for all the emptiness - second order

'Axioms' was calling out for a follow up 'story', and that's something I've preached since the release of the album last year. In Jonathan's world, where religion has been dismissed, and god has called in sick, everything is better off (and ruined, desolate, and void), and every god has had his day.

Interestingly, 'second order' follows up the nine songs on 'Axioms' with 7 remixes (each track retains the original order), featuring some of the biggest names in Futurepop/EBM history, and vocal version of the intro and outro.

I recall mentioning in my earlier articles that 'Identity' served as a beautiful intro, but lacked a little something - hearing it for the first time with vocals is enough to bring a shiver to the spine. Kaplan's voice, as always, is booming and disciplined, and the reverb and echo effects that marinade the rest of the tune only serve to make the original infinitely better.

Cyanotic are the first to offer us a re-interpretation, working on 'Blame', and it's hard to imagine a more different song. It focuses on the main beat of the original, rather than the synth work, and makes it much heavier, leaning towards the heavier side of Futurepop, possibly Electro-Industrial.

'Penance' is reworked by Interface, adding a hint of vocoder, making it immediately danceable, and removing the a cappella intro. It's filled with a spacy, psy-trance like support synth, and is a much more accessible version of the song for clubbers.

My absolute favourite, 'I Die' is re-worked by Tom Shear (Assemblage 23), and it's an honour for ANY artist to have Tom remix them. It's a beautiful mix, starting off melodic, building up, and exploding to life.

The remixes of 'Prayers' and 'No Paradise' (Icon of Coil and Decoded Feedback, respectively) further cement the evidence of f.a.t.e as a club band, without removing the message that is so important to this artist.

Code 64 and the long-absent Beborn Beton top up the final two remixes, before the album closes with a beautiful vocal version of 'When The World Ends'.

Lyrically, Jonathan hasn't lost his edge to pour his beliefs out to the listener, and the way he sings it, just like with 'Prayers' and 'Penance', enters a comfortable purgatory between desperation and heartbreak.

"no souls for sacrifice
no will to guide our own
no deity to wrong
no heaven to endure

no kingdom left to come
no world beyond our own
no higher being as judge
no lifetimes to explore"

So, 'Axioms' goes futurepop, complimented with hard dance floor beats, and more lyrical philosophy to study.

All in all, a beautiful release, yet I'd dearly love to hear new material, and a few of the remixes don't hit me as well as the others. Mar 24 2012