La Machine, the duo formed by Eric U0 and Pierre Pi, is really good at picking up a song from the past and turning it into something new. If the track is a French hit from the past, the result is even more interesting, because of the electronic arrangement and because they are just good at giving to their covers a fresh touch. For this new EP "W454", they picked up a song sung by Michel Sardou in 1976. The original one had a rich orchestration and sounded like a mix of rock opera, confidential and disco: now it sounds like a mix of e.b.m. and synthpop but it didn't lose its original pathos and this is just remarkable. This is a particular release because it shouldn't exist: don't get me wrong, this isn't what I was wishing for but this MCD/10" shouldn't have existed because La Machine was about to release their first album but because of manufacturing delays they decided to give birth to this nice EP. Along with "W454" and a new track "Invasion Humanoide" (a new really nice track that will be included along with the title track on the incoming album) and their remixes, we have another surprise: a cover of "Psyche Rock", a single that Pierre Henry, one of the fathers of French electronic music, released back in 1970. If you love Matt Groening work you already know this tune, because a version of it is the main title of the Futurama cartoon.

A number of Chain D.L.K. reviewers are also musicians/sound producers with their own musical projects, myself included (Chemistry Set, Serious Black, Malaysian Pale). Germany's Marc Tater is another with his Synaptic Defect project, which has had several releases since 2004, but Marc's foray into the world of dark EBM goes all the way back to 1994 and a project called Evil Sermon. Shortly after that project folded in 1997 Tater started Synaptic Defect and never looked back. Synaptic Defect's style is old-school EBM/dark electro with hoarse, half-whispered vocals, which I find to be the best for the genre. While many newbies go wrong and try and reinvent the wheel in EBM, Synaptic Defect stays within confines and doesn't color outside of the lines being that much better for it.

'Initializing Insanity' has a certain mood and feel to it that portends a certain apocalyptic doom. Thematically, the album covers a number of serious topics - climate change and toxic environments (“The Pollution Generation” and “Lethal Radiation”); personal issues (“Get Out”, “Fit for Flogging”, “The Inner Demons”, “Tacky Games” and “Scared Eyes Wide Open”); substance abuse and the pandemic ("Morphine" and "The Lack of Empathy"); fascist oppression ("In the Streets", "Strike Back!"); the refugee crisis in the Mediterranean Sea (“Killing Tides”); and who in their right mind could ignore the insanity of war (“From Dusk Till Dawn”, "Sniper" and “Combat War”), be it in the Ukraine, Gaza or elsewhere.

While some EBM is only good for the dancefloor, not so here in Synaptic Defect's world. The tracks on 'Initializing Insanity' are intensely atmospheric, along the lines of Gridlock, Wumpscut, and Psyclon Nine (sans screamo), with a dash of Front Line Assembly and Skinny Puppy. However, if you're looking for great club tracks with a compelling beat, look no further than “From Dusk Till Dawn”, “Combat War”, "Time Bomb" and "Tacky Games". The album is laced with dialogue samples, but not overly so (which can be really annoying) and they seemed relevant and mostly brief.

I have to remind you this is a massive double-album of 32 tracks, the 'Restoring Sanity' portion available for prevue only on a different Bandcamp page. Eleven of the 17 tracks on that portion of the double album are remixes by Pyrroline, Second Disease, tEaR!doWn, Sleepwalk, SERPENTS, Plastic Noise Experience, T.A.N.K. Terminal State, Trilogy and R010R. The second CD seems harder-edged, and reminding me of FLA, especially on a track like "Man is Machine". It has that kind of compelling electro-industrial riff'n'rhythm that Bill Leeb is famous for. When it comes to the remixes though, I may not be the best guy to ask; I generally hate them most of the time, although there can be pleasantly unexpected exceptions. The Second Disease remix of "We Are Not Alone" was better than the original. The Plastic Noise Experience remix of "Combat War" turns it into a dancefloor killer. The Pyrroline remix of "From Dusk Till Dawn" puts even more punch into the beat than it had originally and cleans up some of the sonic effluvia. The SERPENTS remix of "Strike Back!" removes the effects from the dialogue samples making it perfectly clear this track is about the Holocaust. R010R re-energizes "The Lack of Empathy" into something much more compelling. The original "Sniper" sounds a bit dull in comparison to Trilogy's remix, which kicks the threat assessment up a notch or three and tEaR!doWn's Data Control Remix of "Reset the System" makes it a more potent and powerful piece than it was in the original version.

All things considered, this is a great double album by Synaptic Defect, bring together the best of old school and modern techniques. My only real criticism is that the vocals could have been a bit more prominent, but overall, an excellent job by Tater. Purchase recommended, and not because he reviews for Chain D.L.K., but because it's that damn good.

It's not only the first compilation release for Rexx Arkana's newly established label Haus Arkana, it's also kind of a heart-melting project which at least has some historically meaningful content to offer. There's a sentimental storyboard behind this 4CD-set. Let's turn back an imaginary wheel of time into the years 1994 -1996. The Milwaukee-based radio-DJ and writer for the legendary Industrial Nation-magazine, Ric Laciak, has founded his own label RAS DVA out of the Leaether Strip US-fan base GAWMUS. First releases have been such notable outputs of Benestrophe (a Mentallo & The Fixer-side project), “Sensory Deprivation”, or the well recognized Kevorkian Death Cycle debut “Collection For Injection”.

Since I was personally involved as being a writer for the German glossy print-magazine Vertigo to that time, I still remember our days of pride, to have had contact with this fine, eloquent person and the inspiring conversations with him just from the beginning and for the most time without e-mail – fax messages or written letters did the job. It resulted in a license deal of a Kevorkian Death Cycle-track to be switched on one of our Vertigo-compilations accompanying the print-magazine (“Faithless (Club Edit)” - Vertigo Compilation 03/1996). However, the biggest impact this small label has left for the posterity was without doubt the legendary 4-CD / quadruple compilation “There Is No Time” with its innovative cardboard slipcase packaging. This opulent compilation still stands for being one of the few groundbreaking, must-have-items in anyone's collection. It has presented the state-of-art of underground Industrial music and included dozens of music projects licensed from various labels world-wide.

Again, and just check out the terrific track list via Discogs with well-known artists side by side with promising newcomer acts, this hallmark of a compilation can't be missed at all. The activities around the label RAS DVA then ended in 1998, shortly after the release of Jihad's “A Prayer In The Night” debut album. In 2006 the label made some online activities with future music plans but finally it hasn't worked out. Founder Ric Laciak unfortunately passed away in November 2014 from complications with cancer.

To conclude this and the tragic loss of Ric, here finally comes a fact I had to learn out of this history. It was Rexx Arkana being pretty much involved, doing promotion works for RAS DVA and collaborated with Ric in those days. It was all about to share their love and dedication for Industrial and, unfortunately but necessary, a history of cancer. Both have seemingly had their ideas for a second edition of the “quadruple monster” before Ric passed away. So this is all about it, “Passing Strangers” is the quadruple release, that kind of dedication to RAS DVA and to Ric Laciak – maybe that imaginary second edition already considered. Actually I feel myself pretty much thrown into a similar feeling of curiosity to listen CD after CD and to discover the pearls which also “Passing Strangers” has to offer. Just check the track list below and with respect to the meaning behind this compilation, it is almost impossible to give out a track-by-track review. I rather like to pick out a few of the most valuable contributions.

Disc One impresses with the highest amount of popular global-players compared to the all other discs on this quadruple set and with Orange Sector, Kevorkian Death Cycle, Lights Of Euphoria or Leaether Strip (here available as guest vocalist for Blind Vision), there are a few participants which have been already guests on “There Is No Time”, 27 years before. On the other hand, since there are so many familiar names on Disc One here, the amount of exclusive tracks only available on “Passing Strangers” here is reduced to zero. Nevertheless I like the float on it thanks to cleverly chosen apposition, this whole CD1 impresses on almost all tracks. Worth to point out are a few of the lesser discovered projects so far. Texas-based Curse Mackey, founding member of Evil Mothers and collaborator for My Life With The Thrill Kill Kult, offers us with “Lacerations” a solid, stomping Industrial-tune with subtle, accompanying guitar riffs. The icy, deep and dense synth-layer- programmings of Daniel Myer (haujobb.), here active under his pseudonym DSTR, are definitely ear-catching resulting into another fine tune. “Man Made” by Kevorkian Death Cycle can be found originally on their 1996-debut “Collection For Injection”, but lately the band around Roger Jarvis and Ryan Gribbin made a few re-recordings from a few tracks out of this phase and this is one of them.

Disc Two kicks off with a stomping Suicide Commando-track (also a contributor to “There Is No Time”) and presents with Point5 a new project by Ole Anders Olsen (alias Andy LaPlegua –> Combichrist, Icon Of Coil, Scandy, Panzer AG, and, and, and...) until Rexx Arkana himself participates under his famous FGFC820 with a new, unreleased remix of “Crush”, a track originally taken from their album “Homeland Insecurity” (2012). After some closer to guitar-driven Industrial sounds by UK's Inertia or Stoneburner, the tone of this disc changes more and more into TBM / EDM styles (Stoppenberg, ESA, Cenotype). Pretty Retro-EBM-like bass lines and a straight drum pattern programming – so sounds the contribution of the UK-based talent Discipline & Control, while the dramatic, out-of-range-like vocal performance is somewhat of getting used to it. Venal Flesh and their unreleased track “Calcination” could be a well-working addition in the row of some Dark Electro-projects with a modern twist in vain of VAC for example, while the rhythmic Powernoise-specialist Endif unites with Retcon to present us an unreleased re-recording of the Endif-track “Ashes”, originally released on the debut “Meta” (2006 – Crunch Pod).

The third disc pushes further the already discovered hard-edged TBM / EDM sound with Soman or the second appearance of ESA, while mastermind Jamie Blacker this times joins the ranks of Mika Groedrijk's rhythmic Powernoise-project This Morn' Omina. Although signed to the German ProNoize label, Neuroklast is a newcomer to me, founded by the both German producers Kay SchÄfer (ex-Chainreactor) and Markus Horschig (former ReAdjust). A bit more compositorial creativity can be discovered by the UK-based musician and DJ, Matt Hart, who isn't afraid to reanimate some classic Coldwave-like guitar-driven structures on his exclusive remix of “To The Core”. Civil War on the other hand would musically fit well to the row of prominent old-school EBM veterans like Orange Sector or Pouppée Fabrikk – but they are a promising newcomer out of Argentina. Back to Europe to Manchester, UK, with another newcomer, Red-Meat providing us “angry queer body music and sex positive energy”. Also worth a mention and relatively comparable to the both predecessors is the Denver-based electronic musician Fernando Altonaga and his EBM-outfit eHpH. More and more the music turns into Dark Synthpop with classic New Wave-undertones with the contributions of Coldkill (a mutual project by Rexx Arkana with Eric Eldredge of the NYC-based Futurepop-project Interface) with their interpretation of Minitry's “We Believe”, and Dead Lights.

Disc Four starts with the Munich-based Rue Oberkampf and their 80s-inspired minimal Synthpop outfit, while the Italian-based Unconscious aka Andrea Riberti impresses with a hammering, classic EBM-inspired tune entitled “You Belong To Me Now (Re-Edit)” - another one of the previously unreleased tracks. Florida's Aeon Rings, recording for Negative Gain Productions, offer a quite different sounding tune turning towards into Synth- / Electropop-regions with natural sounding male vocals. A pretty much Dive-/The Klinik-inspired tune with its typically distorted rhythm- and percussion work can be discovered by E.L.I., a project by Mike Smith, who is a modular producer and DJ from Scotland.

To conclude this review it should be mentioned, that Rexx Arkana did an amazing job to collect as much as possible diversity in Electronic music styles for this quadruple release. Additionally I tend to say that the times, evolution and development of this music has continued into stylistically wider and more complex forms and in uncountable variations, than it has been during the days when”There Is No Time” came out.

Finally – maybe the most important reason to purchase this fine compiled quadruple set - $5 from the direct sale of each CD compilation will be donated to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital in Memphis, https://www.stjude.org/

Also: no download available – you have to purchase the physical product.

Track list:

CD 1:
1. A Split – Second – Rigor Mortis 2.Covenant – Judge Of My Domain 3.Absolute Body Control – So Obvious (Live At E-Only Festival) 4.Curse Mackey – Lacerations 5.DSTR – Disappear (1st Draft) 6.Blind Vision ft. Leaether Strip – DDF 2 (Album Version) 7.Lights Of Euphoria –Access Denied 8.Armageddon Dildos – Colder 9.Orange Sector – Blood Brothers 10.Pouppée Fabrikk – Burn Forever 11.Noisuf-X – Finish Him! 12.Fusspils 11 – Fleischfresser (PS Edit) 13.Kevorkian Death Cycle – Man Made 14.Fektion Fekler – Let's Jump (Yes You Will Mix) 15.Rohn - Lederman ft. Jean-Luc De Meyer – Where The Wild Roses Grow

CD 2:
1. Suicide Commando –Kill All Humanity (Short & Painless) 2. Point5 – The Kid Is A G 3.FGFC820 – Crush (Letting Go - Mix) 4.Inertia ft. Steve White (KMFDM) – Scowl 5.Stoneburner –Excrementorium 6.Stoppenberg –Soldat 7.Electronic Substance Abuse – BBWO (Expel Mix 2022) 8.Cenotype – Hour 10 (Live Action) 9.Discipline & Control – Burning Up 10.Reichsfeind – Wish There Was A Drug (Exclusive Mix) 11.Marred – The Fragrance Of Blood 12.The Gothsicles – INFL8-R (Resurexxion Mix) 13.Venal Flesh – Calcination 14.Endif Vs. Retcon – Ashes 15.Kounter Mezhure – Golden God

CD 3:
1. Soman – Divine (2022 Short Remix) 2.Moris Blak – Umbra 3.ESA vs. This Morn' Omina –Consumption (Compounded) 4.Neuroklast – Scavengers 5.Her Noise Is Violence – Djinn (Original Mix) 6.Matt Hart – To The Core (Further Down Mix) 7.Civil Hate – Honor & Dignidad 8.Red-Meat – Vore (Gordon Young Mix) 9.eHpH – Rust 10.INVA//ID – The Sinner 11.Spankthenun – Crushing Blow (Mirland Remix) 12.Coldkill – We Believe 13.Dead Lights –Ice Queen (Club Mix) 14.Lola Kumtus – Wasted Years 15.Hem Netjer – Connect

CD 4:
1.Rue Oberkampf – Never Stop To Dance 2.Unconscious – You Belong To Me Now (Re-edit) 3.Visitor – What World Is This 4.Hammershøi – Hélas (Remix By Coldkill) 5.One Flesh.Infektion.–Martial Doom 6.XTR Human–City Hai 7.Aeon Rings –Lover 8.Dry_feel – Repellent Machine 9.Soj – Pensamientos Impuros 10.Black Light Odyssey – Under Your Spell (Hexmaschine Vs. Blo Edit) 11.Sanderson & Esterhaus – Composition 080621 12.E.L.I. – The Antagonist 13.Crying Skies – Around The Walls Of Horror 14.Sigsaly – L'avenir 15.L – Discipline

This US-duo has been often guests here on our pages, be it with reviews or interviews. FGFC820, consisting of the both international renowned DJ's Rexx Arkana and DrÄcos, sends out a sign of life after almost a decade of silence. After their last full-length release “Homeland Insecurity” in 2012, “American History Vol. 1” is kind of a “Best of...” compilation and provides us the most remarkable tracks of this highly acclaimed Harsh Electro project out of their heydays from the Noitekk Records times. It's all about to celebrate the 15th year anniversary of their first full-length album “Urban Audio Warfare” out in 2006 on NoiTekk Records. This release also marks the first one out by Haus Arkana, the new label outfit established by Rexx Arkana.

Within often critically viewed thanks to their perceived militaristic and patriotic “pro-America” image, please note, that this compilation represents pretty that music style we all know and have widely discovered in those days: it's the newer form of a Harsh Electro rush – or Hellectro, if you like so. Often praised for its versatile dancefloor-attitude, but also cursed for its repetitive, one-dimensional sound-design too often inspired by various Techno styles, FGFC820 have been always counted to be one of the best horses of this style and can count on a loyal fan base world-wide. They could successfully enter international stages of renowned gigs and festivals abroad. It shouldn't wonder therefore, that “American History Vol. 1” offers some of their most recognized tracks, all in completely remastered versions, just to bring themselves back into the ears of their audience.

First and foremost, there's their anthem “G.B.A.” (= God Bless America), which has already made its slot on the above mentioned debut album. Asides the remastered original version, you'll get two new remix contributions provided by such global players like Suicide Commando and Leaether Strip from which I enjoyed the more old school-vibe of the latter one a bit more. “Not The World I Remember”, taken from the second album “Law And Ordnance” is another personal favorite with its view of an uncertain future. I generally like to praise and point out their mostly well-thought lyrical work, on which “Doctrine” and its father-son discourse has left me pensively back.

At least, almost every remarkable track taken from all three full-length albums of FGFC820 got collected here to provide you, the listener, a full-scale sonic assault in the band's typically signature sound of raw, adrenaline-driven, pulsating Harsh EBM. As said above, it's generally perfect club-food with raw, distorted screams by Rexx presented on here on all 10 original tracks plus the two remix contributions. Actually this course of action finally doesn't offer the more of a diverse sound design, which I miss here and which this duo has definitely to offer too. As for my personal taste, I am missing the “nuggets” out of their discography like the cool, old school EBM-tune “The Victim”, the provoking “Hello, Baghdad”, or the tricky bass line sequences of “Relapse” - but that's just me.

Also, a decade after their last full-length album, wasn't there the possibility to release at least one new track to the fans to show up the things which may come up? I finally hope that both protagonists do find their way back into their studio to produce mutually new music and so I find a bit a pity, that this collection doesn't offer any hint of this. Finally, please note, that this collection doesn't seem to be availlable as a digital download - You'll get the physical product in form of a CD with a well-fitting artwork.

La Machine is a new project created by Pierre Pi (Komplex, Position Parallèle, Communication Zéro...) and Éric U0 (Celluloide, Thee Hyphen, Signal/Bruit...). Inspired by science-fiction and B-Movies from the 50s, La Machine use these themes to show the absurdities of modern times where the nuclear nightmare and the control of individuals are actual themes... again! "La Machine Qui Ne Sert À Rien" ("The Unuseful Machine") is their first single released by BoredomProduct and printed on 10" and MCD. The main title is a cover of a track released in 1967 by the French model/singer Dani; the original version is a beat track that packs in two minutes so much energy to sound almost proto-punk. The version played by La Machine, is an electronic counterpart to the original song and ye-ye atmospheres are replaced by electronic blips and beats. The rhythm has been slowed down and even if the atmosphere is a bit darker and less danceable it still sounds fresh now as well as it was 56 years ago. The second track is an original one whose lyrics are really up to date with the recent historical facts we all lived: "FFP2" is an ironic critique of those still obsessed with the masks and remember that with a kiss we exchange tons of bacteria. Probably kissing will turn out to be a subversive act... again! Along with these tracks, the E.P. contains two different mixes plus another cover: a menacing version of Gershon Kingsley's classic "Pop Corn"! Even if this is the first La Machine release it will be soon a classic of the BoredomProduct catalog! Check on YouTube the videos made for "La Machine Qui Ne Sert À Rien" and "FFP2" and enjoy their 50s sci-fi-themed modern horrors.