Take a little it of Depeche Mode, cross it over with latter period Evil’s Toy, and some (though not as many as in the past) And One-isms, and Melotron is the result. One of the more original and best modern Depeche Mode influenced groups to come out in a while, they have a very high energy sound that tends to walk the lines between EBM, synthpop, and electro, while being all and none at once. The vocals this time seem more charismatic than some of the past releases, trading in the monotone talk-singing for a more dynamic range and more experimentation with octaves. But overall this should be pretty familiar to the long time Melotron fans like me (Woohoo! Melotron without the stigma of import prices!!! First Das Ichm now this, bless you Metropolis! Haha) who’ve seen some of their past releases. This one does seem to have more of an emotional edge to it though, and the experimentation has been kicked up a bit..... I got the chance to see and meet them a few months ago here in Chicago, they put on a very energetic show that everyone in the audience says topped even the almighty Covenant. Trust me, there were a lot more American fans by the end of the night! The singer gets totally into the music, dancing and prancing around with a charisma I haven’t seen in a live show since Bella Morte or Porcupine Tree, and the energy grabs you no matter how far back in the audience you are. Plus the keyboardist I talked to is a very nice guy, quite humorous. In short, if you get a chance to see them live, give up the Depeche Mode tickets as your one synthpop show of the year and check these guys out, I guarantee you’ll end up leaving a fan, whether you like synthpop or not. Along with Pulcher Femina and the aforementioned And One, this is one of my favorite modern synthpop groups. It definitely has an energy that a lot of modern synthpop simply cannot touch or comprehend, as well as more complexity. Rating: 10.