Customer Reviews

Intelligence & Sacrifice

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

 

 

I guess violent anarchist revolution is out of fashion with 'The Kids' these days and Germany's most outspoken mother's boy is at the forefront of the new materialism (I'm talking about the car advert in case it wasn't obvious).

Approaching 40 and with no sign of receiving the beating he so richly deserves Alec Empire can churn this stuff out indefinitely.

Which is a good thing as far as I'm concerned and all irony aside this album rocks harder than almost anything else out there despite the fact that sarcastic middle-aged, middle-class ex-student lefties like me are probably a sizable part of this album's audience.

I have always found that Alec's solo stuff seemws smarter and much more interesting (cranial) than his more anarchist ATR stuff. that sounds more like pissed off late teen music. What I don't understand is the comparisons to ATR here , specially since "destroyer" sounds more ATR than this by far.

The first disk IMHO seems to be the real meat of this collection, in fact I was under the impression that the second disk was a bonus. At first listen I though it was more of the same Loud distorted hardcore we have grown to expect recently from alec, but something with this album actually clicked with me. the layers and the noise really flow from one point to the next at a much smoother pace. it "fits" the rage and the mood that alec goes for without the jagged edges that do usually stick out and make you overdose really fast. the broken or unfinished song structures that plague earlier albums are not found here. the songs flow from one to the next without trainwreaking. giving all this noise and distortion (and huge beats) more room to relax.

I wasn't expecting more than another great album thats great for high speeds and high volumes, what I got was one of the most intelligent albums of the year

This album was not made to please ATR fans, this album is very alec empire. The first cd is aggressive and rock oriented, while the second cd is more techno oriented. definitely worth the money.

I can't really give this a low review, but I also can't pretend that it totally satisfies. Comming from the man who (arguably) invented Breakcore, started the label that defined Digital Hardcore, who's biggest claim to fame is founding the band Atari Teenage Riot, and yet who continues to push boundaries with unexpected releases in the vein of synth-jazz and ambient. In each of these categories the success rate of Intelligence and Sacrifice is totally different. The bonus disc, functions as an interesting excursion into a realm reminiscent of the more experiemntal end of the broad industrial genre, but clearly disc two is not the main event. Disc one is nearly identical to the sound of Atari Teenage Riot, which is what I would have wanted before I heard The Destroyer. If the breakcore sound is what you want however, this is not it. This is Alec doing the punk style he originally pioneered, but I can't help feeling that I want something else out of him as a solo artist. However, whatever we each want or expect is clearly not on Mr Empire's agenda...so this will do. Get it!

This is a bit special. Not really like ATR, much more accessible without losing the aggression and passion. It's still dirty but it has some killer grooves too.

CD1 is the rock thing - gives NIN & Manson more than a run for their money. Goes from Stooges-esque trashy pop like "Killing Machine" to full-on thrash metal and electro-tinged pogo-tastic anthems like "The Ride".

CD2 is electronica madness. Much more like the Mille Plateaux years but well insane. V. cool.

This records is awesome, ignore everything negative! I never heard anything like this.

Although some reviewers who obviously don't know ATR have said CD one of this album is just like them, it is not. This is a GREAT album. It contains two discs.

Disc 1, Intelligence & Sacrifice, is very melodic as compared to ATR. Many of the tracks are influenced by heavy metal, such as Intelligence & Sacrifice and Death Favours the Enemy. There are also many tracks that sound much more industrial than ATR. This is actually a lot harder than ATR. The only track that I think is reminiscent of them is Killing Machine. Addicted To You is the catchy single from this album, which samples Iggy Pop's I Want to be Your Dog. I also think Burning Inside samples the last song on Ministry's album The Mind Is a Terrible Thing to Taste...they sound just alike...

CD2 is just like Alec Empire's Geist stuff. It is said to be the best since Generation Star Wars, but I don't think this is true. I own all of his Geist stuff, and there is nothing too brilliant on this CD. Electric Bodyrock is a highlight, being a sort of "breakdancing" track.

Overall, a wonderful album, probably my favorite of all time but I am biased because I love Alec, so...make your own desicion, this will becoming out in America in early 2003 I believe.

it's hard to pay this album out because its from a guy who was no less than IN atari teenage riot. it's similar to ATR but better in some respects while still managing to be fresh and clever. alec is an amazing producer parralleled only by trent reznor.

definately get this.

I don't own the CD because as far as I'm concerned CD 1 is an absolute mess. But then bear in mind I wouldn't class myself as an Alec Empire fan because there are those CDs ( like CD1 ) which really do nothing but cause migraines and headaches. Saying this however will make people look down on me and have this superior attitude towards me because they'll think " I just don't understand art " or some[thing] like that. All I will say is that to my ears it's a bloody racket and that's that! Still go ahead if you want to be feeling like you could puke up blood and have a wiry taste in your mouth

CD2 however I got taped from my girlfriend is much better ( incidentally she hates that CD but prefers CD1 - well we always have our differences ;) ) and I found this to be much better. The music is much better and although at times it lapses into "abstract freeform" ( just random noodles without any beat ) the music is much more to my liking.

Then again I suppose this is the charm of listening to Alec Empire and his schizophrenic back catalogue. You never know what you're going to get ( touch of the Forrest Gump there ). It's only a matter of taste to see which side you like the most. I come out on CD2 but there are many people who wouldn't agree with me. I put it down to my dislike for anything resembling current rock music and since CD1 shows that along with fusing it with gabba and industrial.....it only serves to make that headache worse

Well I don't know if this review will win over any friends but this is my own personal opinion

I saw ATR at a festival some years ago and was blown away by the power of energy, aggression and the in-your-face attitude of the band. I went back home and bought pretty much everything they released and I like it. When I saw that Alec Empire's new album was out I bought it. It was about 1,5 years ago I think. At first its the same energy as ATR but...

Stealing (not just sampling) is not ok. For example: Listen to "Vulgar display of power" by Pantera and you will know what Im talking about. Write and produce your own damn music or at least filter your "samplings" a bit. Thief!

I give this record a 2 becouse of there is a couple of decent songs on th first CD and the "artsy" nature of CD no 2.

This is not the Alec Empire that the origional Tech-Terror fans of 'The destroyer', 'Squeeze the Trigger', 'Generation Star Wars', or 'deathfunk' will know. This is Alec Empire Attempting to please Atari Teenage Riot Fans buy realeasing an album in the same style, and if you are an ATR fan, go ahead and buy. But for the original fan's sake alec please stop singing and do what you do best which is shattering our eardrums with lightspeed drumloops, samples of women screaming and robotic profanities.