Stahlgeist – Altered Reality (Album – Alfa Matrix)
Genre/Influences: EBM.
Format: Digital.
Background/Info: Hungarian duo Stahlgeist is driven by core members Istvan Gazdag (First Aid 4 Souls) and Tamás Bank (Worker Munkás). “Altered Reality” features reworked songs from the band’s self-released debut album “Escape Reality” (2019) which was re-released by Advoxya Records in 2020.
Content: If you don’t yet know Stahlgeist you better get prepared to discover a well-crafted old-school EBM opus which is clearly evoking early Frontline Assembly. Both last cuts weren’t featured on the original album.
+ + + : Stahlgeist deals with a classic EBM format but the way the songs have been written reveals a sophisticated process. This is much more than cheap EBM, but a well-thought and accomplished composition revealing great bass lines, icy sequences and raw, danceable songs. Istvan Gazdag remains a true genius musician when it comes to composing intelligent retro EBM. The sound is more ‘straightforward’ than First Aid 4 Souls so this is total EBM power & fun.
– – – : I’m convinced the production of the vocals could now and then be a bit better but you don’t hear me complaining. Both ‘new’ tracks aren’t exactly the most convincing ones.
Conclusion: Stahlgeist joined the Alfa Matrix roster which I hope will give them a wider exposure. This work kicks a**!
Best songs: “Infected Colony – Alternate Version”, “Stahlgeist – Alternate Version”, “Step By Step – Alternate Version”, “Inner Temple – Alternate Version”.
Rate: 8½.
Artist: www.facebook.com/stahlgeist
Label: www.alfa-matrix.com / www.facebook.com/Alfa.Matrix
About Stahlgeist
Stahlgeist is a Hungarian duo driven by core members Istvan Gazdag, also active as First Aid 4 Souls, and Tamás Bank of Worker Munkás. The project’s debut album “Escape Reality” appeared in 2019 and was reissued by Advoxya Records in 2020. Stahlgeist signed to Alfa Matrix in October 2022, as confirmed at the time, releasing an alternate version of “Escape Reality”, the release reviewed here as “Altered Reality”. The duo later returned with the five-track single “Silence” in February 2025 and the album “Justice” in June 2025, discussed in a Side-Line interview the same month.
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