music review

Noxious Emotion ::: "Count Zero "

electro - industrial

This c.d. was a nice surprise in the EYE mailbox. It was accompanied by a note on the back of the envelope saying: "let's trade c.d.'s!" Sadly, EYE didn't have a c.d. at the time to fulfill our side of the deal. But the favour will be fulfilled in the near future! Anyway, on with the review:

Noxious Emotion are based in Seattle U.S.A. and are a prominent part of the harsh electronic-body-music (electro-industrial) scene that has evolved there in the past decade. This is NE's 4th CD release and you can also find their work on numerous compilations. NE's sound is cold and digital with rigid mechanical percussion, fat synth-basses, modulating keyboard sweeps, medieval melodies, heaps of squelchy-blip-bleep noises and gravelly robotic vocals. All in all, it's a very grim and desolate affair. The closest thing I can compare NE to is Skinny Puppy's earliest releases such as "Bites" and "Remissions" or as a harsher progeny of Front Line Assembly's early works and as a U.S. contemporary of Germany's Project Pitchfork. My favourite tracks are "Steril" with it's splattering-convulsing synth-bass and "MARK-13" with it's (what I perceive to be) rant against scenester-alternative-types who just try too hard to be something they're not. I also like the way the opening theme "the future" recurs throughout the album as "the present" and "the past" pulling the entire work together as a whole. I must say I also like the molten lava artwork-texture they use.

You can obtain the cd for $10 U.S. (add $2 for out of U.S.) from:

ADSR Musicwerks 1106 E. Republica Seattle WA 98102 U.S.A..[email protected]www.noxious.com