Genre/Influences: EBM, body-pop.

Format: Digital, CD.

Background/Info: Set up in 2014 by Maikko Advance (Mind.Area, Human Decay ao) and ‘Flesh Wire’, this German duo last year released their second album, which also is the first one in five years. The album was preceded by the EP “No Pain Forever” featuring Armageddon Dildos.

Content: The album takes off with the EP-title song featuring Uwe Kankja on vocals. This track has something EBM-like, but also reveals an approximate pop style on top. That’s rather characteristic for the rest of the work. It clearly appears to be a ‘soft’ EBM approach, which is sometimes accomplished with orchestral arrangements, but still reveals a more minimal-driven approach. Most of the songs are sung in English, but you also will get a few German sung tracks.

+ + + : Just as for the EP I’m not entirely convinced by A.I. Zero although I have to admit there’s something hiding in the most minimal-like cuts. “What Did You Say Was The Future For?” reminds me a bit of early Snog –but in a less accomplished format, and there are a few more songs in that vein. It has something unique and interesting to move on with.

– – – : And here again my comments are comparable to the EP; there’s no real trace of a climax, some songs sounding less inspired and missing some cohesion.

Conclusion: The minimal approach of the work sounds interesting, but globally speaking this work left me skeptical.

Best songs: “What Did You Say Was The Future For?”, “Das Produkt Des Jahren”, “Show Them New Beginnings”.

Rate: (6).

Artist: www.ai–zero.de  / www.facebook.com/aizero.music

Label: www.scent–air.com / www.facebook.com/ScentairRecords

Inferno Sound Diaries

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.

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Genre/Influences: EBM, body-pop.

Format: Digital, CD.

Background/Info: German duoMaikko Advance (Mind.Area, Human Decay ao) and ‘Flesh Wire’ have been active since 2014, which was the year they also released their debut album “Reality Design”. They released this EP as a teaser to their new full length “There Will Be Solutions” asking Uwe Kanka (Armageddon Dildos) to sing on the title song while he also did some additional production.

Content: “No Pain Forever” is an EBM-inspired song, which is mainly carried by a solid bass line. The vocals are featuring harsher passages and clear ones. The song has been remixed by Sceptica and TC75. About the other songs left you’ll get an exclusive cut (cf. “Obsolete Cyborgs”), which sounds soft and 2 more remixes from a song (cf. “Soon You’re Mine”) that will be featured on the new album as well. Remixes have been done by The Negativity Bias and Photic Sonar.

+ + + : There’s no better way for a rather ‘unknown’ formation than asking a famous guest to get featured on one of your songs and in this case, the title song! There also is some potential in this track and especially the EBM-driven bass line sounds cool. It also becomes pretty rare to see Armageddon Dildos collaborating or doing remixes.I also have to say a word about the rough and yet melodic remix of “Soon You’re Mine” by The Negativity Bias.

– – – : The title song reveals some good ideas, but globally speaking this song is under produced. The chorus is missing a true climax and even the remixes don’t bring any real improvement. The B-side (exclusive) song is poorly inspired and the remixes of “Soon You’re Mine” don’t bring any real bonus.

Conclusion: to feature a renowned artist is for sure a good strategy, but when the result is disappointing, it feels like a total failure!

 Best songs: “Soon you’re Mine – The Negativity Bias Remix”, “No Pain Forever feat. Armageddon Dildos”

Rate: (5).

Artist: www.ai–zero.de  / www.facebook.com/aizero.music

Label: www.scent–air.com / www.facebook.com/ScentairRecords

Inferno Sound Diaries

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.

www.side-line.com

The track is taken from the E.P. “No pain forever” which will be released (as a free download) on Jan. 25 via this link and an album named “There will be solutions” will be released in early 2019. The 6 track EP holds 2 remixes of the song next to the original and the extra tracks “Obsolete Cyborgs” and “Soon You’re Mine” which comes in 2 remixed versions.

Here’s the official video.

Here’s some info about the band’s endeavours so far. A.I. Zero was founded in 2014 and consists of Maikko Advance (Mind Area, Sceptica, ex Human Decay member) and Flesh Wire. The first digital EP was released via Hunter Records while the band’s first album was released on Scent Air Records (on CD and digital) in 2014. In 2015 the band also completed a remix for Tanya Tagaq, whom you will know from her work on the Björk album “Medulla”. A second A.I. Zero E.P. also launched in 2015 with remixes from Armageddon Dildos and Photic Sonar (among others).

Bernard - Side-Line Staff

Chief editor of Side-Line – which basically means I spend my days wading through a relentless flood of press releases from labels, artists, DJs, and zealous correspondents. My job? Strip out the promo nonsense, verify what’s actually real, and decide which stories make the cut and which get tossed into the digital void. Outside the news filter bubble, I’m all in for quality sushi and helping raise funds for Ukraine’s ongoing fight against the modern-day axis of evil. Besides music I’m also an SEO and AI content flow specialist and have an interest in everything finance from stocks to crypto. There is music in everything!

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