Implant – Cognitive Dissonance (Album – Alfa Matrix)
Genre/Influences: Industrial-Pop, Electro, Experimental.
Format: Digital, 2CD.
Background/Info: Belgian Implant duo is back on track, unleashing their eleventh album in history. Len Lemaire and Jan D’Hooghe have been inspired by the ongoing pandemic and the impact on humans. It resulted in a double disc featuring numerous remixes on the second disc. Noemi Aurora (Helalyn Flowers) contributed to some songs of the album.
Content: Implant already revealed a different approach in sound on the previous –and great, album “Oxynoxe-X” while the last year released EP “Phantom Pain” confirmed this evolution although getting more into Electro-Pop fields. It’s quite significant for this new opus, which is bringing elements such as Minimal-Electro and a kind of Industrial-Pop together. The ‘Trance’ roots of the band are far away, but still present on a few cuts. The main evolution of the sound is due to the use of analogue gear, which becomes pretty explicit at a few shorter, instrumental pieces. Noemi Aurora is singing on 3 songs, creating a weird, but cool match with the growls of Len Lemaire.
The work features remixes by Suicide Commando, Signal Aout 42, Aiboforcen, Q’Pnz, 808 Dot.Pop, Növö, Armageddon Dildos, AD:Key, Neuroactive and Helalyn Flowers. The second disc also features a few extra songs by Implant. Last, but not least The Breath Of Life simply covered one of the songs instead of making a remix.
+ + + : I truly respect the global evolution in sound Implant has made during the past years. It still sounds Implant-like, but the Belgians seem to have found new sonic paths to explore. The analogue sound treatments create this minimalism, but also very original sequences emerging at the shorter ‘intermezzo’ cuts. Noemi Aurora remains to me one of the most talented singers in this scene and she adds a graceful-, sensual- and artistic touch on top of the songs. “Phantom Pain” remains a cool track, but she also sings on “The Last Record”, which clearly appears to be a potential hit –and has been remixed by several artists. One of my favorite songs however is “The Room” for its extra robotic dimension plus deep, resonating bass line and “Nutshell” for its minimalism. The opening song “I Don’t Trust The Machine” is another attention grabber with a strong dance/club appeal and driven by an amazing lead.
The list of remixers is also a noticeable aspect of the album. I here want to mention the work by Suicide Commando and Trance-driven remix by the Belgian producer Q’Pnz. The Breath Of Life did a great job covering “The Last Record”; this is a beautiful and sensitive version. Last, but not least Implant put 2 more great pieces on this disc (cf. “Censorship Through Noise Part III” and “Lied 13”.
– – – : I regret some short, instrumental cuts from the main disc haven’t been more worked out; “Nutshell” is not only one of the best tracks, but unfortunately it’s just a kind of break. Despite the impressive list of remixers, I definitely expected a bit more.
Conclusion: Implant is now active for nearly 30 years and has already found new new horizons to explore.
Best songs: “The Room”, “I Don’t Trust The Machine”, “Nutshell”, “The Devil Made Me Do It”, “The Last Record”, + “The Last Record – Cover by The Breath Of Life”, “Run To The Lights – One Messed Up Mix by Suicide Commando”.
Rate: (8).
Artist: www.implant-music.be / www.facebook.com/Implantmusic
Label: www.alfa-matrix.com / www.facebook.com/Alfa.Matrix Read the news on ‘Cognitive Dissonance’.
About Implant
Implant is a Belgian electronic act formed in 1992 by Geert Machtelinck and Len Lemeire (spelled Lemaire in the review above), mixing dark electro roots with dance-oriented electronics. The debut album “Soft Flesh-Hard Steel” appeared in 1996 on Celtic Circle Productions after the single “Fun”, followed by the “BrainFX” EP in 1998. “Kmputor” (2000) moved toward goa trance influences, and the double CD “Unidentified Flying Frequencies” was released via Flatline Records. When that label closed, Implant moved to Alfa Matrix and released “Planet Euphoria” (2002), featuring Canadian singer Jennifer Parkin, then “Horseback Riding Through Bassfields” (2003), “Self-Inflicted” (2005), “Implantology” (2009) and “The Productive Citizen” (2013). The double CD “Oxynoxe-X” (2017) was reviewed on Side-Line in January 2018.
The EP “Phantom Pain”, announced in Cult Belgian electro act Implant breaks silence with brand new EP ‘Phantom Pain’ in December 2020, preceded “Cognitive Dissonance”, which Alfa Matrix released on 26 March 2021 as a download and as a limited deluxe double-CD digipak. The thirteen album tracks are “I Don’t Trust The Machine”, “Phantom Pain”, “The Shipwreck”, “Nutshell”, “Hell Hole”, “The Devil Made Me Do It”, “The Drums Have Been Talking”, “The King And The Rebel”, “The Room”, “Run To The Lights”, “Censorship Through Noise (Part I)”, “Censorship Through Noise (Part II)” and “The Last Record”; Noemi Aurora sings on “Phantom Pain”, “The Shipwreck” and “The Last Record”. The bonus disc “When Prophecy Fails” holds the remixes and cover named in the review plus the exclusive tracks “Censorship Through Noise (Part III)” and “Lied 13”. No further production credits are listed on the Bandcamp page.
The single “The Drive” followed in December 2023, leading into the trilogy No More Flies On The Windscreen -The Chaos Machines Part 1 (2024), Scratching The Surface – The Chaos Machines Part 2 (2024) and Judging Sinners / The Chaos Machines Part 3 (2025), all reviewed on Side-Line; Lemeire discussed the series in the Implant interview of May 2024. “Cognitive Dissonance” is the band’s eleventh album and its fifth Side-Line review.
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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.
