Fragment King – Retreat (Album – Annihilvs Power Electronix)
Genre/Influences: Industrial, Experimental.
Format: Digital, Cassette.
Background/Info: Mark Kammerbauer released this new opus last year. “Retreat” features seven songs plus one remix.
Content: “Retreat” gets us back to the early days of Industrial/Experimental music. Next to the 80s influences the work also features very personal input; kind of inhibited, intimate atmosphere. The work has been composed by guitar playing manipulated into Industrial sound effects with menacing sound atmospheres on top. Vocal parts accentuate a cellar-like sensation. The last song is a remix by Snowbeasts which sounds pretty different, exploring Electro-Minimalism.
+ + + : This album evokes to me good-old souvenirs. I got the feeling of awakening in the 80s when I discovered the enigmatic Last Few Days. The menacing, icy, atmosphere has a true impact although there also is a more intimate side running through the work. I like the visual strength of the tracks.
– – – : The Snowbeats-remix is totally unexpected. I like this project and its minimalism but it sounds totally different from Fragment King.
Conclusion: This is a great exposure of early Industrial/Experimental music transposed into the 21st Century.
Best songs: “Devourer”, “Pale Blue”, “Double Infinity”, “Weak Minds Remixed by Snowbeasts”.
Rate: 7½.
Artist: www.facebook.com/groups/60822702408/user/670376642
Label: www.annihilvs.net / www.facebook.com/apextheologian
About Fragment King
Fragment King is the industrial project of Mark Kammerbauer, who is also a member of Navicon Torture Technologies and co-producer, with percussionist Z'EV, of the site-specific project Critical Void. Kammerbauer’s work under the Fragment King name began with the 1997 recording “Demo That Exploded”, followed by albums including “The Cellmaker’s Sinister Jazz” (2001), “Anatomic Music”, and “Grey Album”.
“Retreat”, released on cassette and digital via Annihilvs Power Electronix in 2022, closes with a remix by Snowbeasts.
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