COMBICHRIST WHAT THE FUCK IS WRONG WITH YOU PEOPLE? ALBUM OUT OF LINE, METROPOLIS RELEASE: MARCH 14, 2007 REVIEW: APRIL 2, 2007

I’m going to be honest with you and confess that I haven’t liked Combichrist very much so far. Too much evil "hellectro" for me. I know my ex girlfriend really likes them, and that they’re pretty big as industrial acts go, but it has just been too noisy and unfocused for me. Thank the lord then that the new album is actually very good! It’s more techno-tinged and old-school EBM than before, the song writing is a lot stronger, and the production values have gone up a couple of notches.

It’s still strictly dance floor stuff, so there’s not much time for breathers. However, the tempo and style changes quite a lot. From the “fast bass line” school of EBM in “Are You Connected” to the slower more industrial agony in “Deathbed” and “Red”, Andy LaPlegua and friends manage to keep me interested throughout. I can almost visualize the crazy, crowded dance floors jumping around to some of the tracks here. And I want to join in.

I also have to say I like Andy’s voice a lot more in Combichrist than in Icon of Coil. The aggressive style suites him much more than the frankly grating clean vocals he makes there.

Those of you who miss the noisy Combichrist of yesteryear should get hold of the double-disc edition, where the entire second disc is filled with dirty noisy beats. I almost can’t get through it at all, but if you’re into that kind of thing I guess it will work out well.

JOHAN CARLSSON

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