VELVET ACID CHRIST HEX ANGEL (UTOPIA/DYSTOPIA) ALBUM DEPENDENT, METROPOLIS (USA) RELEASE: AUGUST 11, 2003 REVIEW: OCTOBER 1, 2003

Brian Erickson's new album "Hex Angel" sound similar to several of his older Velvet Acid Christ albums which in my mind isn't a really bad thing. Except that it is intentional on this album, which is unforgivable. A total regression of sound is to be found on "Hex Angel". Canned rhythms that appeal to a dance floor and some very "futurepopish" high key lines. Ironic, indeed. The tracks don't really move around that much - intro, key lines, monotonous beat etc - and the crippling usage of movie samples really pisses me off. All sorts of references to murder, self-abuse, psychosis... yawn. This has been done to death, why keep flogging the corpse? Also annoying are the lyrics, which really didn't need to be printed. The synthesis and production on this album is flawless but the composition and subject matter leave a lot to be desired. "Pretty Toy" - which is the (first?) single and according to Dependent's somewhat egotistical press release, serves as VAC's answer to Puppy's classic "Worlock" - begins with a totally predicable sample about how much it gets the subject off to see other people's pain. Obviously, this track is for the "evil" people out there who are just waiting to pounce.
I would be quite interested to hear what this album sounded like before VAC were re-signed by Dependent. This thing reads like one big apology to the "goth/industrial" crowd that VAC alienated with their last (and quite superb) album "Twisted Thought Generator". Somebody wants attention. Rather than stand alone against the tide, VAC have chosen to cave in and re-enter the fold. They only serve as the alternate to "futurepop" by existing on the other side of the same coin, which makes them part of the problem and not the solution they claim to be. Nighty night, kiddies.

PETER MARKS