T.A.N.K. – Broken Mirror (Digital/CD Album Electro Aggression Records)
Reinhard Hüber brought T.A.N.K. to life in 2001 as a solo project, later joined by additional members for live performances. After more than 20 years, this is only the third album from the German EBM project. Several years have elapsed between releases, making each album feel somewhat like a new beginning, although I don’t think the EBM audience ever truly forgot T.A.N.K. “Broken Mirror” is the first album in nine years and also the project’s first release on Electro Aggression Records. It features 13 tracks plus five remixes and even a cover version.
T.A.N.K. stands for vintage EBM—tracks that drive straight ahead. Typical heavy EBM basslines are paired with dark string arrangements, all set to a danceable rhythm. Here and there, a brief respite appears in the form of a slower tempo, where the EBM takes on a more atmospheric quality. Perhaps slightly atypical is Hüber’s harder, deep, distorted vocal style. While this is more common in Dark Electro productions, it works perfectly here. Among the tracks, I have a particular soft spot for “Zombie March” and its hilarious lyrics. After all, EBM rarely features profound lyrics—and that’s not something I personally expect from the genre anyway! Remixes were provided by Pyrroline, Sleepwalk, Serpents, Synaptic Defect, and Trilogy. The intelligent remix by Pyrroline, in particular, is an absolute treat for the ears. Finally, we get a somewhat surprising cover of R010R’s “Bloodsucker,” recast in a dark EBM mould.
T.A.N.K. strikes back again with a solid, old-school EBM record that has been well crafted. Perhaps it could have been a bit harder overall for my taste, but otherwise, I have no complaints. (Rating:7½).
Side-Line reported the announcement in April 2026, when Electro Aggression Records set “Broken Mirror” for release on May 30.
Listen to “Zombie March”:
About T.A.N.K.
Reinhard Hüber, who came out of the 1990s German punk scene, launched T.A.N.K. in Dessau in 2001. The name stands for “Taktischer Angriff (auf’s) Nervenkostüm”. The first live appearance took place at the first Electric Tremor Festival in Dessau on 22 March 2002.
The self-released “T.A.N.K.” EP landed in 2002, followed by the debut album “Musica Denaturale” on Ars Electrique in 2003. In 2011 the project contributed “Game of Men” to the 4CD set “Old School Electrology Volume One”. The second full-length, “Return”, came out in 2017 on Electric Tremor Dessau.
Hüber also turned up in the Electro Aggression Records orbit through remix work connected to R010R and Synaptic Defect. “Broken Mirror” is the project’s third album and holds 19 tracks.
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