Synapscape, "Raw"

Ant-Zen
Synapscape have long represented the sound of Ant-Zen, the ratherprolific post-industrial German label that has achieved a remarkablelevel of popularity and respect worldwide since the late 90s. The firstproject to release a CD on the label, Synapscape managed to, (andcontinues to) contribute a great deal to the catalog with 5 full-lengthalbums, a handful of singles and EPs, and countless productions fromtheir many side-projects and related projects (Templegarden's, ArsMoriendi, Morgenstern). Here on their fifth release, the duo present acollection of unreleased and compilation-only tracks from 1994 through2001. As with any CD of this kind, there's quite a bit of material herebetter left for the home studio vaults or the obscurity of a limitededition CD-R packed in a clamshell with barbed-wire, spraypaintedsilver, and hand-numbered. Beat-less dark ambient noisescapes are theultimate cop-out for industrial acts everywhere, and I, for one,fast-forwarded through the ones on 'Raw'. I scanned for theclub-friendly (a rather loose term when discussing this type of music)tracks, and was rewarded with the unintelligible vocals and filthybeats of "My Distance" and "Stop Yield." Other heavy rhythmic cutsinclude "Once Again You Die," and "Peter The Repeater," a remix forformer Ars Moriendi bandmate Asche. While this mediocre collection willcertainly not entice too many new fans, 'Raw' will definately find aplace in the hearts of Synapscape fans still awaiting newer material(which, as it turns out, will include another collaboration with fellowpower noise kingpin Imminent). Considering how much I enjoyed theirlast album ('Positive Pop'), I expect nothing but high qualitylo-fidelity sounds to come.