First Aid 4 Souls – Dark Tunnel (CD Album – Digital Absynthe)
Genre/Influences: EBM, dark-electro.
Background/Info: This Hungarian formation is maybe not the most familiar name active in the wider fields of EBM music, but has already been active since the early 90s. Multiple productions have been released (mainly on Electro Arc) while the previous full length (cf. “Trashcathedral”) really caught my attention. “Dark Tunnel” is the newest creation by the band, which has been inspired by a truly dystopian vision.
Content: Mastermind István Gazdag (aka ‘Vacuum’) moves on composing intelligent EBM, which is once more supported by the ghost of Frontline Assembly. There’s a similar taste to compose sophisticated, dark electronics revealing dense sound layers and subtle treatments. Even if the sound formula sounds familiar and inspired by old-school elements (and bands like FLA, Skinny Puppy) the production also has something refreshing. Some of the songs have been boosted by guitar parts.
+ + + : “Dark Tunnel” is a well-crafted piece of EBM revealing an intelligent writing format. This band is not dealing with easy and predictable EBM, but has achieved an album full of diversity and a particular care for the sound treatments. It’s great and polished although a dark production on which vocals and sounds create a perfect match with each other.
– – – : I now and then noticed a ‘softer’ cut, which clearly is not the main strength of this work. First Aid 4 Souls sounds as its best when moving into power!
Conclusion: First Aid 4 Souls is an EBM band deserving more recognition. It remains a pure underground experience and that’s maybe why some bands signed on bigger labels are getting more in the spotlights than this formation. I can only advise to discover this band without hesitation!
Best songs: “Nothing Keeps My Mind Clean”, “Back To Dust”, “Inside There Is No God”, “A Place To Rest”.
Rate: (8).
Artist: www.firstaid4souls.com / www.facebook.com/First–Aid-4-Souls-180876236297
Support Side-Line
More people read Side-Line than ever, and there is still no paywall and no advertising. Readers pay for it instead - from $5 a month.
Why we ask
Advertising revenues across the media are falling fast. Unlike many news organisations we have not put up a paywall, and we refuse to add annoying advertising, so we need to ask for your help. Side-Line’s independent journalism takes time, money and hard work to produce, and we do it to push the artists we like, who are equally fighting to survive.
Handled by PayPal.
I have been working for over 30 years with Side-line as the main reviewer. My taste is eclectic, uncoventional and I prefer to look for the pearls, even if the bands are completely unknown, thus staying loyal to the Side-Line philosophy of nurturing new talents.
