with
Die Warzau 
by Brad Podray

Die Warzau – Convenience
Label: Pulseblack 
Rating: 

Die Warzau's “Convenience” is a smooth train ride through vast stretches of electronica as seen by one of the field's most classic contributors.  It seems that recent times have smiled on electronic music: with Skinny Puppy releasing an album this past year, a Pop Will Eat Itself reunion, and now this release by Die Warzau (If you don't recognize the names mentioned in the last sentence, I highly recommend you use the internet's supreme powers to learn as much about them as you can.  Trust me.  It will improve your life greatly).  

Anyhow, back to the album.  Let the great omniscient forces overseeing industrial music please forgive me when I make my next bold statement: Die Warzau has gone pretty soft.  

Although comparatively much lighter than their other works, Die Warzau shows off an immense degree of musical skill with each track.  They are a versatile band with the capability to produce nearly anything.  The first track, “Crusaders,” is ridiculously groove-worthy.  It seems to take influence from the world of downtempo techno.  The melodic “Radiation Babies” shows off a slow ambience, highlighted by a catchy-as-hell vocal performance. 

Throughout all the tracks, it seems as if Die Warzau is giving credit to a number of styles that have gained popularity in recent years.  It's almost as if they're saying “Yeah...we haven't been around for a while, but we can still do all this music just as good as the new generation.”  Track 13, “King of Rock and Roll,” is an IDM influenced rock opus and track 10, “Curious,” is an absolutely fantastic slow brood that throws a little ounce of NIN influence into the end (listen to it.  You'll know exactly what I'm talking about if you're remotely intelligent).  

Track 11, “Gone Chemical,” is more of what you'd expect Die Warzau to bust out with.  It's got those joyous hard-hitting drums of the industrial age mixed with melodies that could only have come from people spending their prime in the 80s.  

Track 9, “Terrorform,” is fantastic.  It's got fast vocal stabs and a driving rock chorus (think Skinny Puppy's “pro-test” off of the new album.  It's not a rip-off but the two songs are comparable).  Each track is a new surprise, as the 16 track album refuses to copy any song technique twice.  The tracks mentioned here are simply examples picked at random.  Songs not mentioned are not kept out because they are any worse, but because this reviewer wants the listener to be surprised at what Die Warzau throws at them.

The following segment is actually going to cause me pain to write.  It's like the keys of this keyboard are growing small pins to come up from them as punishment for what I'm about to do.  Each keystroke is gonna hurt.

The cons of the album, though few and far between, happen when Die Warzau tries to mix their style into a non-industrial field and it turns out sounding, well, less-than-good.  This reviewer is currently praying that these tracks are mockeries of their pop-world counterparts and purely jokes. 

Track 5, “Glare,” sounds almost like it was a thrown out slow Godsmack song that Die Warzau picked up on the street.  Track 6, “Bliss,” is pure industrial goodness-  It features heavy beats, catchy guitars, and is the perfect song to walk around crowded streets feeling like a badass...until the chorus hits.  Marcus' singing on this track shows a blatant resemblance to that wonderful(insert sarcasm here) frog-in-throat style that Creed has made so popular.  (Please, industrial music gods forgive me...I am but a man and know not what I do).  Track 12's “Kleen” is CLEARLY a mockery of modern boy bands and all that generic “I love you baby” style that's all over the radio.  I refuse to accept a world where this track is not a joke.  Track 16, “Shine,” does the exact same thing, even going so far as to highlight the pop-vocoder(you know what it is.  Its a vocal effect that digitizes the voice and allows it's pitch to be changed by MIDI control.  Cher uses it in that stupid song that got really popular a while back).  There.  The cons are over.  I will sleep well at night knowing that these moments of the album are satire of pop.

The cons should not distract any red-blooded industrial music fan from checking this album out.  All things considered, “Convenience” is a full 16 course meal through an electric landscape of sound.  Like any rollercoaster ride, there are ups and downs, twists and turns, and a ridiculous desire to throw your water bottle up in the air hoping it'll hit another passenger in the face(...or maybe that's just my rollercoaster rides).  In closing, Die Warzau is shameless in proving their competence in a modern world.

Sure to please: Industrial fans who are willing to accept Die Warzau going a little bit lighter than you'd expect.  Newcomers to the hard electronic scene.  Fans of downtempo.  Fans of IDM.

Sure to disappoint: Anybody who thought Skinny Puppy's “Too Dark Park” was the best album they did and anything afterwards was too light.  Rap fans.  Heavy Metal fans.