Acylum – Kampf Dem Verderb (Album – Alfa Matrix)

Genre/Influences: Dark-Electro.

Format: Digital, CD & 2CD.

Background/Info: The German band Acylum driven by Pedro ‘Acylum’ Engel and his partner in crime Nadine ‘Cooraz’ Engel strike back with the first Acylum album in nearly six years! “Kampf Dem Verderb” was introduced last year introduced by the EP “Sieg Oder Walhalla”. The work wants to be a reflection upon the ‘overall bloody atmosphere of hatred, violence, terror and war’.

Content: The return of Acylum is characterized by an extremely dark and tormented sound perception, which totally matches with the ‘concept’ of the album. The songs are constantly driven by harsh, Industrial kicks while similar desolate tunes are supporting the work with darkness. The use of mainly German samplings accentuates the horror of the war vision, but still appears to be provocative. The harsh vocals by Pedro Engel only accentuate the nightmarish atmosphere emerging at the surface of this opus. The main difference with the brilliant and previous album (cf. “Pest”) is that this work sounds less powerful, but more into an atmospheric approach. A few tracks are even harder! One of the most surprising cuts is a new version of “The Enemy” (originally released in 2009 at the same-titled album) and now reworked with the contribution of Nano Infect, Totem Obscura, Viscera Drip, Wolfchild, Xentrifuge and Technogenetika.

The bonus disc from the limited edition is featuring remixes by Suicide Commando, Armageddon Dildos, David Blackstar, Asseptic Room, Ice Ages, Larva, Advent Resilience, Schwarzstern, Project Eratic, Dirty K, Implant, Nano Infect, Aesthetische and Mental Exile.

+ + + : I was eagerly awaiting the sixth album of Acylum and especially after the brilliant “Pest”, which I consider as one of the best Dark-Electro productions from the past ten years. This new work sounds different, which in a way is a good thing, revealing a band which doesn’t want to repeat itself. But the good thing is you rapidly recognize the unique and extremely tormented horror vision emerging from the tracks. Acylum has its own sound DNA, which you’ll instantly recognize. The best cuts however are the hardest ones; “What Do You See?” is my favorite and for sure a song reminiscent of the glorious days of :Wumpscut:. I also have to mention “Violin Of Death” and the already known “Sieg Oder Walhalla”. The idea of reworking “The Enemy” by inviting multiple bands from the darkest Electro scene is a great idea.

Among the remixes I heard different inspired versions, but especially want to pick up Suicide Commando with the very ‘Klinik-al’ remix of “Masquerade”, some club-driven remixes by Armadeggon Dildos and Schwarzstern, the Industrial and instrumental transformation of “Venom” by Dirty K and the phenomenal EBM transposition of “Sieg Oder Walhalla” by Aesthetische. The last remix by Mental Exile is also worthy of examination as they remixed “Sieg Oder Walhalla” into an Electro/Disco-Pop edit.

– – – : I’m missing the power and rage of “Pest” while the melody sounds/tunes are pretty similar to each other. Acylum remains a particular experience, but this not my favorite album!

Conclusion: No doubt about it this harsh and provocative album will catch a wider attention, but I was less impressed. It however remains a particular experience in (h)el(l)ectro music!

Best songs: “What Do You See”, “Violin Of Death”, “Sieg Oder Walhalla”, “Venom – Album Version” + “Sieg Oder Walhalla – Aesthetische Remix”, “Hunter – Armageddon Dildos Remix”, “Schwarzer Adler – Schwarzstern Remix”, “Masquerade – Suicide Commando Remix”.

Rate: (8).

Artist: www.facebook.com/Acylum.Music

Label: www.alfa-matrix.com / www.facebook.com/Alfa.Matrix

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