Chemlab [reviews]
Updated by Draconina on 02/07/2008 23:31
Burn Out At The Hydrogen Bar | Fifth Colvmn Records, 1993|

(suture), Codeine Glue and You, Suicide Jag, (suture), Chemical Halo, Neurozone, Elephant Man, (suture), Rivet Head, Derailer, (suture), Summer of Hate, (suture)

The album is composed well and kept in good industrial-rock proportions. Characteristic Chemlab sound clearly hearable - lots of those typical 'sutures'. Cool NIN-like samples in Neurozone and great song Derailer. There was a devilish videoclip to Codine Glue and You released in the 90's, worth of watching too if you're lucky enough to find one ;)

(Katarzyna 'NINa' Górnisiewicz. Must not be used for promotional or commercial purposes. See a Legal Note for the copyrights below)
Magnetic Fields Remixes + 10 Ton Pressure | Fifth Colvmn Records, 1994|

Chemical Halo (Bruised Regeneration), 21st Century (Rough Sex Demo), Chemical Halo (Drag-Strip Download), Codeine, Glue and You (Scorched Remix), Filament, I Still Bleed, Blunt Force Trauma, Black Radio (In the Neon Blur)

Excellent remixes. 21st Century kicks ass! Dynamical, predatory, trance. 'I Still Blue' reminds me Skinny Puppy method of composing song, stupor rhythm and screams. Included 4 songs from the debut EP 10 Ton Pressure, no more printed separately. Must listen to - Filament!!

(Katarzyna 'NINa' Górnisiewicz. Must not be used for promotional or commercial purposes. See a Legal Note for the copyrights below)
East Side Militia |Fifth Colvmn Records, 1996|

suture, Exile On Mainline, Jesus Christ Porno Star, Vera Blue (96/69), Pyromance, suture, Lo-Grade Fever, Electric Molecular, suture, Latex, Pink, Exiled "Suck On This" mix

Due to Chemlab slogan: "Fuck art let's kill!" the art was shot at the very beginning so we got the preview of what we can expect on this record ;)
Guitar driven backgrounds in 80% of the songs. Sexy 'Pyromance' with Geno Lenardo on guitar (Filter band) and ' Vera Blue', the two amazing songs on ESM. Love them. 'Lo-Grade Fever' is different, kinda decadent. 'Pink' reminds me Throbbing Gristle ventures with spoken poetry and a noisy background.

(Katarzyna 'NINa' Górnisiewicz. Must not be used for promotional or commercial purposes. See a Legal Note for the copyrights below)
Machine Age |Underground Inc., 2004|

Monkey God, Suture, Force Quit (Aggression Mix), Exile On Mainline (Demo), Suture, Burn Core (Demo),

EP with remixes for the Oxidizer album and 2 demos from the older records. Plus two sutures to keep the style ;) I'm wondering if all those sutures gathered from all previous albums would be released with some extra video footages in the future ;) We'll see... ( Katarzyna NINa Górnisiewicz. Must not be used for promotional or commercial purposes. See a Legal Note for the copyrights below)

Oxidizer |Underground Inc., 2004|

Pinksuture, Binary Nation, White Room Black Eye, suture, Black Snake Voodoo Hiss, Atomic Automatic, Force Quit, suture, Scornocopia, Mega Hurts, Monkey God, Queen Of Despair (ode to the diode), suture

This record is rather different to previous Chemlab releases. Industrial rock still but no claws. It's rather low-pitched, peaceful and up-to-date album. Although there are a few good songs - Atomic Automatic, Megahurtz, Binary Nation, Scornocopia and the last Suture.

(Katarzyna 'NINa' Górnisiewicz. Must not be used for promotional or commercial purposes. See a Legal Note for the copyrights below)
Rock Whore Vs. Dance Floor |Invisible Rec., 2006|

Monkey God [Monkey Scratch Mix] - by Needleye, Atomic Automatic [Our Glitch Mode Squad is Dangerous Mix] - by Cyanotic, Black Snake [Gun Remix] - by Terrorfakt, Scornocopia [Glitchstar Mix] - by Christ Analog, Binary Nation [Renegade Mix] - by The Aggression, White Room [Cash for Oil Remix] - by Cubanate, Scornocopia [Scorpio Remix] - by Die Warzau, Megahurtz [Caliopenis vs. Cocktopus Remix] - by Adam Grossman, Binary Nation [16 Volt Max-Out] - by 16 Volt, Queen of Despair [Lay Back and Rock Mix] - by .mnpltr., Megahurtz [mindFIELD Aurora Mix] - by mindFIELD, Force Quit [Lickthevelvetpouch] - by Ipecac Loop, Scornocopia [London Sin-Phony Orgasmus Mix] - by Dave Suycott, Binary Nation [Demento Mix] - by Kill Memory Crash, White Room [Haloblackattack Remix] - by haloblack, Black Snake [Tenderbender Mix] - by Meat Curtain, The Moon Looked Down [Suture Remix] - by Deadliner

The newest Chemlab album is a killer and the second coming on the industrial rock scene. This record contains remixes for the Oxidizer album released in 2004. The mixture of modern electronic sounds, interesting samples, arrangements and the fact the remixes are made for THAT cult band Chemlab that's been playing on industrial rock scene for 17 years so far it's the reason the Rock Whore vs. Dance Floor make a long awaited album in the alternative music scene. Chemlab is well known from its industrial rock experiments, connecting poetic lyrics, electronic music, predatory guitar riffs and expressive vocal parts. The group of remixers understood the Chemlab music leitmotiv well and remixed such songs like: 'Megahurtz', 'Scornocopia', 'Binary Nation', 'White Room Black Eye', 'Black Snake Voodoo Hiss', 'Monkey God', 'The Moon Looked Down' (published on Oxidizer as the last track under the title 'Suture'), 'Atomic Automatic' and 'Queen of Despair'.

The reinterpretation of 'The Moon Looked Down by Deadliner' is a KILLER! I've been listening to it over and over again since yesterday and I just can't stop! :D It's divided into a few atmospheric parts and all of them create one awesome composed remix. What happens after the 2:00 mark might be addictive! ;) Another killing song is the one by Adam Grossman well known from bands like Skrew, Angkor Wat or Ministry. No metal music! The remix is marvelous, sexy and tempting. A guitar solo and tempting sampled drum beats - they work well together! Dave Suycott's song is heavier and more dirty.

There are remixes by industrial/power noise bands like Needleye, Terrorfakt and Christ Analogue. A new (for me) .mnpltr. (manipulator? ;) ) and and two projects gaining more and more fans - mindFIELD and Kill Memory Crash created a variety of remixes remixes suitable for the dance floor. There is also Haloblack [whom I know through his awesome Funkyhell album], here with the remix of 'White Room Black Eye'. On the other side the well known industrial rock bands like Die Warzau, 16volt and Cyanotic. Die Warzau in 'Scornocopia', as usually dynamic, lively and energetic. 16volt with Eric Powell's characteristic guitar riffs and voice in 'Binary Nation'. The extra point for Cyanotic (here in 'Atomic Automatic') whose excellent self-promotion and lots of shows make the audience react.

Thanx to such remix albums we can see the industrial rock scene is not dead yet. Thanx to people who feel that music and know how to reinterpret another band's songs (in this case, the pioneers of industrial rock scene - Chemlab) there is hope for the music to survive in its original form. It's also a nice contrast to pseudo 'industrial' music which wrecks the true industrial music's image and its fans are more interested in dancing than in other, more vital elements of the genre. Dancing to Rock Whore vs. Dance Floor is one hell of a dance album ;)

(Katarzyna 'NINa' Górnisiewicz. Must not be used for promotional or commercial purposes. See a Legal Note for the copyrights below)

Official | Myspace | Discogs