Subliminal Code - Soldiers of Hell

Subliminal Code released their Debut EP 'Soldiers of Hell' in late 2011 on Engraved Ritual and what an interesting release it is. Made up of 10 original tracks with remixes by artists such as Traumatize, Sonik Foundry, Coexpro, and Andro-Dioxin; it definitely sets itself up to be a strong first release from the Harsh EBM newcomers, Subliminal Code.

The first few original tracks are all thoroughly enjoyable, albeit not the greatest but still good. The intro titled 'Open the Door from Hell' is very impressive a mood-setter and thus leading into the second track 'Soldier of Hell' really brings it out of its shell more. Music is harsh and resonant of the Industrial style and the vocals on the album are distorted and sound somewhat 'liquidized'.

In all respects, this album sounds like a first, it shows great promise and musical skill with an in-depth understanding of their sound however there are parts in which the sounds are either slightly unfitting, overpowering or somewhat out of place. Though this does not pull the EP down as it remains, with these small errors, a strong, enjoyable and promising release is still present.

The remixes on this release are also to be admired, Traumatize provides a great harsh alternative to 'Lost in the Loneliness' and Sonik Foundry's remix of 'Soldier of Hell' is really impressive, fitting to their style and bringing in an almost-Dubstep 'breakdown'. Andro-Dioxin also provides a good harsh alternative to 'Sin of Pleasure'. The remix of 'Electro Suicide' by Coexpro is another strong remix, standing out above the others because of its really energetic Hard Noise approach.

On the whole, a promising first release with a few imperfections from a band which is certainly going places. Recommended because I have a feeling their next release will be much greater. Mar 04 2012