looped guitar and beat backing. The two tracks are unmastered, so they sound a bit flat and lacking in punch, but that'll hopefully change in the final versions. But, they do have great potential. The band will probably hate the comparison, but they do sound a lot like a harder version of Berlin circa "Pleasure Victim" (yes, Berlin from "Top Gun"). But, that is a compliment in my books: darkly camp, sexy electro.

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November 17 - "trust no one" (Slip Disc)
This is a remastered version of Arizona industrial band, N17's, 1995 demo. The main comparison is blatantly obvious - Ministry. Shit heavy guitar loops, tribal drumming and hoarse shouting vocals. According to the band, they have progressed beyond this point in the 3 years since they recorded the demo, so hopefully their new stuff will be more complex and interesting.The first track on this CD, "Grip" bursts out and grabs hold of you, bludgeoning you with tight production, a shit-heavy sound and a groove that takes your body and shakes it. Sound good? Well, there's nothing wrong there, but unfortunately there is little or no divergence from this formula in the next nine tracks. Being shouted at constantly does tend to get on your nerves. However, the potential is there for them to fill the gap at the heavy end of the industrial market since Ministry seem to have left it. All they need to do is vary their sound a bit.

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Penitent - "...the Beauty of Pain..." (SPV)
The cover of this CD is very misleading. The name, the logo and the fact they're from Norway would lead one to think that Penitent is just another Norwegian Black Metal band with no talent who burn churches and kill each other. Nothing could be further from the truth. This is a beautiful collection of atmospheric neo-classical works, using the normally background instruments: piano, harpsichord, flute and tribal bass-drum; as lead instruments. The music is eerie and intricate, like the music from a good horror film, but far more complex. It all works incredibly well. The only flaw is that at points in the music, poetry is read out in heavily accented English, sounding unhealthily like Arnie the Terminator. I would prefer to hear these in the band's native language, which would add even more atmosphere. But, that is a small flaw and it in no way spoils the effect of this incredible collection. Highly recommended, and I await the soon to be released follow-up with high expectations.

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Recoil - "Unsound Methods"(Mute)
"Ultimately, everything I do tends to have a dark menace about it." Alan Wilder, who left Depeche Mode 2 years ago, has resurfaced with a record full of dark menace. This is heavily influenced by movie soundtracks, mixing Ennio Moricone and Angelo Badalamenti with the soundtracks for imaginary films of Barry Adamson and Portishead. The movie influence is cemented with the opening sample of the helicopters from "Apocalypse Now." Four different vocalists could have given this a disjointed feel, but they don't. Nitzer Ebb's Douglas McCarthy shows his vocal range with a Robbie Robertson/Leonard Cohen-esque drawl that becomes his more familiar quivering, unhinged howl on both "Incubus" and "Stalker". Newcomer Siobhan Lynch sounds a bit like Portishead's Beth, with the distortion replaced by a breathless and passionate style. New York's Maggie Estep's spoken word performances are a total head-fuck, reminiscent of John Cale's spoken work stuff with the Velvet Underground. Finally, former Depeche Mode backing singer Hilda Campbell's lonesome blues howl is like some of the stuff This Mortal Coil has done. In this style of music, making your personal mark on the music is more important that being completely original.Wilder has managed to get the balance between referencing, mood and individuality perfectly right, producing a brilliantly dark soundscape that isn't goth, techno, dance or a film score, but a very enjoyable mix of them all.

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Numb - "Blood Meridian"(KK)
The new album from ex-Skinny Puppy outfit, Numb, opens with a burst of distortion that tells you exactly what this is all about. This is fucked-up dance music - distorted, loud, fast, coarse, hard, dark dance music - music for frenzied dance floors where strobes flash and heads and bodies fly in crazed patterns. The music is experimental and influenced by too much stuff to mention, almost everything from Kraftwerk on. It twists, changes, perverts and surprises. The vocals, on the other hand, are either a low growl or a hoarse roar. Therein lies the biggest flaw. While the music is diverse and unpredictable, the vocals are far too samey and much too shouty and generally too high up in the mix. Not only do they detract from the music, they often drown it out. A good selection that would have benefitted from a more diverse vocal performance.

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Fifth Column Fetish - "Fifth Column Fetish" (Bathos Communications)
First point in this band's favour is that they are named (in part) after a group of Spanish fighters from the Civil Wars, nothing like a bit of historical referencing to look cool. This collection of 7 tracks is largely sample based, and sounds pretty good. Vocal samples are used as an instrument to great effect on "cellophane", "old whore death" and the opening "fcf" where the quote is from Ernest Hemmingway. The humour in many of the songs is dry and witty, and the way the samples are used adds the album a lyrical complexity and a strong sense of sarcasm. This is less in evidence on the tracks with actual vocals. The sound is hypnotic industrial dance, with some obvious influences - Revolting Cocks and Thrill Kill Kult. But, it's stylish and has an infectious groove, especially where the looped samples are in evidence. Boogie your ass off.

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Junkie XL - "Saturday Teenage Kicks" (Roadrunner)
The press release proclaims that this is another big beat record, but it is worth listening to. Strange thing to say, because this is a lot more than just another Prodigy copy-cat band. In fact, at time, the closest comparison isn't the Prodigy or the Chemical Bros, it's the KLF. This is an eclectic mix of dance, rock, heavy techno and hip-hop, by a new band with some famous friends - guitar duties are fulfilled by Fear Factory's Dino Cazares and the title track is co-written and co-produced by ex-Husker Du and Sugar man Bob Mould. In fact that track is the most mainstream of all, with a soft techno backing, screeching guitars, a light drum beat and some fairly straight-forward rapping from "the Microphone Nazi". The other tracks are harder, faster and edgier. Opener "Underachiever" starts off phat and phunky with a collection of samples and a taster of the rap, before the guitars kick in with full power and explode into your ears. The rap starts for real, with a hard, hysterical edge that would beat seven shades of shit out of Rage Against the Machine. All through, the bass is funky, the guitars are hard and heavy, the beats are big and the rapping insane. Influences come from all over, some admittedly from big beat bands like the Chemical Bros, but as many from the afore mentioned KLF as well as from funk, industrial dance and industrial hip-hop like Consolidated and the Disposable Heroes. This is noisy, sloppy, aimless and pretty damn cool. Nothing seems planned, it has a loose experimental, improv feel that is damn exciting. What'll come next is anyone's guess.

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Scar Tissue - "TMOTD"(21st Circuitry)
It all starts with a montage of noise - discordant distortion, unidentifiable noises and an all but inaudible vocal sample. Then the beats start to creep in and "Crashtime" proper kicks in - a driving, pounding piece of heavy beat-driven electro with vocals almost buried in the mix. "Cascade" burst out with a barrage of drums and a mix that pounds your chest. It lets up for a while with a slower pace in the middle and then it picks back up with driving noise and vocal samples of someone shouting. "Not Your Own" is a calmer, discordant mix of industrial and disco, which owes a lot to Thrill Kill Kult. But the best is kept for later when tracks like "Aftermath" and "Membrane" explode with an electro soundscape and incredible live military drums. The sound is hard and heavy, but often melodic as well. "In This Place" even has some bag-pipes thrown in for good measure. The 13 "Devices" tagged on the end are pointless noise experimentation, but after 12 tracks of superior heavy electro, they don't matter. The best thing about this CD is that the vocals, when they're there, are part of the mix, not a distraction stuck on top. They form part of the over-all vibe, and a lot of other bands could learn a thing or two from this.

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The Shroud - "Long Ago and Far Away"(Omnidisk)
A female fronted atmospheric goth band, with classical and folk influences. It's not too hard to point out who they sound like. Kristin Hersh and All About Eve, no doubt about it. This is a cross between the Eves' first 2 albums and Hersh's solo stuff. So, it's not original, but is it good? Well, if you like the aforementioned acts, you'll love this, especially as the Eves have been gone a long time. Lydia Fortner's vocals are soft and sensual, the guitars crash slowly, keyboards fill out the sound and at various points, violin, cello and mandolin, add extra texture. This is mature, mellow music that is easy on the ears and pacifying on the mind. Nothing exactly mind blowing, very like the Eves in that the sound varies only slightly from song to song and the power is in the overall feel of the album. There is some variation, mainly in the vocals. At one moment, they're soft and quiet, then they're stronger and darker. "Caged Bird" is probably the most gothic song on this, with a beating bass-line and strong vocals. The tenth track (which has a title made up of symbols) is a faster rockier track, with lots of guitars and drums and a punkier performance from Lydia. The funny thing about that is the fact that the band have a cover of the Sister's "Alice" on this as well, which is about as far from the amphetamine fuelled onslaught of the original. This is all strings and beauty, much quieter and slower than the old one. The final title track, is based on a medieval melody and is very simple and enjoyable, with only layered vocals and piano. All in all, an enjoyable album, that'll chill you out, but there's nothing new here.

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Various Artists - "Coldwave Breaks II" (21st Circuitry)
A 14 (actually 15 track sampler of some of what 21st Circuitry have to offer. Not all, because Xorcist are notably missing. There is a wide amount of variation in the styles and also the quality. I am bored of music that shouts at you. A certain amount of shouting can add an edge to a song and put across the anger of the artist. Tracks that are mainly distortion-based with a lot of shouting have become very boring. They've also been done before, usually better than some of the examples here. However, there are some brilliant tracks on this. Acumen Nation's "fuckyerbrainsout" is an agressive, powerful, superfast industrial jungle number. I never thought jungle could ever sound so interesting. Rammstein return after their inclusion on the "Lost Highway" soundtrack with "Du Riescht So Gut", a superior techno-goth number showing ability that was not hinted at by the soundtrack tracks. Waiting For God's "Trust in Me" is like Patti Smith gone techno, the female vocals adding an uncommon element to heavy shit dance. Other tracks are good, but fall down on their unoriginality, Discipline of Anarchy's "Incessant" could have been on NIN'a "Fixed". All in all, a typical compilation, with some great tracks, some good ones and a few naff ones (like the hidden extra track, which is pure shite).

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Test Dept - "the enigma of doctor dee/vena cava" (KK)
It's not easy to review a band like Test Dept. With new bands you can point out the obvious influences, you listen to the CD with an open mind and mention any flaws, in an effort to help them improve, totally constructive criticism, of course. With bands like Test Dept (and thankfully there are very few), it's a lot more difficult. If you don't already know, the reason for this is that Test Dept have been around since 1981. They are an influence rather than have influences. Along with a handful of other bands like Throbbing Gristle, Killing Joke, Joy Division, Wire and Devo, they originated the ideas that created most of the styles of techno, everything from rave to hardcore industrial. What makes it even harder is the fact that this single is pretty good. If it was crap, a few short phrases like "irrelevant", "has-beens" and "they've lost it" could be strung together in a nice short review. But, it's not crap. Test Dept have released a 4-track CD (2 mixes of 2 songs) that is current, composed with perfect precision and containing all the right elements. The tracks are instrumental, all based on rhythm and sound montages "the enigma.." is a hard trance number with very coarse edges, which are smoothed out in the remix, "the return of doctor dee". "vena cava (lifeblood)" mixes string instrumentation with a slow drum n' bass sound, while the remix, "vena cava (arterial city)" is exclusively rhythm, with a slow, sharp jungle feel. This is flawless, but at the same time not something to get really excited about. They may have started it all, they may be as good as most other heavy techno bands out there, but the're not better, which would make them truly exciting again. The demands are high on the classics.

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black lung - "the psychocivilisedsociety" (IMCC)
Black Lung hail from Melbourne, Australia, but it could easily be a post-apocalypic future, judging by the sounds on this album. This is darkest ambient. Distortion is used asian instrument and as the CD progresses, becomes more and more prevalent until it eventually takes over and the CD descends into a pit of noise.This is a soundtrack for global warming, for the end of the world. It is pointless to review individual tracks on ambient releases, the whole thing is the experience. This contains a wide variety of elements, from the afore-mentioned distortion, to ethnic musics to the usual drum and synths of ambient-trance.Not really something to listen to, more to put on in the background and absorb.

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Advent Sleep - "egos &eros" (Pink Cathedral)
This is a remodeled version of the cassette of the same name released by Pennsylvanian goth band Advent Sleep. Their sound is a 90s version of traditional goth, with obvious Bauhaus and Sisters influences. But they have added a modern electronic edge to the sound that makes it sound fresh. The main tracks are pretty good, but not the worlds best. However, the four extra remixes show where the band are going and are a lot better than the original versions. Unlike most remixes, these are not changed completely, but the electro element has been improved and tightened no end, making the band's music sound tighter and more intense. These should have been put at the beginning of the CD, not hidden at the end where you might miss them. A band with a good sound and hints of better to come, unfortunately the CD was badly planned.

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TV Terror - "Felching a Dead Horse" (Re-Constriction)
A collection of Gothic and Industrial Dance bands doing covers of TV theme tunes. Seem like a very strange idea? Well, that's exactly what this is. Unfortunately, more often than not, it doesn't work. The major problems are: bands who have fucked the originals up so much that they're not recognisable, the fact that the originals were too crap to do anything with, or the fact that the originals aren't well known enough. But there are some good points. The bands who camped up the original to an incredible degree succeeded best, Alien Sex Fiend's version of "Batman", 29 Died's "Addams Family" and Stone 588's "Gilligan's Island" are brilliantly camp and overdone. Other successes are the ones where bands added a dark edge to light-weight theme tunes, like Electric Hellfire Club's "Charles in Charge", which sounds like the theme tune for a fascist dictator, or Loretta's Doll's "Scooby Doo", which is just bizarre. The final successes are the truly weird ones, like Triple Point's drum n' bass version of the "Dynasty" theme and My Glass Beside Yours' "Muppet Show" which sounds like it was recorded in a toilet. But, 10 or so good tracks out of 36 is not a good result. Most of the bands should stick to their own music.

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