Customer Reviews

The Art of Breaking Apart

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This is pretty much a love or hate it album. VAC aka Bryan bragged for months prior to release how this album was a mix between Fun With Knives and Twisted Thought Generator. Uh, sure. If you say so Disease. This album is much more a "sister" album to his previous effort, Lust For Blood. Not a whole lot of change or growth since that album. VAC is diving more and more into the guitar and unprocessed vocals, which is fine, because it sounds good. But its clear at this point that music acts such as The Cure is a much bigger influence on his work then acts like Juno Reactor. Velvet Acid Christ is still one of a kind, which is all that matters I guess.

Oh and my only real problem with this album? The false advetisement of a enhanced portion including more music when placed into your CD-rom. Anyone who visited [...] or his myspace knew he made several promises of such a bonus... and upon release I come to find there is nothing extra. I'm sure he had his reasons but way to get our hopes up for nothing...

not bad, but too unfocused. it's OK for VAC to be influenced by DIJ, but when he creates a very DIJ-ish song in the midst of the techno clangor, it just doesn't fit. the rest of the record isn't very impressive either -- thinly produced and largely unmemorable tunes (it says something when the most memorable tune is the dead or alive cover!)

I haven't been a Velvet Acid Christ fan for very long. It has been a few years since I seriously got into their music via Fun with Knives. I have been really excited to hear the new album The Art of Breaking Apart when I heard samples of the album online. Judging by the samples I had heard, I knew right away the album was going to be good. The Art of Breaking Apart certainly does pick up where Lust for Blood leaves off but at the same time it also is an entity of its own. The Art of Breaking Apart begins with the traditional soon to be club classics "Tripped Out" and "Vaporized" but after that the music takes an interesting turn. The music quickly develops a more organic sound with the acoustic guitars and Bryan's untreated vocals. "Black Rainbows" is one of the highlights off the album. This is the first time I have heard Bryan Erickson's vocals in its purest form and untouched by technology. I like the combination of acoustic guitars with the subtle dance beats. The combination is kinda like yin and yang. They may be different but at the same time compliment one another. "Phucked up Phreak" is another great track, very typical VAC with Bryan's vocals processed and filtered. My personal favorite song on the album has to be "Faithless" which the music is a bit like "Black Rainbows" with the acoustic guitars and Bryan's vocals. I enjoyed every single song on the album. The Art of Breaking Apart is surely going to end up somewhere on my best of 2009 list.

Heavy electronics, and yet a much more accoustic effort this time from the ever notorious one man band known as Velvet Acid Christ. So far, this new VAC album makes my top ten best industrial albums for 2009. This album is not as "EBM" as other VAC albums have been...like I said...much more industrial...straight up industrial. Not as thuddy as "EBM".

If you are a fan of Velvet Acid Christ, DO NOT hesitate to buy this, it is great! If you are a new fan or just interested, pick it up, it is a great starter. "Tripped Out" and "Vaporized" start the album out with pedal to the metal sure to be club favorites, then comes "Black Rainbows"which features acostic guitar and clean vocals in the vein of The Cure only better."Killing A Stranger" carries on in this cool direction. "the title track; "The Art Of Breaking Apart" is very haunting and dark which then leads to "Caustic Disco", a great fast sure to be hit, "Killed In Space" is another great instrumental with cool dubs. "Amnesia", "Faithless" and "Silver" finish up the album in a haunting way. This is a great album that goes fast and slow according to mood setting and that is good, you can't have all dance songs or acostic. This is my favorite album since "Twisted Though Generator" and "Neuroblastomo".
Thank you VAC!

(VAC) A Defining Album

I would recommend this album to anyone who has followed Velvet Acid Christ over the years. The sound is distinctly original with a minimal current date EBM type of sound structure. The Album flows well with no fuff tracks in it what's so ever. I wasn't expecting the album to sound like this or I would have appreciated it this much. I think this was a natural progression for (VAC) to carry itself. In ending please buy the record and enjoy.

A slight change of style for VAC - still worth buying for the fans - but when you rip it dump the last track - there was no need to add a long interview onto a music CD - leave that stuff on the web!

I think this may be the most experimental album by VAC to date. Much of the same Skinny Puppy influenced industrial dance type of stuff and Wumpscut influenced Terror ebm is represented here. However there is also a douse of Death In June sounding folk noir stuff and some complicated arangements sprinkled on top of the whole thing like a big red cherry. In truth, this is probably the second best VAC album I own....and I own six. For the goth/industrial nightclubs I imagine that the song "caustic disco" will become a hit somewhere along the way.

This is a great VAC album, but some of the sounds are a little different than some fans might be accustomed to. On this album, there are songs with the same beat structure, but much of it is slower and more melodic, and the singing is, well, singing. It doesn't rely as heavily on distortion than many of the past albums have, and that may bother some fans. That said, I have been buying VAC albums for a long time now and I've wanted to things to change. They have on many levels, too, while keeping the VAC name intact.

One of the things that I've always loved about VAC is how dark many of their songs have been. That has remained, and the vocals changing does not really hinder that. If anything, it clarifies many of the things that are rendered on the slower songs, making them instants on the "listen now and later" modulation that pumps into your brain. Even P. Phreaks, an older song from another time, has had a nice facelife and has become something I can listen to angain - after burning it out from previous plays. and, honestly, I'm glad the band has transitioned because many of the EBM players have either done this or they have fallen into the nothing that swallows WAYYYY too many good acts. Honestly, I was a bit afraid when all the collections came out, but this set my mind at rest.

If you are a fan of the act, you shouldn't have a problem with the album. If anything, it should keep you happy and give you what you've liked. If you are not a fan you may want to try it out as well, because the changes may be just what you wanted. And new people might like this album as well because it is something they might connect to automatically. To find this out you can always listen to the clips that are suplied here and are supplied on Metropolis Records, giving you glimpses of what you are buying.
For myself, however, Iam happy I jumped in because the audio waters are more than fine.

much respect for this release and artist! a nice change here! i could tell you have been dying to get this out! it very much shows. i'm tired of the new electro. it all sounds the same! but........ not this! it's good to grow up. be proud of this one B!!!!