Frédéric Hélière is the man behind the Code Machine project and NO TIME is his first album. The thirteen tracks of the CD present a good powerful sound which is a blend of future pop and e.b.m. which mix classic '80s e.b.m. solutions with the melody of modern electro pop. The resulting sound is throbbing, danceable and sometimes it seems a fastened version of the old Die Form (if you know "Autolyse" you know what I mean), where synths are used like razor blades. Sometimes distorted guitars come by just to add some rage. Most of the tracks are good enough to be released by a label (with a little production re-tuning) and it isn't a case if Frédéric is looking for someone insterested enough into his project. He's already preparing new tracks for a new album. Give them a try by visiting his website.

The All Scars Orchestra is a Northern Italy operating small and ever changing all stars orchestra of noisters, including the local hero Daniele Brusaschetto, Mirco Rizzi from Ashtool, Luca Valisi & Paolo Bianci from Ludmila, Paul Beauchamp from Gullinkambi and a bunch of other people involved in this fringe scene. The 12 tracks running at a little over an hour define the experimental noise genre in all of its aspects, from the somewhat electronicly-influenced, to the more industrial-ish, to the most freeform of 'em all. Given the diversity within, some of these pieces are truly outstanding and touching, while others go by less remarkably. Personally my favourites are the opening "La Cosa Piu' Violenta che Fai" (the most violent thing you do) which really sounds like Daniele's early band Mudcake's sound dueting with Diamanda Galas and Trent Reznor and "Distoguitars" which sounds, uhm, I don't like, like Sonic Youth meets Entombed, but with no drums and no vocals... Anyway, rest assured, the whole record is much more industrial than my two favourite songs description's would make you think it isn't... catch my drift?

The Age of Industry is the first release of John Seput (Murder DK and Severed Headthump) and David Kizzia (Murder of Crows) working together as Division Six. With this release Seput and Kizzia manage to take an already accessible genre to the next level, pulling in influences from all over the alternative map and spanning the last two decades of underground guitar-themed sounds and styles. Unsurprisingly, some of these styles work better than others. What works definitely works, and what doesn’t work definitely doesn’t work.

The Age of Industry picks up where coldwave left off, integrating crunching guitars, melodic vocals, catchy beats, and a healthy dose of synthesizer. Seput’s vocals are surprisingly diverse, as he manages to sound not only like himself, but also like Tim Skold, Godsmack, and even Ozzy Osbourne. Some of these variations work to their benefit but confuse the overall direction of this release, which sometimes seems more like a festival compilation than the offering of a single band.

Overall, The Age of Industry is a catchy, upbeat album that I find myself singing along to more often than not. Some songs catch my attention more than others, some I really enjoy, and some I don’t. While most of this album is pretty well done, especially the songs with slower themes, some tracks seem to have trouble holding together. I honestly think that if the recording quality and production standards were higher the album would be much better. As it is, The Age of Industry comes across sounding more like a really appealing demo than an officially produced album. Division Six has a lot of potential, and I believe their sound has the ability to catch on. I expect that after touring and more time together as a band, both in and out of studio, their next release will be an accomplished one.

"Live at Wave-Gotik-Treffen" like the name implies is a live Klinik performance CD that was recorded at the Agra Halle in Leipzig, 29th May 2004. The surprise here is that this is a reunion CD that includes Dirk Ivens. More often than not most reunions of older bands are sad affairs that not only accentuate how old and tired (burnt out) they are as humans but how out of date they have become. This is not the case with this Klinik reunion. Having been close to the band in those early days this is a perfect way not only to celebrate the great work they set forth back then but moniker of what has become the standard by which most industrial work is measured by today. When Dirk Ivens and Marc Verhaeghen are in sync there is a magic in the chemistry that is unmistakably tangible. This music calls on our primal instincts to meet a primitive modern thrust of electricity in an abusive yet sensual manner. Songs like "Hours and Hours" and "Sick in Your Mind" will always be favorites of mine but all stages of the Klinik legend are represented here. And for the person who is new to the band I would highly recommend this release as a comprehensive introduction to what is about the Klinik that makes them so important. Highly recommended.

One of the characteristics of an important musician is that no matter how much work they deliver you can’t wait to hear something new from them. In that respect Dirk Ivens a.k.a. Dive and or Sonar delivers on a timely manner. He is compiling an amazing if not unearthly discography of industrial experimentalism that not only covers the Dive and Sonar releases but also finds its roots in the early Klinik releases where he made his start as the front man for that iconic trio. If you are a loyalist where Ivens is concerned you will be thrilled to know that this CD is most like his early effort "Concrete Jungle." However, dismissing this as an attempt at recapturing something nostalgic from the early days would not really be unfair but truthful as "Behind the Sun" like all Dive releases are works of art that stand on their own. This music relies on repetitious hypnotic trance-like rhythms that are colored by an array of white noise vocals and effects. The production Eric Van Wonterghem is essential in capturing the "dirty" sound nuances that are the signature of Iven’s work. Less commercial or lets say less club friendly than "True Lies," "Behind the Sun" lives in a more cerebral zone of industrial music making and has a more sophisticated quality. For Ivens industrial music is not about just the amplification of raw power but about the finesse of making such elements say something meaningful. Highly Recommended.