Asmodeus X presents an interesting challenge to the reviewer's ears, because, on one hand, the music has a certain minimalist quality to it. It isn't as thick with gobs of layers or anything, but at the same time, there is an undeniable pull to the semi-spartan beats and electronic melodies of this EBM release. The vocals are somewhat flat, but in a good way, in that vocal approach very common to EBM and synthpop. It gives sort of a darker edge, sort of an implication of apathy, befitting the darkness of the proceedings. Because, you see, as pretty and absorbing as this music is in its own way, it's also got plenty of gothic sensibilities, not so much in an oh-wow-this-is-goth-music but just in the general shadowy quality of the music. This would be great music for nighttime driving through the streets of Europe. If that imagery makes any sense to you then maybe you should check this out.

Sneak-Thief and Polygamy Boys are two projects which involve Michel Morin (on the first one there's Lindsay - J helping him on vocals and flute while on the second one there's involved Stephan Busche who also released stuff as Dj Gitano and Fancyman) and for this reason this live album SNEAK-THIEF vs POLYGAMY BOYS is something different from the usual dj set or live show. First of all Michael doesn't use vinyl or laptops as his show is totally based on synths and samples. Second: the album presents to the audience sixteen tracks of both the projects as they would be a long mix. This is a strong point because the tracks sound all pumping and interesting but at the same time it's also a weak point as Michel had to use the same bpm on each passage between the tracks and having twelve instrumental tracks out of sixteen make the album sound too homogenous. Most of the tracks are dancey instrumental tunes inspired by '70 funk and '80s Italian disco music (few names I remember are: Hi-Fi Bros, Cube, Den Arrow, Gazebo and Gary Low) and this thing keep the project fresh and energic anyway. This is a good record / performance but I preferred the Polygamy Boys' 12" I received along with this live CD, for instance (soon I'll review it). Check the band's website to get more infos and to download each track of the previous releases.

Expanded and revised respect the previous mp3.com release, FORGIVEn is the first XP8 album. Marc already reviewed the previous version the last year but since I haven't never heard it, I'll try to ignore that one :) First of all I'm glad to see an Italian band getting some attention outside our country, since it's really difficult to get a good following here. The band history has been already described by Marc (including the fact that their singer is a native English guy) so I'll try to focus the review on the CD released by Black Flames. This new version include three new tracks: the opening intro "Warm up", "Das licht" (a track based on upbeat rhythms and on a good refrain) and "Straight down"(really pumping with distant distorted vocals and a little of techno influences along with e.b.m. atmospheres a la Hocico). Generally all the tracks deal with the melody and rhythm pair and they have their roots on the sound of bands like Apoptygma Berzerk (not the latest ones) and Icon Of Coil (to name a couple) but fortunally the band doesn't seem to base their sound unically on these sounds or style. For sure e.b.m., techno and electro pop are their daily bread but if at a first listening the album sounds convincing, listening to it few more times it convinces you some more and tracks like "She says" (which has also been remixed by Assemblage 23), "Liebling" (the one which recalled me VNV Nation) or "The fall" and "Our Scars" (they recalled me The Twins, if I can dare the comparison) are equally good and even if the band has already got its own style, they don't sound all the same. For sure the sound they deal with isn't nothing innovative but XP8 are a good band which could have some hidden aces. They have just finished recording they new MCD and if I'm right, it'll be worth the waiting.

After the MCD released early this year titled "La forge", Ivanovitch produced a new MCD of what we could call "the new Grand Chaos" path. As we already noticed on "La forge" with this new IONIZE ME, Grand Chaos produced four new tracks (as fifth we can find a 100 bpm version of the opening track) deeply inspired by early Die Form (see the same vocal effect that Philippe Fichot used on tracks like "Autolyse"), early '80s electronic bands (à;GRUMH, Fini Tribe, etc) and a little bit of early e.b.m. The result is a good and powerful mixture of rage, experimentalism and electronic tribalism that is really appealing. The lyrics deal with nowadays isolation and with two sentences they give already a sense of discomfort. Good one!

Twin Machine is a German duo active since 1996. They already released an album so this brand new GENERATOR is their second one. The twelve tracks of the CD at a first listening gave me a sense of deja vu and when arrived to listen to the fifth track "God money" I realized that these sounds remembered me the early Depeche Mode as well as the KK bands of the early eighties (and a little bit the Portion Control or Chris And Cosey) and this pleased me a lot, because it is something no one I knew tried to do. Also Marco Dames voice is really appropriate for this kind of sounds because it is melodic and powerful at the same time. Only few times the band uses filtered vocals and whole sound is fresh and familiar at the same time. Step by step listening to all the tracks in a row, the listening of the album make you beg for more and this is something not that much usual these days. Twin Machine succeded into mixing old e.b.m. along electro pop without offering old and usual formulas. I don't know how their first album "Neo" was like but I assure you that GENERATOR is worth your attention!