Distorted World - Personal Necropolis

After coming off a warm reception of Between the Strophes, Distorted World is back with a single release (along with multiple remixes of said release). This single is showing what's to come from their next release, and if this is a precursor of music to come, I am more than excited.

The original mix of the song titled Personal Necropolis is a Harsh EBM centric song, but the dual vocals spread within the song speak otherwise. The female vocalist, Angelina, starts off the song with her God given talent, coming in at the minute mark delivering quite lovely lyrics and voice. As with the original release, I absolutely adored her voice and I found myself skipping to her quite a bit as I listened and replayed the track.

Now, the second set is headed by Ivan, who is responsible for the lyrics and the synth work and the programming. In other words, he's the mastermind behind the project. However, I found that when he sings, it's a bit of the standard, grunting and growling that we've all come to know and bore over. However, they aren't bad in their own domain. Just not great.

The beat of the song is constantly varying and shifting, and that's something that's always great with a single. I find that if someone is to release a single, they might as well show off everything they got in the one song to both be a service to fans and to lure in new bait. We are delivered with a pretty solid bassline throughout the song, and a lot of synth work spread everywhere else, seeming more harsh and pounding during Ivan's sections, and coming off lighter and less formidable during Angelina's sections. However, this works very well.

We are then, after the original mix, blasted with five more remixes of the same song. I found myself enjoying two out of the five, with the rest just being okay. The Nordika remix was a disappointment. While I thought that the Mexican synth pop act would have served wonderfully mixing a song with such gorgeous vocals as Angelina's, it failed. It just didn't serve well together, and the echo on her voice made it sound like she was singing from a distance. And Ivan's voice was practically drowned out in the beat.

The Rabbit at War remix by the German EBM band was alright, but I really found a lot of the drum work in the song to be unnecessary and a little annoying at times. Another EBM mix from Terminal State didn't really give me the feeling of being a mix at all. It turned out to be a mainly instrumental EBM title with few of the vocals entwined within the beat. The beat was still good, but I was hoping for more vocal support.

And then we get to the remixes that I enjoyed. The Ultimate Soldier mix lays heavy on the synths, and is definitely something to get funky with. The ShadowKILL remix added some ambient work into the song, with slow moving bass drops, and perfectly serving Angelina's enchanting voice. It was a wonder to hold, and the mysticism involved with the song was magical. The end of the song gave way to some nasty noise, with higher pitched synths working away at it, creating for an ultra moody and atmospheric sentiment. And I loved it. Being that this is the longest track on the album at almost nine minutes, I absolutely adored it.

So, with a single release, and a few remixes involved, I can say that I enjoyed this pre-second album debut. I am honestly awaiting for the arrival of the next album, as this was enjoyable. I just want to see more from the project before I can say whether or not I like the direction they're taking. Aug 09 2013