Blank – Thanatosis (EP – Blank)
Genre/Influences: EBM, techno-body, electro-pop.
Format: Digital.
Background/Info: This new work by Blank stands for the come-back of the Italian duo Davide Mazza –
Riccardo Mattioli. “Thanatosis” is also an appetizer to their new full length “Drifting Slowly”, the first one since “Dark Retreat” (2013).
Content: “Thanatosis” opens with the “Single Version” of the title song, which is a rather soft electro-atmospheric cut with piano arrangements. We next get a more pumping and dark-club driven track. “Olokun” brings us back to quieter fields featuring female spoken vocals. “Battlefeel” is just like the title song taken from the announced album although featured in a different mix. It reminds me a bit of the style and approach of Mind.In.A.Box. Last, but not least we get an updated version of “Visual Overflow” –originally released at the band’s debut album “Artificial Breathing” (2004).
+ + + : Blank is back and that’s a real good news as this band always seduced me by their modern- and intelligent EBM mixed with a few more elements. The work reflects the band’s sound intelligence and diversity. The tracks are moving in between softer, ambient-like electronics and ‘harder’, danceable pieces. “What If you’re Wrong?” is the real dancefloor killer from this work, but I also recommend “Battlefeel – Truth Decay Mix” and the new edit of “Visual Overflow”, which sounds as the sonic bridge between the early years of Blank and their resurrection.
– – – : The title song is a well-crafted composition, but unfortunately not exactly the kind of title-song I would have chosen for an EP.
Conclusion: Blank V.2 is a fact! The band strikes back with even more modernism and sound intelligence so I’m really wondering how their album will sound-like.
Best songs: “What If You’re Wrong?”, “Battlefeel – Truth Decay Mix”, “Visual Overflow (2020)”.
Rate: (7½).
Artist: www.facebook.com/blankinyourmind
About Blank
Blank is the Italian duo of vocalist Davide Mazza (also known as The Maze) and Riccardo Mattioli (Der Mate) on keyboards. The project began in 2000 with a web-only demo titled “424C414E4B”, the hexadecimal spelling of “BLANK”, followed a year later by a second web promo. Their debut EP “Overhead” appeared on the Canadian label Artoffact Records in 2003, followed by the debut album “Artificial Breathing” in 2004. Further albums followed through “Dark Retreat” in 2013, after which the duo went quiet until “Thanatosis” previewed their comeback album “Drifting Slowly”.
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