Ratraped is a project, which was launched as an anonymous secret last year. I am very glad that it was decided to put this demo release up. Ratraped includes all sorts of references to Cat Rapes Dog (the demo is entitled Rat Rapes God), and sounds fresh, raw, punky and wicked. Also I am glad to hear EBM that is thematically more or less exclusively about rats.
Oldschool Union is probably already known to most EBM fans as the first band exclusively singing in Finnish, which turned out to be really fitting for this style of minimalist aggressive music. You might be surprised that I am putting up their old demos from around 2009, instead of their actual newest album Perjantai that came out just some months ago (but you will still find out later in this article). The reason for that is that I still think the earliest performance by Oldschool Union was the most unique. It was something magical with straight forward aggression present back then, fast bass lines mixed with pissed-off shouting in Finnish (Lobotomia! Lobotomia!). It's a pure pleasure to listen to these old tracks in proper quality, now released under the title Vanha Koulu.
You can read all the praise I gave for this new release by White Trash Wankers in the last post on this blog. Trash From The Crypt (Incest Tape 1) quickly summed up, is somewhat unexpected, but very successful mix of punk, horror, rock'n'roll and psychobilly grinded through and made sound like EBM.
Container 90 ganged up with EkoBrottsMyndigheten to deliver more bad ass punk-EBM. This release is actually a single in the purest meaning of the word. It unfortunately includes only one track, and I say unfortunately because I think it would be fantastic to hear more from these two bands cooperating. The track "Staden Göteborg" is a cover of an old Swedish punk band Troublemakers.
And here is Verrottet, another project by Peter R. This demo should specifically appeal to fans of Stechschritt, as it has some of the same youthful aggression present in its tracks, which gives that unique anhalt EBM vibe. Additionally, it has some input from the vocalist of A.D.A.C. 8286, but I couldn't figure out whether he actually contributed on this demo, or if it was a mix-up of some older recordings made for A.D.A.C. tracks. The music is raw, dirty, and tough.
Here is the second full-length album by Oldschool Union. I think the influence of Spetsnaz is a little bit too strong here, but the band has caried over some of their unique Finnish agression to this release as well. However, I still can't help it and wish that this sounded more closer to the earliest version of this band.
Pantser Fabriek is where you go to get your fix of straight forward oldschool EBM. The project doesn't specifically bring new sounds to this style of music, but it has a nice feel to it, and sometimes crosses over to a more punky and even melodic side of things, such as through track "EBM and Rock and Roll". Despite it being on a more generic side of EBM, Pantser Fabriek seems to bring in some unique details through for instance drumming sounds. Will appeal to anhalt EBM fans.
Finnish EBM represent! Bodykomplex is another oldschool EBM project exclusively in Finnish, and that is a great thing. There is something about that language that fits so nicely with this style of music. Bodykomplex is hard kicking, but not as tight as Oldschool Union. It's less aggressive and sometimes more melodic and tends to do things its own way.
Last, but not least, is Orange Sector with a new EP. The amount of releases this band has produced over the years is mind blowing. The Stahlwerk E.P. is Orange Sector doing their thing as they always do. Some hard stomping, some heavier and some lighter tracks. It doesn't particularly include anything you haven't heard from this band before, but if you need a fix for more Orange Sector, here it is!
