Alienoxir - Fear of Hate

Formed in 2007, Alienoxir is yet another dark electro group birthed by Mexico, a country that somehow manages to churn out one great talent after another. While they've been performing and releasing a few tracks since their inception, Alienoxir has officially joined these ranks with their 2011 debut release, 'Fear of Hate'.

Band members Henock (programming, synths) and Alixi (vocals, lyrics) have referred to their music as 'danceable dark electro', and when listening to this album I could see why. To me, the bass beat is one of the most important elements in the composition of a good dance track. Get too creative with it, throwing in complexities that pop up here and there (as many acts do), and you run the risk of interrupting the natural flow of body movement on the dancefloor. Alienoxir has nailed the bass beat on several tracks here. Simple often works best, with a good, solid beat serving to push a song forward and maintain momentum. 'Battle of Disarm' and 'Cyborg Generation' showcase this beat style very well. But they manage to take it up a notch on a few other tracks, creating interestingly layered beats that weave together to create a solid structure that's dancefloor-worthy. 'Fear of Hate' and 'Destonix' are great examples of this, but if you want to experience some beat-layering brilliance, check out track 5, 'Isn't Here (Alien-X)'.

There's one element to Alienoxir's music that stands out and makes them unique: a love of minor keys. They create keyboard lines comprised of a few minor notes that are on the verge of clashing, but don't quite - rather, they make for an interesting mix. These minor synths are often thrown in unexpectedly, making them almost jarring. I was caught off guard - pleasantly - when listening to the intro to the opening track, 'Battle of Disarm', where the atmospheric synths are interrupted by one of these lines. This trait is extensively featured in 'Same Like You' and 'Fear of Hate', and can also be found in 'Honor Y Resistencia' and 'Cyborg Generation'. I really like this characteristic of their music. It makes for some truly interesting sounds.

There are a few tracks on 'Fear of Hate' that deserve some attention here. I've talked a bit about 'Battle of Disarm', with its steady bass beat and unexpected minor synths. It's my pick for best song on the album for two main reasons: 1) It breaks the standard verse-chorus-verse song structure, instead fusing two independent, continuous halves with an instrumental break, and 2) The second half is pure dancefloor brutality. 'Honor Y Resistencia' is another great track, with layered synths (strong EBM elements here) and changes to the beat that kept me interested throughout the song, good vocals, and a second half that's made for the dancefloor. Title track 'Fear of Hate' is another noteworthy song, with full, drawn out synths in a minor key that are quickly joined by a rapid synth line and layered bass beats that include a fast cymbal beat to complement the synths, which are then matched by the rhythm of the excellent vocal work. It's a very well-structured song.

Overall, Alienoxir has made a relatively strong debut with 'Fear of Hate'. They can do dance tracks very well ('Battle of Disarm', 'Honor Y Resistencia', 'Fear of Hate', 'Destonix'), but I'd like to have seen them focus more on those here. Some of the tracks aren't quite there. Scaling back on some beat changeups and cutting down on instrumental breaks would do the trick here, but the tracks that fall into that category are still quality songs. It's just that I can hear the ghost of a song that would punish people on the dancefloor if a few tweaks were made, and I want that to happen. That aside, 'Fear of Hate' is a good debut, one that leaves me wanting more. Apr 09 2012