Gin Devo – The Garden Of Evil (Album – Scanner / Dark Dimensions)
Genre/Influences: Dark-Electro, Minimal-Electro, Experimental.
Format: Digital, CD, Vinyl.
Background/Info: Vomito Negro core member Gino De Vos aka ‘Gin Devo’ started releasing solo-production in 2012 (cf. “Errata” and “Surface”). His new work (cf. “Electroteque”) was released in 2017. This new opus is the fourth full length by the Belgian legend of underground Electronics.
Content: Gin Devo remains faithful to his ultra-dark sound treatments and -atmospheres. The work sounds pretty retro-like, the global atmosphere emerging of the tracks being more important than power. The songs are carried by repetitive loops and accentuated by obscure bass lines, strings, spoken samplings and Gino’s ghost-like vocals on top.
+ + + : I’ve always liked the sound universe of Gin Devo. You really get the illusion entering into an evil, dark, cave so the title of the work totally fits with the sound atmosphere. This is an extreme format of darkness but it also is a captivating production for its minimalism. The songs have been composed with vintage gear injecting an ‘authentic’ touch to the production while Gin Devo remains for sure a little genius when it comes to icy sound treatments. The work features multiple cool songs but I want to mention “Bitter Tears” for its sound intelligence reminding me of the Clock DVA universe. The opening piece “Dark Frequencies” is another essential track.
– – – : The very last song “Son Of Sam” sounds like pure Experimentalism and a rather anticlimax compared to the rest of the tracklist.
Conclusion: The work reflects an endless state of darkness which could be a perfect sonic metaphor to the work we’re living in.
Best songs: “Bitter Tears”, “Dark Frequencies”, “Amend”, “Only For Moments”.
Rate: 8.
Artist: www.facebook.com/Gindevo
Label: www.darkdimensions.de / www.facebook.com/pages/Dark-Dimensions-Label-Group/486014725206
About Gin Devo
Gin Devo is the solo project of Belgian musician Gino De Vos, also known as a member of Vomito Negro, the EBM and electro-industrial band formed in Belgium in 1983. De Vos began releasing solo material as Gin Devo in 2012 with “Errata” and “Surface”, followed by “Electrotheque” in 2017. “The Garden Of Evil”, his fourth full-length album, followed via Scanner/Dark Dimensions in 2022.
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