K-Bereit - Positiv Sound / Negativ Beat

The name K-Bereit will be a familiar one to most of you, even if you haven't heard this relatively new French act. This duo is Dominique Lallement (Kriegbereit + Cobalt 60) and Frederic Sebastien. The project officially began in 2002, but this is only the second album I am aware of since 2009.

This release is pure Electro-Industrial with a few elements of Old-School EBM mixed into it, and the first impression I can make is that it catches the aggression of 90's Industrial flawlessy. The tempo is very high (130bpm ), I think), the synth is very abrasive and sits somewhere between TBM and Rhythmic Noise, and the vocals are typically trapped in the French/Belgian pigeonhole that went on the become the very reason this magazine exists.

All of that came out of the first track, confidently entitled 'Lesson One'. It's obvious that K-Bereit mean business.

'Miss N' is as mysterious as the lady it's named after, and this song is radically different to 'Lesson One'. The vocals start off lower in the mix, the bass is more obvious, and the harsh Electro toned down, as if to portray the elegance of a woman. As the track approaches the end, it gets heavier and borders the realm of 'club', making K-Bereit's approach to Old-School far more original than previously expected.

'Drunk' is by far the most traditional EBM song on here, and entertains the idea of one-night stands (from what I can understand), and reminds me greatly of [de:ad:cibel].

The album bobs, ducks and sways between Bass laden EBM, Techno paced synth, and Electro-Industrial inspired beats, and at no point sounds weak or forced. If anything, the experience of the group shows as the album progresses, and 'Fist of Fire' sounds exactly like the typical EBM anthem, and just has that 'oomph' about it.

The oddest thing about this album has to be the final 3 tracks - each is a remix of 'Lesson One', and it seems odd to only remix one track, however, Lesson One is a track that is very marketable.

The first remix is done by French group 'Dolls of Pain' (signed to Advoxya), and is eloquently entitled 'Move Your Ass Bitch'. This mix gives the track more of a club feel, and utilises the themes of sadism, lust and seduction that "Dolls" carry on their own releases.

'Human Steel' have a bash at their mix ('Powermachine'), and up the pace of the track to something that has to be approaching 160 BPM.

The final mix, ('Punish Yourself vs Sonic Area') completely restructures it into something more minimal and sample heavy, and out of the 3, it's the hardest to get into, but it has that DYM element to it, of literally re-mixing it to within an inch of its life.

So, Positive Sound? Yes. Negativ Beat? Not really. This whole release is interesting, and has to be an album for all the old schoolers to pick up, as well as the previously featured Grandchaos CD. Let's hope they're the first of many in 2012. Mar 29 2012