Revolting Cocks - “You Goddamned Son Of A Bitch” 2xCD + DVD

All-time great electro-rock

Ah, this is classic Revco, recorded live at the Cabaret Metro in Chicago in 1987. Originally released as a single disc by Wax Trax!, this double-CD format simply adds a couple of live tracks from the later “Beers, Steers, & Queers” CD single, and expands it all over 2 discs. It’s basically the same package as Rykodisc’s 2004 reissue, but with most of the original artwork restored. The distinct lack of liner notes, and some glaring errors (like the back stating that Chris Connelly is from Killing Joke. Hah!) are both unforgivable and lazy. It’s this lack of historical notes or credits, and the fact that it’s housed in a cheap case that’s easily broken signals a quick cash job on the part of Jourgensen (who recently sold the rights to this to notoriously shoddy Cleopatra Records) and MVD Audio (whose label and name is attached to the packaging, rather than Cleopatra’s, oddly).

Anyway, the music sounds as good as it ever has. This was Connelly’s inaugural release with the band, and thus began a long partnership with Cocks/Ministry members Jourgensen, Barker, and Rieflin, all of whom feature prominently here alongside Belgian pop star-slash-madman Luc Van Acker. 

Opening with the droning noise and murderous caterwauling of the title track, the band pushes into the massive “Cattle Grind” — a sinister, murderous rampage that also showcases a young, brash, and hungry Connelly (literally and figuratively — check out how skinny he was in the video counterpart. Hah!). A series of punishing electronic rock assaults follows, with iconic cuts like “38”, “TV Mind”, and “No Devotion” being even more aggressive live than their studio counterparts. This, as I’ve said already, is seriously classic industrial rock, both hypnotic and stomping with a perfect melding of live instrumentation and electronic programming. 

The huge, pulsing “Union Carbide” opens the second disc, and the wild rampage continues through “Attack Ships On Fire” and “No Devotion” before giving way to the 1991 live tracks that do flow rather seamlessly, despite the difference in venue, era, and personnel. Mr. Connelly’s impersonation/performance “as John Lydon” on the cover of PIL’s “Public Image” is perfect and spot-on!

The DVD release (oddly sold separately from the music) also shows a curious and alarming lack of care and attention. Having never been available on DVD, this was always part of a Ministry/Revolting Cocks fans’ bucket list. But MVD (or Cleopatra)’s shoddy packaging again seems slapdash and careless. The transfer is merely adequate, possibly from a VHS source (most certainly not cleaned up in any way), and the art and labeling echoes the same misinformation as the CD (Connelly being from Killing Joke, etc.). 

All said, a lackluster treatment given to an album and video that remains, at least to me, a near-perfect representation of everything the Cocks ever stood for — unbridled hedonism, excess, and stainless steel precision. It’s a shame to see this great album and video treated so poorly, though I am quite happy to have an “YGDSOB” on DVD officially after all these years.

MVD Audio

Al Jourgensen's official site

Ayria - "Plastic Makes Perfect" 2xCD

Silly synthy-techno for teens

On her 4th album, Canadian Jennifer Parkin crafts a solid, if, well, plastic set of melodic synthpop tunes with touches of trance, industrial, and ethereal gothic sounds. Call it "futurepop" or whatever, and you're in the right realm. Parkin's melodic vocals are certainly more "pop" than anything else, and the music (which features some production and programming from Icon Of Coil's Sebastian Komor) is edgy dance pop, with plenty of hard-hitting beats and Euro-techno sequences.

Tracks like "All That Glitters" could rope in plenty of teeny listeners, if not for the heavier beats. "Games" is purely dance pop, and could be almost mistaken for a Disney radio icon, to these jaded ears. Sure, Ayria's clean and crisp pop-dance sheen is well-produced and club-worthy, but there's just not much else of depth here.

The bonus disc of remixes (included only with the limited edition box version) ups the ante with some heavy-hitting names. Project Pitchfork deliver a clubby mix of "Missed The Mark", whereas Daniel B (of Front 242)'s complex and muscular mix may be the best track here. Aaimon's mix of "Games" is nicely ethereal, tempering the beats, but the rest of the cuts are just variations on the trance/dance club vibe. Of marginal interest, I'm afraid.

Alfa Matrix

Ayria site

Wax Trax! Records - Dannie Flesher R.I.P.

Wax Trax! Records co-founder Dannie Flesher passed away from complications from pneumonia this past week. He was 57.

Flesher, along with longtime partner Jim Nash (who passed away in 1995), founded Wax Trax! in the early 80's to release some of their favorite musics. Years later, this label experienced international success, and brought predominantly electronic and post-industrial acts like Ministry, Revolting Cocks, Thrill Kill Kult, Meat Beat Manifesto, Coil, Front Line Assembly, Psychic TV, KMFDM, Pig, Front 242, Chris Connelly, Controlled Bleeding, the Young Gods, Pankow, Laibach, Greater Than One, In The Nursery, Foetus, and countless others to the ears of listeners across the United States and beyond. Their influence has been heavy on such followers as Nine Inch Nails, who used the Wax Trax! sound and scene to springboard to major rock success.

Wax Trax! was the centerpiece of my teenage years, supplying the post-apocalyptic soundtrack to my angsty life, and it's something I'm proud of and will always appreciate. I spent a load of money ordering the latest Wax Trax! releases back in the pre-internet days, and I owe a large part of my musical education to Jim and Dannie's Wax Trax! legacy. May he (and Jim) rest in peace.

“Dannie was a good friend. He was a true visionary and he will be sorely missed by us and all the other artists whose lives he impacted.” -- Al Jourgensen

More info can be found here, with a more thorough eulogy by Greg Kot of the Chicago Tribune:
Chicago Tribune article

And a fairly complete and exhaustive discography of Wax Trax! can be found here:
Wax Trax! @ discogs.com

32CRASH - "Weird News From An Uncertain Future" 2xCD

As principal frontman for legendary electronic-rock act Front 242, Jean-Luc DeMeyer developed into one of the most celebrated and distinctive (and emotive) vocalists around (at least in industrial circles). Here backed by members of Belgian electro band Implant, DeMeyer unleashes a 19-song set of new music, and it's really pretty disappointing when compared to his work with the groundbreaking Front 242, or even his sometimes-project with Marc Heal as C-Tec. This is primitive electro-pop, with dated drum machine sounds, lightweight sequences, and, unfortunately, little in the realm of catchy tunes. 32Crash doesn't hit hard, and they don't hit melodically either. DeMeyer sounds great, but he needs a solid backdrop, and that's what's missing here. A second CD is included in limited edition copies, and this brings 11 remixes that actually stand up reasonably well next to their underproduced parents. Tracks like the Penelopes remix of 'Dust And Drought' update the clubbiness factor, and subsequently make these songs slightly more satisfying. Still, this isn't something I'll be listening to again, sorry. (Alfa Matrix Belgium)
32crash website