Review Summary: Mediocre industrial with metal influences.
Cybertrash - Starting with spacey keyboards it sets the tone of the entire album, leading into a riff which sounds kind of like it was ripped from Rammstein's Hallelujah. It's painfully apparent that the talent in the band is in the songwriting, not the musicianship. Every line on every instrument is simplistic. The keyboards and effects played in the background are what really hold the songs together. Still, this is an upbeat and catchy song that will have you nodding your head in no time. 7/10
Planet of the Apes - More choppy power chords and industrial effects open the second song. The shortest song on the album and it's 4 minutes, apparently because they couldn't take the same minute of music and replay it any more without it becoming too tedious. The only fun moment is for about 20 seconds starting at about 2:20 or so. 4/10
Star by Star - My second favorite track on the album, it starts with pleasant keyboards in the background for several loops before throwing another chugga-chugga guitar line underneath it. And here's where it succeeds, because the guitars aren't prominent, they're thrown underneath everything else, and cut out of the verses completely. The whole song keeps the same spacey sound throughout until the peak at 2:34 where it suddenly turns aggressive and you hear a little of the black metal they used to play shine through. 9/10
Via Negativa - Quick drum fill and sampled vocals play until said chugga guitar line comes in. This song has one of the worst verses on the album, and an equally uninspired chorus. Female vocals dominate on this song, which is different from the first two, but it's not really noticeable. These guys apparently spent a lot of time listening to Rammstein because for the second time on this album they've stolen from the much more talented band. Right before the chorus kicks in is note for note (same keyboard sound as well) stolen from Du Reicht so Gut. 4/10
Stillborn Universe - Another peaceful intro, slow and setting up the pace and melancholic feel for the rest of the song. Thankfully no guitars in the first verse to ruin the mood and melody, and I promise that it isn't Jonathon Davis singing a Marylin Manson song. After the first chorus it gets heavier, but once again the guitars are underneath the electronics. The shrieks displayed in the second verse make me really wonder why they decided to shy away from the black metal they were playing before. Overall one of the better tracks. 7/10
Acid Theater - Uh-oh, a fast keyboard. ****, I knew it there's the return of chugga-chugga guitar man again. Atrocious vocals in the verses, it really sounds like he's throwing up something. Tepid, boring choruses, bad samples, and an obligatory female vocal line that just doesn't fit all seem like this is the worst song here. But the dark atmosphere and... well I think it's so bad it's enjoyable. I find my head bobbing every time I listen to it and can't bring myself to skip it so I guess it has some redeeming merits. 5/10
The Perfect End - The intro to this song is hands down one of the best intros ever. This is the type of music they set out to make here. It is catchy, uplifting, and kind of groovy. The chugging guitars make a great compliment for the first time to the melody in the background and give the keyboards an odd syncopated rhythm. Thankfully, instead of overpowering the rest of the album with the same muted power chords, they only reappear in the chorus with said fantastic opening line. After a slow down at about 3:20 things gradually pick up again until the explosion of another black metal influenced bridge at 3:50. 10/10
Neon - The problem with everything else on the second half of the album is that The Perfect End is the best song on the album, and everything else pales in comparison. Neon is another Planet of the Apes and Via Negativa. Bouncy electronics, choppy guitars, deadpan or female vocals, etc. There is absolutely nothing special about this track unless you count the pseudo oriental keyboard line in the background. But by this time it just kind of feels old. By no means is it difficult to listen to, and it's still good at making your head bob, but it's just more of the same. 5/10
Keepers of the Garden - Heavy intro, palm muted guitars, spacey keyboards, where have I heard this? But after near a minute the song redeems itself with a nice melodic line which transfer into a jumpy and almost discordant sound. And holy ****, you can actually hear the man singing in something other than deadpan, shriek, or gollum. The nice melodic line comes back for the chorus, and things go on repeat for the next 3 minutes. Not bad, but not great. 6/10
Pantomime - This song is slow, dark, and heavy. The layered vocals this time layer a gollum-ish growl with the more neutral deadpan vocals. This is everything we've heard so far, but slower, darker, and heavier, so by default it's better. There's more of an emphasis on actual melody than shown before. The bridge sounds almost tribal and transfers into the best metal inspired segment on the album. The guitars change it up by playing a real melody, and the singer sounds sincerely pissed. And the best part? It comes back after more tribal singing. 8/10
Hollow Earth - Industrial opening, chaotic as the rest of the industrial backgrounds are. Guitars playing a short, choppy line behind with the typical vocals. Another retread of what we've already heard, just done better. 6/10
Industrial Twilight - An orchestrated opening, something not heard till now quickly escalates into a mid paced drumbeat with gothic chanting and instrumentation in the background. This song more than any other on the album captures the feel of a black metal song, even though it's nowhere close to it. The second half of the song is by far better than the first, and for once the samples help make the song better. 9/10
Overall, the album would have been a lot better had the dropped tracks 2, 4, 8, and 11. It would have trimmed it down to 8 tracks at 45 minutes. The guitars are too often too prevalent and the singer really needs to show a little more emotion in some songs. The samples need to go, and they really need to stop playing with industrial and get back to industrial influenced black metal.
