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Fixmer/McCarthy, "Between the Devil..."
Metropolis
Not long after releasing their largely forgettable 'Big Hit' album in1995, electronic body music pioneers Nitzer Ebb called it quits. Savefor some work with Recoil, Alan Wilder's non-Depeche Mode project,founding member and vocalist Douglas McCarthy disappeared altogetherfrom the music scene. A couple of years ago, Mute decided to capitalizeon Nitzer Ebb's back catalog of label releases by issuing a series of12" records featuring new and unreleased remixes of classic cuts like"Join In The Chant," "Let Your Body Learn," and "Shame." Thatsuccessful endeavor brought about a partnership between McCarthy andremixer Terence Fixmer, a techno producer with releases onInternational Deejay Gigolos and his own Planete Rouge imprint, theresult of which comprises the hour-long Between the Devil...Nearly every track here contains a throbbing, if not downrightpounding, 4/4 beat, as should be expected by those familiar withFixmer's prior work, much of which comprises his phenomenal Muscle Machinealbum. Previously released as the A-Side off a limited 12" single,"Destroy" builds up from a guttural whisper into a roar of focusedrage, lashing out at a deliberately unnamed enemy in such a furiousmanner that it could accompany an actual beating. Similarly, thelive-sounding vocal performance on "You Want It," appropriatelyaccompanied by a menacing EBM-bassline, shows off McCarthy'stried-and-true repetitious lyrical minimalism. On tracks like "ThroughA Screen," and the incredibly catchy "I Run," the anthemic goldenshouts that defined much of Nitzer Ebb's are balanced by a great dealof actual singing, showcasing a diversity that some listeners mightfind surprising. Inadvertently taking after Laibach's successfulcomeback pairing with underground techno figure Umek, Fixmer/McCarthyperfects the formula and offers a new vision for modern industrialdance music that many of the current scene stars and cookie-cutter gothclub darlings should take their cues from. Surely Between the Devil will rank highly on my Best of 2004 list. -
Not long after releasing their largely forgettable 'Big Hit' album in1995, electronic body music pioneers Nitzer Ebb called it quits. Savefor some work with Recoil, Alan Wilder's non-Depeche Mode project,founding member and vocalist Douglas McCarthy disappeared altogetherfrom the music scene. A couple of years ago, Mute decided to capitalizeon Nitzer Ebb's back catalog of label releases by issuing a series of12" records featuring new and unreleased remixes of classic cuts like"Join In The Chant," "Let Your Body Learn," and "Shame." Thatsuccessful endeavor brought about a partnership between McCarthy andremixer Terence Fixmer, a techno producer with releases onInternational Deejay Gigolos and his own Planete Rouge imprint, theresult of which comprises the hour-long Between the Devil...Nearly every track here contains a throbbing, if not downrightpounding, 4/4 beat, as should be expected by those familiar withFixmer's prior work, much of which comprises his phenomenal Muscle Machinealbum. Previously released as the A-Side off a limited 12" single,"Destroy" builds up from a guttural whisper into a roar of focusedrage, lashing out at a deliberately unnamed enemy in such a furiousmanner that it could accompany an actual beating. Similarly, thelive-sounding vocal performance on "You Want It," appropriatelyaccompanied by a menacing EBM-bassline, shows off McCarthy'stried-and-true repetitious lyrical minimalism. On tracks like "ThroughA Screen," and the incredibly catchy "I Run," the anthemic goldenshouts that defined much of Nitzer Ebb's are balanced by a great dealof actual singing, showcasing a diversity that some listeners mightfind surprising. Inadvertently taking after Laibach's successfulcomeback pairing with underground techno figure Umek, Fixmer/McCarthyperfects the formula and offers a new vision for modern industrialdance music that many of the current scene stars and cookie-cutter gothclub darlings should take their cues from. Surely Between the Devil will rank highly on my Best of 2004 list. -
