Genre/Influences: EBM.

Format: Digital, CD.

Background/Info: Belgian EBM duo Wülf7 has had little success in their homeland. They strike back with four new songs plus seven bonus cuts.

Content: The songs are driven by solid- and typical EBM bass lines. The global sound atmosphere is dark and accentuated by synth lines and deep, resonating, vocals. Among the other songs left we get two collaborative pieces -one with Tankt and the other together with TC75. Remixes have been accomplished by First Aid 4 Souls, Sleepwalk, Astma, Plastic Noise Experience and To Avoid.

+ + + : The main strength of the duo is that they’re mixing a pure, old-school, EBM style together with an atypical approach, which sounds more sophisticated while recovered with strings. The title song is a cool cut, but I also have to mention “EBM Nation”. Among the remixes I noticed a great job done by First Aid 4 Souls -especially for the sound production and Astma which also boosted the original edit by a professional sound production.

– – – : The only point Wülf7 has to be reconsider is the mix of their work. It has a dirty sound, which is clearly reminding me of retro-productions from the 90s, but it’s suffering from a lack of professionalism.

Conclusion: The only -but essential thing, Wülf7 has to improve is the technical part of their work, but this band has a true potential.

Best songs: “I Don’t Want (Anymore)”, “EBM Nation” + “I Don’t Want (Anymore) – Remix by First Aid 4 Souls”, “Morbide – Remix by Astma”.

Rate: 7.

Artist: www.facebook.com/Wulfe7

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

Genre/Influences: EBM, dark-EBM.

Content: Serpents is a rather familiar name for lovers of EBM and especially those who were into the 90s movement. It was a wonderful decade revealing an impressive list of great EBM-bands. Serpents was an established name and released a few noticeable productions.

Set up by Kazim Sarikaya and often getting the help of Claus Kruse (Plastic Noise Experience) the band made a come-back in 2010 releasing a new and remarkable album (cf. “Immer Voran!”). The work was badly promoted and didn’t get the deserved exposure as it was a real cool work. Five years later the band is already back with a new album featuring new material on the 1st disc and a re-release of “Immer Voran!” on the 2nd disc.

“State Of War” remains pretty faithful to the cold EBM style of Serpents. It reminds me of their earlier work although there’s a fresh and more contemporary touch on top. I can’t get away from the feeling that there also is a kind of refined touch running through the work, which sounds pretty PNE-like. Kazim and Claus clearly are the operating souls behind this band. They’ve written a dark-body minded opus revealing a strong 90s sound, but with a unique approach. This is a sophisticated EBM format constructed with captivating sound treatments (like deep bass lines, icy sequences) and a spooky-minded vocals’ production.

The songs are pretty minimal-minded, but still very accessible for lovers of body music. I especially like the transposition from the initial Serpents sound into a modern approach. Last year the band self-released the “Violence”-EP featuring 3 songs. These tracks are also featured on the album and the “Resistance”-song even is one of the best cuts for its cool dark-EBM touch with some noticeable Plastic Noise Experience-arrangements. Another song you have to keep in mind is the minimal-driven “You Hide”.

The album also features 7 remixes by bands like Plastic Noise Experience, Ad:Key, The Psychic Force, Pyrroline, Cyber and label mates kFactor and Astma. I was impressed by the remix of “Resistance” by Plastic Noise Experience and the Cyber-remix of “Violence”. Cyber was another cool band from Hamburg, which was a rather prolific EBM ground during the 90s.

The 2nd disc features a re-edition of the “Immer Voran!”-album revealing fresh versions of some of the original songs. The opus was written by Kazim Sarikaya and I’m still convinced it was his best album in history. It all sounds like a real metamorphosis. You can recognize some ‘old’ influences, but the new songs are fresh and modern! “Steh Auf” is an absolute gratifying track. The bass line sounds a bit goa-like while the dark, refreshing electronics are doing the rest. The vocals are rough like in the past.

“Komm Noch Naeher” coming next perfectly symbolizes the new Serpents. There’s a strong EBM touch running through the song, which are mixed with terrific bleeps and sound treatments à la Plastic Noise Experience.

The title-song is a bit quieter and space-like revealing the diversity of Serpents. EBM elements are coming back on “Folge Mir”, “Glaub An Mich” and “Zeig Dig”. These 3 songs are pretty well-crafted and efficient dance assaults as well. “Zeig Dich” is for sure one of the highlights of the album. The sound might remind you of bands like Die Krupps and Dance Or Die.

I remain totally seduced by the impressive and refreshing sound arsenal of Serpents. It all sounds like Kazim Sarikaya has reinvented his band with this album.

The final part features 5 remixes by Plastic Noise Experience. This is the main difference with the original version of the album which featured 4 remixes by other bands.

I like the remix by Plastic Noise Experience (no other band could be more fitting) of “Erwache”, which is the only remix that was featured at the original album. The other remixes bring us back to the debut album (cf. “Terminal Breath”) with noticeable remixes of “Kill What Kills You”, “Killer Agency”, “Protection” and “Second Life”.

Last, but not least the song “Wings Of Darkness” that was originally released on the album “What Is Fear” (1999) has been added to this track list.

Conclusion: Serpents strikes back with style unleashing a rather old-school new album and a new version of the somewhat unknown previous work, which is more into modernism.

Best songs: “Resistance”, “Violence”, “I’m Near”, “You Hide”, “Resistance – Plastic Noise Experience Remix” + “Komm Noch Naeher”, “Das Zweite Leben – V2015”, “Zeig Dich”, “Kill What Kills You – Plastic Noise Experience Remix”.

Rate: (DP:8½)DP.

Band: www.serpents.de / www.facebook.com/serpents.de

Label: www.electroaggressionrecords.com / www.facebook.com/ElectroAggressionRecords

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

Genre/Influences: EBM, dark-electro.

Content: kFactor is a Brazilian solo-project inspired by the good-old EBM sound from the late 80s and especially the 90s. This band totally fits to the retro-EBM taste of Electro Aggression Records.

I didn’t know what to expect from kFactor except a pure old-school EBM production. The opening tracks clearly reveal a typical 90s electro format, which is driven by a typical kick and cold synthesizer sounds. The spooky vocals inject a dark and mysterious element to the work. I can’t say that the opening cuts are essential ones, but they give an indication about the dark-atmospheric style of this EBM project. I was a bit afraid to discover an old stereo-type without real creativity, but the album rapidly evolves into more elaborate songs featuring sounds à la Cabaret Voltaire and even more intelligent treatments reminding me of Clock DVA.

The sound is clearly old-styled EBM, but I progressively get into the mysterious and obscure sound creation of Junior kFactor. One of the main sources of inspiration appears to be the good-old Belgian EBM school. That’s for sure an element I recognize in the global sound production, but if I really have to make a link with another formation it would be without a shadow of a doubt early X Marks The Pedwalk and the early EP’s “Arbitrary Execution” and especially “Disease Control”. A few other cuts remind me of early Frontline Assembly as well. It becomes rapidly clear that kFactor is a band taking us back to the sources of EBM. There’s a perfect mix between 80s and 90s body music.

The work is pretty minimal and bringing good-old tricks to life like spoken samplings, icy synth-lines and other choir synth passages, typical spooky vocals and the familiar 4×4 structures. “Ghastly Monolith” avoids any innovation, but brings a well-crafted emulation of retro EBM music. You don’t hear me complaining as the more I got into the work of this artist the more I really started to like it. I also like the global concept featuring 2 discs each with 15 songs. The 2nd disc features a few remixes by bands like Pyrroline, Astma, Serpents and few others.

I have a little preference for the main disc but both CDs reveal a high quality level and several attention grabbers. Some cuts are carried by a somewhat heavier, bombastic rhythm and a few songs are more complex in their global writing. That’s precisely the reason why I like a song like “Lobotomy”, which is one of the cuts reminding me of the more sophisticated work of Clock DVA. The “Jihad Remix” of “Dead Place” is another fascinating cut in the genre. This album is not only revealing intriguing, cool songs, but also accomplished remixes as well.

kFactor is not exactly the kind of furious EBM but rather a slow tempo sound joined by poignant, dark atmospheres and great vocals.

Conclusion: This is a fascinating work bringing elements of 90s EBM to life. kFactor moves back to the sources and can be considered as an accomplished ode to some legendary bands, which helped EBM get a name!

Best songs: “Lobotomy”, “Iron Tree”, “Prototype”, “Chrome”, “Casting Shadows”, “Take A Chance” + “A Dead Place”, “The Right Course”, “Auto-Darwin”, “A Dead Place – Jihad Remix”, “A Blind Spot – Factory Automatic by Soillodge”.

Rate: (DP:8)DP.

Band: www.facebook.com/kFactor.ebm

Label: www.electroaggressionrecords.com / www.facebook.com/ElectroAggressionRecords

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

Genre/Influences: EBM.

Content: Astma is a familiar name at the wider fields of EBM. This Swedish formation is not what I would call a leading band in the genre although an interesting combo dealing with hard EBM since 2001, which gained some reputation from their live performances.
Electro Aggression Records gave them the opportunity to release an official full length featuring 23 (!) songs plus an extra disc with some great remixes.

If you’re not familiar with Astma, you can imagine an hybrid between Orange Sector and Pouppée Fabrikk. This is a rather classical ‘hardcore’ version of EBM, which sounds in the purest tradition of the genre. There’s no real innovation, but this kind of EBM definitely appears to be vaccinated against any new element. You better prepare yourself to ‘move your body’ with the 23 (!) songs of the main disc. The tracks are pretty short – in the 2- 3 minute range, but driven by maximum injection of testosterone.

The sound formula is no longer a secret for EBM lovers. You get a fast cadence joined by dry bass lines and some extra metallic percussion plus heavy shouting vocals. It’s as simple as that and it still works. I however can’t say that Astma has the potential to become a new sensation in the genre, but they have the power to make you move. In the end I would say that this is exactly what we expect from this kind of music, isn’t it?

Behind the ‘cliché’ Astma tries to put their own stamp on the EBM sound. It’s not exactly about their sound, but some of their funny lyrical parts, which are more into punk. “Cut It Short” is one of these songs, where they sing about wanting to cut the hair of hippies. One of the hardest cuts is the so-called “New Version” of “A Global Game” featuring a weird chorus about football. Another funny cut is “Body In Japan” for the mishmash of Japanese words. It doesn’t mean that much, but it’s pure fun and it works.

One of my favorite songs is also one of their most elaborate. Astma added a cool, raw lead on “Suffer And Pain”, which adds more elements to the song although it still remains a pretty simple and efficient. I just regret there are no more variations in the songs like on this track.

The 2nd disc will definitely catch your attention if you’re a real EBM freak. Nineteen bands have been asked to make a remix and you’ll discover bands like Signal Aout 42, Armageddon Dildos, The Psychic Force, Plastic Noise Experience, MRDTC, Autodafeh, Invoke The Insult, Cardinal Noire, Serpents, DRP, Brigade Werther, kFactor ao. This is a truly sonic orgy resulting in several great remixes.

In my opinion, one of the best remixes is the one of “Mr. Miller” by Full Contact 69. This is not exactly the most famous name on the list, but maybe the most creative one revealing a minimal EBM touch reminding me a bit of PNE. Other noticeable remixes have been accomplished by Plastic Noise Experience, Autodafeh and Invoke The Insult. The bands injected their own touch to the work, which brings more diversity to this disc.

Conclusion: A stereotypical-, but solid EBM release with an impressive list of remixes.

Best songs: “Suffer And Pain”, “Cut It Short”, “Tune In The ESP”, “Body In Japan”, “A Global Game – New Version” +” Mr. Miller – Full Contact 69 Remix”, “Suffer And Pain – Autodafeh Remix”.

Rate: (DP:7½)DP.

Band: www.facebook.com/Astma-164850410224999

Label: www.electroaggressionrecords.com / www.facebook.com/ElectroAggressionRecords

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