THE MARS MODEL- Primal Urge (CD / Vinyl / Digital) (FX7 Records) The newThe Mars Model release, named Primal Urge. This carries 6 songs going from solid post-punk over gothic rock with a very cool wink to The Fields Of The Nephilim and associates.Melodic at one moment,menacingly brutal and chaotic at others.‘Baby Paria’ relies on screaming guitars, solid basses that resonate strongly in the final mix (love it!) and sparsely present synths, which are nevertheless important. ‘Ultra Mega’ opens with nicely distorted guitars that remind me of The Cult.“The atmosphere, dark and gay,in a special kind ofway.Last time I sawyou,with that smile,you're not anymore, livin' in exile(…)’”Awonderfully compelling song that brings back the heydays of gothic rock,or if you want: revive it.And what to think about ‘Man Of The Year’? Goth rock with a strong pinch of dark wave.‘Showdown’… Slowly,mysterious synths and then after 25 seconds a guitar riff that gives me the chills.The riff varies throughout the song,slashes, cuts, squirms, screams hoarsely. The synths and bass get credit for getting ‘Atrocity Galore’ on track, top shelf post-punk. ‘FDM’ is the last song on the EP.While the synths lead the way, guitars get a slightly more timid role. This EP belongs in your record cabinet and make sure to go see them live! [JB] ELM - Penetrator (CD / Digital) (Alfa-Matrix) ELM.This Swede does not shy away from stomping feet. I would even say“Im Rhythmus bleiben”, as Front 242, many EBM heads and hopefully many others beside them, chant as an anthem. Penetrator! No nonsense old school inspired EBM. Tight bass lines, menacing drums,make you wanna dance and twist your body in even impossible poses - electro, almost like a tsunami...There is no escape! This album is yet another one that forces you to go total loss. Rhythmically very tight, and the title speaks for itself: the music penetrates very deep into your muscle fibres. From somewhat slower gems, such as‘Razor Horror’, to sharper, faster, harder and potential mosh-pit bangers such as ‘Ha Ha Ha Begär’, ’Vessel Of Violence’ or NWO. The latter is really next level shit in my humble opinion.Where previous albums were already breath-taking,he noweven adds on top of that.No song is inferior.Even the slightly“slower”songs make you wanna move.Beauties like ‘Outcast’, where some extra machinery in the background showcases a dreamy melody as a backdrop.The strength of EBM lies in less is more. [JB] THE JUGGERNAUTS - Fear (CD / Vinyl / Digital) The helmeted no nonsense EBM heads The Juggenauts are back! They kick ass! Fear, as the new EP is titled, features four brand new songs and two remixes, one by roaring frontman Borg and one by True Zebra. ‘Fear V2K18’ is the title song and it is a direct hit! Pounding drum machines, thumping low-frequency basses released by an arsenal of synths, rousing and pumping sequencers,while Borg’s singing is not cheerful, but raw and spiced by a firm dose of anger, cynicism and social criticism.‘End Of Time’, which, in addition to the pounding sound, contains a very catchy melody. Good old Trump gets to kick off‘Shrinking Brains’with one of his notorious speeches: “Our country is in serious trouble…We don't have victories anymore.We used to have victories. But we don't have them…(…)” What follows is a frontal old school EBM headbutt. ’Snitch Bitch’ is a song which got a dark top coat of dark-electro as a finish on a base layer of pure EBM primer. Both of the ‘Fear’ remixes are definitely not inferior to the originals versions.Borg's ‘Fear VK20 (C-19 EBMmix)’packs even more vocal sampling aggression than the original song. ‘Fear V2K22’ Club remix, True Zebra version, we get a rather minimal rhythm, synths and sequences build-up that gives the song a more clubby dance-like undertone. EBM is not dead! An EP that every righteous EBM lover should have in his/her record collection. (BodyBeats Records) [JB] www.peek-a-boo-magazine.be - 6 - Read full reviews on http://www.peek-a-boo-magazine.be/en/reviews/
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