We got a few questions regarding this, so yes, the Chicago-based industrial band, Project .44, have unleashed their first album in sixteen years, “(The Storm Before) Reform”. It’s the band’s first full album output although there has been a sporadic single, some compilation contributions, and an EP and lead-man Chri5 Harri5 has been busy for a few years with Sean Payne (Cyanotic) on the Glitch Mode Recordings offshoot CONFORMCO.

Harri5 explains the 16 years of album silence: “Well after we released our debut, ‘The System Doesn’t Work’ on Invisible Records, we put out a follow up remix CD in ‘07 and then still had five years left on our deal. We were in limbo. Recording had started and demos have lived, some, up to ten years. After we were free we got the braintrust together, Louis Svitek, Charles Levi, MTL, and long time producing friends The Thump and Seibold and went full bore into finishing the jams.”

After seven more years, two reissued releases from the Give/Take label, appearances at SxSW, Mechanismus Fesival and Sanctuary Festival, Project .44 was able to take the final sprint and complete work on their new album.

You get 11 tracks of brutal Chicago industrial with Chri5 Harri5 and fellow industrialists Louis Svitek (Ministry/ReVco), Charles Levi (Thrill Kill Kult/Pigface), Seibold (Hate Dept.) and guest appearances from En Esch (KMFDM/Pigface) and Lady E (Slick Idiot).

The CD features 3 bonus tracks with remixes from Jim Marcus (Die Warzau), Phildo Owen (Skatenigs) and Sean Payne (Cyanotic) The cassette and vinyl features 2 bonus tracks with remixes from Walter Flakus (Stabbing Westward) & Mark Trueman (Choke Chain).

Check out the video for “Murder Weapon” featuring En Esch.

And here is the full release.

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!

side-line.com

Genre/Influences: EBM, Industrial.

Format: Digital.

Background/Info: “Chain Tactics” is the debut-EP by American artist Mark Trueman aka Choke Chain.

Content: All songs have a retro-feeling getting me back to the late 80s – early 90s and the early work of Revolting Cocks. I got the feeling listening to one long duration song split in 3 chapters. The vocals feel like expressing pain and rage.

+ + + : This is old-school EBM made in America and reminding me the golden years of Wax Trax! and more specifically Revolting Cocks; the mix of European EBM and American Industrial music! Even if this is old-style Electro, it has something refreshing.

– – – : There’s no real diversity between the songs.

Conclusion: Choke Chain is an interesting newcomer so I’ll keep an eye on this band.

Best songs: “Struggle”.

Rate: (6½).

Artist: www.facebook.com/chokechain

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