Prominent in their home-based Metal scene since longer than 15 years by having played various styles (Black Metal, Death Metal, Nu Metal), now this Russian 4-men outfit hailing out of Rybinsk tries to transform this fame to an international audience. It surely won't fail if it comes to count the promotional efforts and activities of their new label Artificial Sun, but what finally counts is their music and here it gets a bit problematic. Quite too often I get the impression that they are definitely more inspired by Metal-styles than that there could be figured out a real Industrial- or Electro-vibe behind them. Compared to their Kaliningrad-based countrymen of Type V Blood I miss a bit that raw and uncontrollable drive provided by their Punk elements. A good example for this is the title track. Raw and energetic in its original version and the clear male vocals of band-leader Ilya 'Morok' Corzo celebrating the Moshpit pretty much, but the remix contributions of the already mentioned Type V Blood and moreover Reactor are able to kick the original out of the field. It looks pretty much that their new 'Industrial' identity got later added to get a bit more compatible to the label roster ' and this works only so and so. I like those tracks which tend to vary a bit with the drum programming, those Break-Beat inspired works ('T.M.O. (Burning Toxins Mix)', 'Take Me Away (Burning All Mix)'). Also worth to mention is their cover on Michael Jackson's 'Scream': I couldn't recognize the original. All in all not a bad effort, but if they seriously intent to storm the violent Industrial playground, it still needs a bit more blood and sweat by programming better synths- / fx-efforts in their studio rooms.

A new label we like to welcome in front of the international dark scene, which actually tries hard to survive on the hard fought and rotten conceptual field of physically releases. This Artificial Sun shines bright in these days and it is a conspicuous fact that they are hailing out of Russia. With the noble mission to lead mainly Russian Industrial-/Metal-/Crossover-projects into a sonic war to reach attention internationally, they have indeed some nice horses added to their stable, like this Kaliningrad-based duo for example. Type V Blood aren't at all bloody newcomers and can already look back on a handful releases on different underground labels, but also the legendary Russian Metal-institution Irond. 'Penta' could be indeed a kind of break-through for them, because they balance pretty well Nu-Metal with Electro/Industrial plus a constant portion of angry Punk-like influences. Think of rawest Angelspit meets Biopsy meets Acumen Nation, and you'll get a hint, how their pounding onslaught may sounds. The good and remarkable content of their music is surely the fact, that the electronic ingredients are playing an important role of their whole aural concept. Tracks like the raw, fast forward marching 'Wild & Dirty' will surely leave you breathless in front of your home entertainment. Diversity can be also discovered in their kind to install their male vocals. Be it that Death-Metal-like growling, that angry screaming, or a calm, natural sounding, unprocessed kind ' they are capable to present all thinkable styles. And even if some of their compositions take a stumbling, at times chaotic sounding path ('Black Metal Cenotaph', 'Christorium'), they contrary are also able to provide more calm elements and linearity, sometimes with an easy-minded 'singing-along-the-lyric-line' factor ('All My Girls (feat. Andrey Zodchly)', 'Go-Go-Gothic (feat. Nataly Protasova)'). 'Penta' stands globally for entertainment in a musically relative raw environment ' not the easiest cake to bite for sure, but with a respectable content of authenticity. With 19 tracks, among others also including a cover version of the Metal-veterans Accept ('Fast As A Shark'), this album is opulently filled, although I have some doubts in the quality and seriousness of their chosen remix contributors. Some of them alter a bit the overall positive impression, while others can take this opportunity for well-working self-promotion (Bleak Freak's remix of 'Hi Tech / Low Life' RAWKS!). Artificial Sun couldn't find any better kick-starter for their label debut, so let's hope to be able to check out more quality Russian Hybrid-Metal-stuff.

Limited to 300 copies, "LoopKlangeNoise - Verses Without Words", is the latest M.B. (a.k.a. Maurizio Bianchi, as I think you all already know) collaboration, this time he teamed up with Magnetica Ars Lab (a.k.a. Arnaldo Pontis). Inspired by the work of Vasilij Kandinskij and by his theories about necessary contamination between visual art and music, "LoopKlangeNoise" quotes two of the most important books from the author's abstract expressionist years: "Klange" (Munchen, 1912) and "Verses Without Words" (Moscow, 1903). Following the original structure of the book "Verses Without Words" the artists recorded thirteen double-titled tracks, in which the "second title" is an homage to Kandinskij's thirteen pictorial works originally included on that book. Also, for each track, there's a guest who participated. We have: Fausto Rossi / Faust'O, Simon Balestrazzi (T.A.C.), Corrado Altieri (Uncodified, Monosonik, Th26), Raimondo Gaviano (Svart1), Mauthausen Orchestra (project of Pierpaolo Zoppo, who died few months ago), Nicola Boari (SLP), Nicola Locci (Exagonal), Massimo Olla (Noisedelik), Alex Nasi (Colonel XS), Roberto Belli (Brigata Stirner), to name few. The visual part of the project is printed in a sixteen page booklet which contains photos of industrial mining areas of the Sulcis region, in Sardinia, shot by Fabrizio Tedde. About the writings, we have excerpts from writings and quotes by John Cage, Klaus Schulze, Wu Ming, William S. Burroughs, Jean Baudrillard, Luigi Russolo, etc. This is an interesting multifaceted project which musically pass from ambient industrial with granular noise inserts ("Deliberate Destruction - Roses", "Mauthausen Tube - Spectators", "Neubomio Ghiandula - The Dragon", "Burning Point - Duel"), to digital electronics with female chants ("Frastimu - Mountain Lake"), passing through industrial jazz with Italian recitative vocals ("American Blues - Old Village") or experimental percussive sounds with treated vocals and violins ("Blade's Cities - Eternity"). I really appreciated the tracks that were daring to mix vocals, electronic and other elements a bit more unusual on the industrial standard sound (three/four out of thirteen) and I appreciated the whole result that is offering a theme and other stuff which goes over simple industrial noise.

Originally released in 2002 by Misty Circles/Runes & Men, in a limited run of 250 copies, Der Feuerkreiner self titled album is available again thanks to SPQR. The new cover is showing a broken/burnt record and maybe it could be a sort of tribute to an early Boyd Rice picture where he was showing himself with a hammer near a pile of smashed records. This reissue contains the eight original tracks ("Die Weste", "Der Wurfel", "Die Westkusten", "Sophie", "Spiel", "Der Lattenzaum", "Oder Schrei" and "Nein!") remastered, plus three bonuses ("Novembertag" and "Moderne Landschaft" coming from the compilations "Songs From The Bunker" and "Neo Form II" and an untitled one not reported into the track list). The debut album by the duo coming from Recanati, Italy, formed by Federico Flamini (music and vocals) and Valentina Castellani (vocals) is much influenced by martial industrial and industrial compared to their latest album "Unsere Zeit" released by Neuropa and we have bombastic tracks ("Oder Schrei", "Sophie", "Novembertag" or the orchestral "Die Westkusten") alternated to dark ambient/industrial ones ("Der Wurfel"), to industrial noise ones ("Nein!" and "Moderne Landschaft") or to symphonic in crescendo tunes (like the opening "Die Weste"). The whole album, despite the fact that it was their first one, has already a balanced track list and it was already a good one for the lovers of the genre. This reissue is your chance to discover it...

The dreadnought KMFDM is maybe the most long-lived industrial dance act even if they often spin self-referring subjects as it happens on the heavily beating initial title-track of their new assault to dancefloors, "Kunst" (their 25th album!), where they quotes some of their previous songs and references, a combustive browsing which connects dots like their imaginary guardian angel (Juke Joint Jezabel) they invoked in their album "Nihil" (1995), the drug against war they patented in "Angst" (1993), the son of a gun they conceived on "Xtort" (1996), supposedly from spit sperm of "Symbols" (1997) by some itchy bitchy mother, portrayed on "What Do You Know, Detschland?" (2007) after casual insemination by some pomaded tacker, who got worried after he knew KMFDM could similarly stand for a death warrant against cultural uniformity ("Kein Mehrheit fur die Mitleid", grammatically incorrect solution of KMFDM acronym meaning "No Majority For Pity", or "Kein Mitleid fur die Mehrheit", id est "No Pity For The Majority" ...) and their shepherds ("Kill MotherFucking Depeche Mode"). After this tracking shot/overview, they throw nine grenades: some of them could sound quite predictable for people who follow them from time immemorial, particularly when they highlight the metal constituent of their blend such as on "Ave Maria", a song which sounds like a parody of market-oriented blasphemy by Marilyn Manson (I don't think the resemblance of distorted guitar riff with the one on "Beutiful People" is fortuitous), "Pseudocide" or the mutating "Hello", even if the insertion of blunt electronic handholds tempers these hooks to more metal-oriented stuff. The most relevant aspect is the fact they managed to shield their iconoclastic attitude, which oozes from any semantic and stylistical orifices of this album: their blow torches point cultural market customs on "The Next Big Thing" ("Mutinous bastards on a treacherous sea/Popes and pastors full of lurid deeds/Whores and harlots spilling seed/pigs and fascists/The next big thing"), fraternize with Pussy Riot on the same titled song by means of contagious electro-metal grooves which sound like chainsaws ("Pussy riot/Hear us roar/An army of tits/Down for the cause/Mother daughter sister unite/rise out of silence/Stand up and fight" where the "dirty" second voice by Sascha Konietzko, whose persuading versatility demonstrates to be in excellent shape just like the talnted singer Lucia Cifarelli, could resemble past vocal roars by Trent Reznor) and moral turpitude of some stupid ethic codes. Their collaboration with Swedish industrial rock band Morlocks, "The Mess You Made", is a proper sonic jewel and the cherry on top in "Kunst", which will presumably enhance many electro-propelled clubs. Long life to KMFDM!