EP2010 |Promonium Jesters, 2010| 
Heart Beatings, Rust (long), Scar Master, Omnicide
EP2010 sounds like one of the best releases in Promonium Jesters discography... with exception to the fact that the title is not a very original. This Canadian band keeps coming out with original music and seems to accumulate more and more supportive fans every time. Listeners are attracted to perfectly recorded and mastered songs, interesting arrangements as well as some similarities to the music of Skinny Puppy. There is no escape from this comparison, but I guess the band seems to have been indeed inspired by the music of Skinny Puppy.
All four songs on this EP are compositions based on electronics and repetitive rhythms (never too simple but running in extended succession during the songs), however, the guitar riffs were mixed deeper in the background on the song “Omnicide”. Other than that, “Rust” and “Scar Master” (the other song is my favorite track on the EP, a very catchy one!) include a domination of bass lines, typical for 80's style coldwave or early 90's WaxTrax! music (see: MLWTTKK, Dessau, early Ministry).
The sound of this EP is very attractive, so I do recommend support for this creative and original band.
(Katarzyna 'NINa' Górnisiewicz, 07/22/2010. Proofreading: Scott M. Owens. Must not be used for promotional or commercial purposes. See a Legal Note for the copyrights below)
The Pronomium EP |P in a Circle, 2001| 
1. Untitled, 2. Hard, 3. Wangbuster 420, 4. Hydro Cell, 5. 005, 6. Killing Floor
This EP published in 2001 shows a great inventiveness of this Canadian band, which mix different musical styles in a single homogeneous creature. Inventiveness also involves the packaging design as well as the subsequent work. It's all handmade thus making each copy becomes unique and customized. I must admit this care and passion to present their own music puts a listener at ease and increases a gratification given by the high-quality music. The dense sound of different musical influences is growing constantly and fortunately is raised in the subsequent works, demonstrating a talent of one of the most experimental bands in the industrial rock scene.
There are 3 tracks on this EP - "Hard", "Hydro Cell" and "Wangbuster 420" which appeared on "Time and Place" (released in 2003) in less rough versions of the music.
"Untitled" is a 2 minute long intro; dark, gloomy and full of samples. "Hard" and "Wangbuster 420" are the most schizophrenic songs of the EP. "005" and "Killing Floor" show the band's raw and dark sides, a journey into madness accented especially in the instrumental song "Killing Floor"; in some ways reminiscent of the first Numb album.
Promonium Jesters are all-changing artists, constantly evolving, so you shouldn't remain indifferent to the constant evolution that characterizes their works.
(Marco Gariboldi. Proofreading: Scott M. Owens)
Time And Place |P in a Circle, 2003|
1. Strange, 2. DeepDownSlaveryHounds, 3. Wangbuster 420, 4. Reflektive Creation, 5. Metal Fans, 6. Hard, 7. Hydro Cell, 8. Nightmare, 9. Blue Water, 10. Movie Song, 11. Time and Place
Time and Place sounds like Skinny Puppy “Cleanse Fold and Manipulate” part 2.
The Puppy influence is strong on this album but fortunately Promonium Jesters didn't end up being another clone but retained their identity distributing a strong experimental and genuine flavour to all of the 11 songs. Guitars, distortions, samples, and processed vocals... they really took over as the programming is still overpowering to the guitars.
"Hydro Cell" and "Time and Place" affect more attention, but there are many other gems such as "DeepDownSlaveryHounds" and "Wangbuster 420", "Hard" (already put out in a different version on the Promonium EP).
"The beautiful", over 8 minutes long "Blue Water" is a punch in the face, "Nightmare" hypnotizes you with its persisting techno beat, while "Movie Song" hovers over sampling and less rough atmospheres.
It's an excellent album where fans of bands like Skinny Puppy, but also precisely Numb, FLA or S.P.K. will meet one’s match.
(Marco Gariboldi. Proofreading: Scott M. Owens)
Your Face Tour Live |Promonium Jesters, 2008|
1) DeepDownSlavaryHounds (Charlottetown), 2) The Terrorist In My Bed, Thunderbay), 3) Wangbuster (Riverview), 4) Impermanence (Fredericton), 5) Strange (Fredericton), 6) Phi (Saskatoon), 7) Hard (Halifax), 8) Heavy (Calgary), 9) One Over Infinity (Windsor), 10) Nightmare (Calgary), 11) Scrub Your Eyes (Thunderbay), 12) Hydro Cell (Saskatoon), 13) Improv (Charlottetown)
This album is directed to those who, like me, live in the old continent, so seeing Promonium Jesters live seems obviously impossible.
If you missed their concerts you can still enjoy 13 tracks recorded in various locations during the "Your Face" promotional tour. The audio quality is very good so nothing of their intricate compositions was lost. Many live songs are available on their official YouTube channel:
http://www.youtube.com/user/promonium, where a set of designs and lights is yet another important element to their artistic puzzle.
(Marco Gariboldi. Proofreading: Scott M. Owens)
Psychic Warfare |Promonium Jesters, 2008|
1. Futurekill, 2. Project XJYPT, 3. Noosphere Sentinals, 4. For Your Protection, 5. Soft Targets, 6. Send Us Your Thoughts
The album begins with Futurekill introducing us to a variety of dark sounds then evolving into a dynamic, guitar and beats driven song. The lyrics are yelled, filtered through a distortion unit and a quick rhythm reminds Skinny Puppy's music. I've never been a fan of them that much because I found their songs either too simple or too chaotic with nothing between. Promonium Jesters outstripped this limitation when enriched their own vibe with layered compositions while the bass and guitars put a harmony to them.
Project XJYPT also seems to be inspired by Skinny Puppy's music but also Frontline Assembly's stuff, yet another influencing band from Canada. The musicians of Promonium Jesters are the Canadians as well so this analogy isn't accidental. Multitude of bands coming from Vancouver area made a mark on industrial music history, so possible Promonium team may share the same lot.
Industrial tunes are mixed with coldwave and even the darker side of the 80s new romantic style on this album. This impression comes unquestionably after listening to a GENIUS composition Noosphere Sentinals. Clear association to The Dense Society's music comes almost automatically on my mind. All what happens in this track will tug at heartstrings of those of you who grew up on the 80s dark electronic music. There's even the percussion beat intentionally made to sound like if recorded 20 years ago with a dirty, almost mono tune. The same about guitars and keyboards with a difference to the samples in the background which sound modern. Add a deep gloomy bassline which you could know from The Sisters of Mercy albums as well as some guitar riffs like in 'Just Like You Imagined' by Nine Inch Nails and a feast of background sounds so there you'll have all of Noosphere Sentinals.
I swear I haven't heard anything so well arranged and composed what penetrates and stimulates all of the senses for a very long time. It's a pity the song can't flow forever.
The following track For Your Protection is also kept in Skinny Puppy's vibe however with heavier guitar riffs and a bit of hip-hop rhythm.
Soft Targets song brings domination of guitar and sampling, screamed vocals with some bio-mechanical sounds in the background as well. The guitar riff comes out somewhere in the middle of the song in a cloud of controlled chaos made on samplers. The end of the track surprises with an atmosphere thinning out and there's only a light riff left with the samples. Then the working machine continues its motion suddenly.
The last composition on the album called Send Us Your Thoughts is a suite enriched with a variety of radio waves and some other noises possibly coming from the outer space. There's also a little lost and looped guitar riff bringing an association to those used in King Crimson's albums. Then the riff gets heavier and replaced with some futuristic machine sound.
The samples made by Promonium Jesters are the highest quality stuff bringing interesting associations and waking up the listener's imagination. One of the sounds replaces the other so the leitmotif continues that way.
This is what Psychic Warfare is - amazing release with all of its creative arrangements professionally mastered, soon ready to be sold and shipped hopefully. Not many of industrial music releases lived up my imagination so much, as well as not many industrial-ambient based tracks, theoretically made to loosen up one's imagination, kept my interest for a longer time. This is why I do recommend another album of this band called "Your Face" and I'm sure no one would be disappointed with the tunes of this not new but seemingly still undiscovered band hailing from Canada.
(Katarzyna 'NINa' Górnisiewicz. Proofreading: Scott M. Owens. Must not be used for promotional or commercial purposes. See a Legal Note for the copyrights below)
Your Face |P in a Circle Records, 2007|
1. The Terrorist In My Bed, 2. One Over Infinity, 3. Heavy, 4. Sorrow Is Corrupt Love, 5. Impermanence, 6. Ó^? Óo? ´?^ç, 7. Phi, 8. Scrub Your I's, 9. 006, 10. YOUR FACE
I got one of very rare CD in a hand made packaging for a review yesterday. The CD contains all what I expected to hear after listening to the band's player content on their Myspace profile - 10 tight guitar driven industrial metal tracks.
Promonium Jesters is a Canadian band founded in 1994 by school friends Greg Cox and Ethan Moseley in Uxbridge Ontario. Rob Moseley, Dereck Mathers, Tyler Noble, and Dave Miller joined the band later so the band turned into a guitar driven machinery. Your Face is the 10th self released album of the band.
Impermanence song will be loved by all fans of older and more aggressive Skinny Puppy and NIN. Somehow Scrub Your I's paid my attention before I actually listened to that but while listening I was discovering more and more of progressive vibes, including NIN-like guitar riffs.
Your Face is a bad ass album with a variety of original, both guitar and keyboards driven songs and I'm sure you'll love it if you're bored of any other bands of that genre known to you! The band has been currently working on the new album so check out their blog and news.
(Katarzyna 'NINa' Górnisiewicz. Must not be used for promotional or commercial purposes. See a Legal Note for the copyrights below)
Myspace |
Official |
Discogs
