AktiveHate - X-Synthesized

So we had "In Terrorem" a few years back which I seriously, seriously raved over. Proper Dark Electro built around some seriously trance-inspired hooks - nothing new, but I felt it was done the way it should be done. The album had some tracks on it with some Guitar work that I also really enjoyed, and I recall fapping about it being some sort of Aggrotech/Metal hybrid.

The new release comes as a 2xCD album (or 3xCD + a shirt if you buy the box set), and as I predicted, ISK takes his project one step further.

Disc One : Resynthesized.

Opening with "One Hit", like "My Own God" before it, the release starts with a very distorted and excellent melody, and segues into a brutal vocal and up-tempo number. I love the Aggrotech melodies on here - in truth very few songs have melodies that I really, really consider to be exemplary - "Hellraiser" being the most famous.

"Visions Of A Killer" is the track that's been lifted off of this release as the stand out - the T-Shirt quotes it and is based around it, but is it any match for "One Hit"?
With intense Energy, a very high BPM (must be around 170), this track has way too much going on - it's definitely worth lifting off the release as an avatar - and it's one I won't shy away from returning too at a later date.

"Disincarnated" is equally deranged, and it's apparent that ISK is making up for any shortcomings he may have had with "In Terrorem" - I still stick to my guns on the release, but hindsight is a wonderful thing, and seperating the Metal and Techno elements into two seperate CDs is a very smart move. We get to see AktiveHate as two different bands, rather than one band trying to do too much at once.

Ultimately Disc 1 sits triumphant as what "In Terrorem" was at times - a very strong, very brutal piece of Electro that is full of quirks. It may have cliches, but they're delivered in ways that I'm happy to receive.

Disc 2 - Desynthesized

Let's go Metal. Opening with "Spite", we're fed a thumping Bassline, which actually utilizes a "Harsh EBM" synth, over the top of the instrumentation. It's actually little different to the previous disc, and I suspect the change into Industrial Metal is going to be gradual and pronounced. Good track.

... Or not. "Gutter Zen" is straight in your face - shredding Guitars, metal vocals, nothing synthetic about this - it's as brutal as Axis of Perdition at times, and the Keyboards add a brilliant extra dimension to this seriously heavy track.

"Whorenography" has a mellow, danceable intro. It plays into some typically downtuned Guitar work, and actually, despite my lack of huge Metal knowledge, I can't help but feel that if I didn't know otherwise, I'd think this was a Metal act through and through.

It's little moments that make me really enamoured towards AktiveHate. Each song is well written, but most tracks contain little extras, moments of brilliance that hit out of nowhere. Take the serious Death Metal vocal intro on "Digital Decay" - which is in fact one of the best tracks on the release. Take the song "A Furious Djinn Awakens" - it's a great title, and like all good Metal, you know what you're gonna get when you press play.

Ultimately, I'm hard pressed to criticise this. I feel as a Dark Electro fan slightly put out, as I was hoping for two CDs of solid "00ntz", but as a realist and a fan of music, I have great appreciation for what this is - we don't see groups moving away too often, and when they do, they tend to make a butchers of it. By putting this out as a double album and showcasing pure talent with both discs in VERY different styles, AktiveHate are actually pretty close to breaking genre taboos. Whether that's a good thing or not depends on your loyalty to the scene, but with music this good, they could remain with either genre and be loved.

Disc 2 weaves Dark Electro elements into the Metal and does a good job, with some tracks being nearly pure metal.

Don't forget there's a box set with a third disc encompassing remixes of both albums, and a shirt too. Apr 03 2013