The Brooklyn, NY based industrial rock act Heavy Halo has announced the release of the remix album “Crushed/Destroyed”. Having released their self-titled debut album last year, “Crushed/Destroyed” features remixes of songs off the album including reworks by Atari Teenage Riot/Alec Empire, Xavier Swafford of 3Teeth, Pictureplane, Kontravoid and more.

“Crushed/Destroyed” will be released August 5th on Negative Gain Productions. The Moris Blak Remix of “Keep Me Alive” can be heard below.

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.

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Genre/Influences: Soundtrack, electronics.

Background/Info: Alec Empire will be always linked to Atari Teenage Riot, but this German artist has been involved in many other projects, labels ao. “Volt” is for sure a particular composition as it’s a soundtrack the artist composed for the same-titled sci-fi thriller movie (2016). It also is a premiere for Dependent to release a soundtrack album. Notice by the way the album is also available in a limited (double) vinyl format.

Content: Alec Empire revealed to have been inspired by the work of John Carpenter. “Volt” clearly sounds like a cinematographic experience, filled with bombastic arrangements, piano-like passages, but also music with a strong visual strength. It’s very experimental-like, but composed with industrial sound treatments and electronic passages reminding me of the real style of Alec Empire. I also noticed a passage with a saxophone sound.

+ + + : First of all you have to figure “Volt” is a soundtrack composition, which has less in common with the familiar work of this artist. But it’s an interesting listening as next to a pure and classical soundtrack approach he now and then gets back to his real sound resulting in technoid and acid-like passages. The work is also characterized by overwhelming ‘ambient’ passages revealing a more tormented sound accentuated by industrial noises. The main strength of this soundtrack however is its diversity, which can be noticed in the influences and the arsenal of sounds.

– – – : I can imagine “Volt” really means a lot for Alec Empire and is an important work in the artist’s impressive discography, but it’s definitely not a classical work, which will seduce and convince his numerous fans. It’s less accessible because of the experimental approach.

Conclusion: “Volt” will certainly not enter into history as a famous soundtrack. It just reveals another side of this talented and renowned artist and music you have to discover together with the movie.

Best songs: “Shadow Boxing Pt.3”, “Shadow Boxing Pt.2”, “Victims Of Authority”.

Rate: (7).

Band: www.alec–empire.com / www.facebook.com/alec.empire.the.destroyer

Label: www.dependent.de / www.facebook.com/dependent.records

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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Atari Teenage Riot fans, time to pay close attention because this is a release you will want to have. Out in a few weeks on double vinyl is “Volt”, the soundtrack to the movie of the same name with Benno Führmann, the latest by German-Palestinian director Tarek Ehlail (“Chaostage”), which depicts a dystopian future police state. The creator of the music is Alec Empire, head of Atari Teenage Riot.

“Volt” is being released on CD but also on double vinyl (black 180g vinyl with a gatefold cover (limited to 500 copies) which you can order right here.

For now, you can already listen to the below 2 songs.

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.

side-line.com