BEYOND THE UNDULANT QUIESCENCE is the the second full length album by Fjernlys. Coming from Germany and formed by Knut Enderlein (vision and voice), CKS (arrangements and voice) and Johannes Riedel (guitar and viola), the band recorded ten tracks that are in balance from melodic dark ambient (thanks to solemn atmospheres and tense melodies like on "Involution") and atmospheric dark wave. Some tracks would fit catalogs of labels such as Projekt or early 4AD but luckily enough we have also Loki Foundation that along with the recordings of Inade, Herbst9 and Fir§t Law bring to their fans sinuous synth sounds (see the releases of Antlers Mulm, Bad Sector and this album by Fjernlys). We have instrumental tracks like "Elemental movement" or "A letter to..." that sound soft and calm as well as melodic electronic wave tunes like "Silence" or "Constellation" that merge rhythmical samples, male / female vocals and guitars creating a sort of melodic spoken word ambient song. Layers of synth waves form tiny melodies that will ease your darkest thoughts without dissolving your eternal questions...

The fine times of "Electro for Turmdrehkranführer" seem to be over, as the status of their famousness grows and grows. German duo PATENBRIGADE: WOLFF offers a new full-length album with a slightly smoother sound outfit than ever discovered before. Lance Murdock and his partner Sven Wolff have reduced their EBM ingredients to integrate a rather more Futurepop-related sound design – although their kind to produce tasty arrangements remains to be the same. "Baustoff" should be able to appeal all of their old fans, they surely will receive several more supporters with this new outfit, which comes out thick and well-thought produced. To reach a higher status of recognition it helps, that they also hired several guest vocalists like Stefan Leukert, Andy Pitzinger (PAINBASTARD) Julia Beyer (CHANDEEN), Antje Schultz (IN STRICT CONFIDENCE), Antje Dieckmann, or André Hartung (SERO.OVERDOSE). Also continuing you’ll get their accident reports happened at the job, as usual placed in short interrupting tracks. This time they could hire the renowned German observer and criminal-biologist Dr. Mark Benecke. To point out the best tunes, I nevertheless prefer the "real" compositions, "Fehler 404" featuring S. Leukert, or the catchy "My Mountains" providing Nadine Stelzer for the lead vocals are worth to mention. Their previously released teaser "Voyage" featuring Antje Dieckmann got also included.
PATENBRIGADE: WOLFF satisfy once again their old fans as well as new and curious listeners with their high-skilled and in-depth produced Synth-Electronica music. If there’s really a tiny flaw worth to pick out, it may could be advantageous, to produce more own tracks featuring own vocals. "Baustoff" offers besides an intro and outro tune only one track "Popmusik für Rohrleger", featuring complete own and original PATENBRIGADE: WOLFF efforts. What happens, if their guest vocalists won’t find the time to perform with them during live gigs? Do they have to perform without their hits, like the ones mentioned above? But thanks to additional live performances providing their own identity and with the help of their guests, they should easily climbing up several more stages to reach famousness. A quite entertaining album and worth to check it out!

It has taken 5 years, until the German fellow Marc Horstmeier could release a new album under his famous moniker C-DRONE DEFECT. "Dystopia" is his third album and without any doubt his best work so far! Released by the renowned NoiTekk-label and provided with a distribution deal for the North-American market under the wings of COP International, this album can be rated as being one of the outstanding productions, which came out during the last half year. Especially the fact, that this album sounds completely different to many other colleagues out of the famous NoiTekk-roster, should already surprise the audience. "Dystopia" is a fine worked out and multiple layered Dark Electro-album, which balances well between ominous and cinematic sounding introductions and aggressive and pummeling harsh Electro tunes. That hatred description "Hellectro" doesn’t work on this album (some minor exceptions approving this rule, just check "Mundus vult decipi"), since this album is so much better and more detailed produced, that it completely impresses through its mood. Double-plus-good also, that the end mastering has been integrated wisely – no hunt to reach the highest thinkable peaks on here. May the permanent club visitors will argue because of a lesser floor-compatibility, although some tunes do allow ecstatic body movements ("Morituri te salutant", "Orpheus", "Mundus vult decipi", and almost "Mente videbor"). The pure listeners instead, will discover lots of ear candy , as the rich and in-depth fx-arrangements available on "Rebellis" or "Aegri somnia" draw relations to the moods of classic works offered by FLA, early DISMANTLED, or the French REMAIN SILENT. I tend to call this album with its Latin title names as being a tiny masterpiece and state-of-art work of hard and Dark Electro music. Marc Horstmeier (what a cool fore name... ) has to be named in one traditional breath with well-known German names like X-FUSION, PAINBASTARD or earlier :WUMPSCUT:. He also proves, that there’s a way out of an imaginary death valley called Techno-/trance-driven Hellectro-sounds – "Dystopia" offers perfect object lesson.

May this album title gives already out a hint, what kind of music hides behind this Hungarian-based project. FIRST AID 4 SOULS is five-persons collective, consisting of István Gazdag (lead synths, vocals), Katalin Helfenbein (e-drums, vocals)., Eszter Agiston (vocals), Zoltan Havasi (live sampling/VJ), and Attila Palvaly (drums). They too have hired several guest vocalists to help them out on this album, names like Linda Deamon of the Hungarian Metal-act DRUGZONE, or Aaron Russel of the US-based Electro-project IMPURFEKT coming up here. Musically this album is a bit a victim of different music interests of the single members. You’ll a colorful mixture out of Synth-/Futurepop-related tunes ("Before The Light"), some rather harmless Hellectro-related tracks ("Painkiller"), while you’ll also in between get a sort of Neo-Classic inspired work like "First Aid". They offer diversity to fight against that typical stereotyped thinking – everything seems to be musically allowed, as long as it is difficult enough for us fucking reviewers to sort them stylistically clear in. Personally impressed I felt with that energetic tune "Powa", although some heavy guitar-like inserts can be noticed. These Hungarians seem to feel familiar with multiple styles, although that album looses a bit intensity with the latter tracks. But to tip on some unnecessary lengths and avoidable repetitions may wouldn’t be fair for a quite good and entertaining debut release, although I fear that a versatile style-listener still needs to be born at first. As for a fine passing mention, FIRST AID 4 SOULS is the first music-project directly signed by the German Electro-Arc label and its mastermind Michael "Intrendent" Maier. Under this label moniker he has previously released some well recognized underground compilations featuring new talents completed with a few known band names, so this release means a new challenge for him.

This, one of the latest compilations collected by Germany’s grandfather of the rivethead-culture, Michael "Intrendent" Maier, is dedicated completely to the classic form of old-school EBM. All 19 participants of this compilation are strictly based to this musically ideal, quite comparable to the audio results of such veteran acts like NITZER EBB, DAF, POUPPÉE FABRIKK, or PARANOID. Outstanding is once again the talent of Mr. Intrendent to compile already discovered projects with bloody newcomers, without loosing an intensive floating of the compilation. Of course, some of the featured acts can rely on better studio equipment and recording possibilities, so it shouldn’t wonder, that the tracks of AD:KEY, the new Belgian force DARKMEN, DUPONT, IONIC VISION or DIGITAL FACTOR are coming out in a crystal-clear quality. The mostly reduced compositional efforts, the obvious macho-imaginary, combined with the minimal evident power of all compositions are may stuff to argue against those collections – but isn’t this exactly that stuff, which has caused a true revival of this special music genre? This compilation works excellent as being the right kick in some asses and offers the certainty, that this often dead-written music style still survives and promises to be more successful and recognized than ever before. Lately a lot of people got fed up with the still continuing Hellectro rush, so those acts with the right sense to fill in nostalgia may can take their profit out of this – how else can someone explain, that currently more and more labels hire projects out of the old-school league? But back to this compilation, on which I tend to point out 3 participants asides the above mentioned, which left a smile on me. Both, A.D.A.C. 8286 and KRAFT, may have heard quite often the early DAF-works, since their German lyrical efforts turning into their direction. Also that funny NORDSCHLACHT-side-project UGH...! with their track "Hauptsache Laut" offer a lot of entertainment asides the often, grim discovered "get-hard-be-strong"-attitude. Good and useful stuff for your next body party!

Track list

1. Agro's Baby - AD:key
2. What Are You - Guerrilla
3. Accept The Pain (Cachin Mix) - Darkmen
4. Run For Protection (Electro Arc Edit) - Dupont
5. Lost (Electro Arc Mix) - Severe Illusion
6. Sport Frei (Gymnastik Version) - A.D.A.C. 8286
7. Stampfe - Kraft
8. She Is (Masturbation Mix) - Ionic Vision
9. Mein Maedchen - Elite!
10. Angst - Hagen's Brut
11. Boots - Spark!
12. Dictatorship - Body Pleasure
13. Koerperwaerme – Equitant
14. Hauptsache Laut - UGH...!
15. Dopamin - Digital Factor
16. Gunmaster - Struck 9
17. Wrong Respect (Slow Mix) - Judge:Dred
18. Totalitaer - Standgericht
19. Aus Und Vorbei - Frontal