Differently to the last year released 6-CD-box-set of Suicide Commando's 'Suicide Sessions' (Out Of Line), the US-license partner Metropolis presents us step-by-step the same content available on 3 double-CD-sets. 'The Suicide Sessions' are consisting of the first three studio albums of the Belgian sound-slaughter 'Critical Stage', 'Stored Images', and 'Construct ' Destruct'. This is not only meant to present you a complete re-release, additionally all three studio albums got re-mastered and polished to represent the newest sound standard. Better than this, and here comes the point, which makes this series interesting for SC-die-hard fans too, you'll get to each album a bonus disc, which offers stuff of small releases like EP's, Singles, or compilation appearances released in between, or just some additional, mostly unreleased demo tracks, which have been sorted out during the album recording sessions. Completion of all recordings which occurred during the studio sessions to each album can unfortunately not be guaranteed, but that's a point of criticism I'll pick up album per album.
I had the honor to review this first album 'Critical Stage' 18 years before for a German fanzine and when I nowadays spin this album again, the old feelings return as it would have happened yesterday. The ghost and spirit of the Belgian cult-act The Kinik floats through this album and Johan van Roy to that time recognized pretty well the niche they left through their absence after 'Time' in 1990. Dirk Ivens established Dive, while Marc Verhaeghen continued after some side-projects like Para or X 10 under the Klinik-moniker. Both, Ivens and Verhaeghen, were still successful and highly accepted, but both also continued differently in their expression.
Johan van Roy already worked since 1986 to install his vision of Klinik-al sound environments and released various demo tapes until he could cause some attention by Stefan Herwig (nowadays label-chief of Dependent Records) and his very own Kugelblitz label. Kugelblitz also has seen the first four tracks of SC on CD, the 'Never Get Out'-EP as being part of the legendary 'Induktion, Varianz und deren Folgen' compilation, together with Digital Slaughter, Dementia Simplex, and Genital A-Tech. Herwig went over to Off Beat as being A & R manager and the successful mutual path between Herwig and van Roy started in 1994 and 'Critical Stage'. This album also features with 'Traumatize' and 'Necrophilia' two of Suicide Commando's most recognized tracks, which are still content of his live performances until today. Not to alter the euphoria I had in those days, and still have for this album, but a tiny mistake has happened the persons in charge during this re-release: The last track 'The Dreamhouse' (Mental Version)' has been, as the name announces it, an instrumental version of this track, while the version with Johan's growling vocal performance was only available on a 7 inch vinyl single-compilation of the Ant-Zen label. The track list here still states the 'Mental Version', but I do definitely hear Mr. van Roy violating the micro!
As for the bonus disk, you'll get three out of the four already mentioned tracks of the 'Never Get Out' EP, an original version of 'Save me', a track which later got revamped and included on Johan's second album 'Stored Images', plus with 'Sweet Jesus' a compilation appearance, which has been available on the 'Maschinenwelt Compilation 1' (Maschinenwelt Records). Five additional demo tracks can be discovered, produced and recorded under very limited circumstances during 1988 and 1992. The featured sound-quality generally of this bonus disc can of course in no way reach the level of the main album, but I guess these recordings are rather meant to give the younger SC-listeners a chance to get an impression, with which equipment and recording possibilities it all has started. Die-hard CD collectors still need the original version of all albums and compilations around that time. Same for the content of the bonus disc, the missing 'Never Get Out' Insecticide-remix could hurt the interested listener, while the value of the long out-of-print Kugelblitz-compilation remains the same. Nevertheless it is a nice idea to re-release all of these classic SC-albums especially to those fans, who know Johan van Roy's audio efforts only under the Harsh-EBM / Hellectro-banner. His being as the 'Godfather of Hellectro' has totally different roots, as this first DCD set proves.