V/A - Blood , Sweat & Gears - [Hive Records]

2003-07-30

Compilations are sometimes just like news bulletins , refreshing your memory with the common facts , yet have the tendency to surprise you. I admit I lost my interest in the electro industrial/punishing ebm scene a long time ago , when some bands I liked thought it would be cool to add some cheesy club trance/synth pop melodies to back up their cyber like distorted vocals. They might have gain more popularity, but their music lost it's relevancy and integrity for a fistful of Dollars (or Euros , whatever).

Blood, Sweat & Gears is a compilation with a purpose to please everyone. While its’ orientation is to the industrial /ebm scene it crosses many sub genres .From the predictable harsh ebm of Aghast View to the excellent minimal electro homage to Kraftwerk by Codec to synth core by Maschine Made Flesh to sinister beats by Tarmverd, to really horrible and even more predictable ebm by Diverje and Negative Format. There's also a generic gothic trip hop track by Daughter Darling, it's ok, but I prefer the dark ambiance of Monstrum Sepsis that crawls next before it turns to complete shit. Some of these tracks are good, but in case this compilation is a news bulletin, I rather shut the television, go to sleep, hoping for a better wake up call.

Rani Zager