Customer Reviews

Nightcrawler

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

 

 

About the band:
The Retrosic is a German terror electronic body music (EBM) / industrial group that first started working its way onto European goth / industrial charts in 2001 and 2002. Though many people describe the Retrosic as being similar to Wumpscut, they stand out from many EBM acts by blending their harsh electronics and distorted vocals with rich ambient elements featuring flutes, violins, trumpets, and sometimes more heavenly female vocals.

About the album:
Nightcrawler is the Retrosic's fourth major release and follows their "God of Hell" album (which I highly recommend). It took me a few times to begin to really take to this album. At first I was expecting something similar to "God of Hell", which I consider an absolute must buy album! Nightcrawler just did not amaze me the same way, but as I listened to it more and more I began to really appreciate this album on its own merits. Now it too is among my favorites, but I do still prefer "God of Hell".

I think part of the reason I did not immediately take to this album, is I have a bad sound system at home. What I like most about the Retrosic is their backing melodies. These melodies tend to be somewhat ambient in nature, but on some sound systems you might miss these elements of the songs. For example, on Bloodsport, the lyrics and base can easily overpower the middle-eastern influenced background music. Again, the Exit has a stringed instrument that I can't identify that is used to provide the background melody. On other tracks, such Silence (an instrumental track), these melodies are the entire song.

Though amazon does not have samples of any songs from the Restrosic for you to listen to, this particular album tends reminds me of the Retrosic's hit track Ground Zero from their "Messa da Requiem" EP or Wumpscut's "Bone Peeler". There is an eleventh hidden track which is silent for the first 2 minutes (something I dislike), but then treats you to a short and beautiful violin piece. I wish Retrosic would make greater use of violins in their music!

Recommended Tracks:
- Deathdealer
- Silence
- The Lucky Ones
- Bloodsport
- Revolution

Similar Artists:
- Wumpscut
- YelworC
- Hoccico
- [:STID:]
- In Strict Confidence
- Plastic Noise Experience
- Sleepwalk

I've gotta' agree with the first two reviews. The Retrosic can be compared to Wumpscut, and this Nightcrawler CD can be compared to the Prodigy. That having been said, The Retrosic are no mere copycats. They may borrow elements of other artists, but their style is their own. Even if you've never heard anything from this CD and even though it's quite different from their previous efforts, it still sounds like The Retrosic. It's got those harsh vocals (which I typically hate in Wumpscut but which, for whatever reason, sound great here), those Retrosic hooks, and just a ton of that amped-up super-charged Retrosic vibe.

When you think about all that energy their music has, it's only natural that something equally bombastic like the Prodigy's Fat of the Land would have some great elements to incorporate. Deliberately or not, the beats in many of Nightcrawler's songs owe a lot to the Prodigy, the breakdowns and buildups in some of the songs follow the same strategy of engagement (compare the Prodigy's Breathe to The Retrosic's Desperate Youth), and the two albums share a number of similar sonic elements. I'd be surprised to learn that The Retrosic didn't listen to the Prodigy a lot when they made this.

In spite of it all, this CD is firmly in the industrial camp and may never be played in a techno/rave venue. It's an highly engaging listen and should make a lot of industrial lovers really happy.

Oh yeah, and the CD has a pretty good .avi video for Desperate Youth.

THE RETROSIC are a verry talented band that have quite a promising future in the electro/industrial/EBM scene. There are obvious influences of Wumpscut and Leatherstrip, and on this particulur album, an absolutely certain influence by the classic techno raver band...The Prodigy. Nearly every song pounds like a new club hit for the modern rivethead's dancefloor. Despite the fact that this band sounds like a Wumpscut album remixed by The Prodigy, the music is verry well constructed, and the lyrics are meaningful, often political, and certainly iconoclastic. My personal favourite track on this abum is 'DeathDealer'. Nightcrawler is quite an excellent follow up to THE RETROSIC'S eqaully good album-GOD OF HELL, also featured on the Metropolis Label. If you liked thier prior album, God Of Hell...than you'll like Nightcrawler as well. To be quite honest, I'm excited to see what they'll do next. BTW, despite the orgin of the band (Germany), the lyrics on all of thier albums are in english...just in case that's important to you. >:)

The Retrosic's last album, God of Hell, was fantastic-- I personally regard it as one of the best Industrial/EBM albums of the decade. It's so good, I just put it in my player right this second. Nightcrawler, however, is a complete fall into mediocrity. From the lame lyrics, to the forgettable music, this is just garden-variety stuff.

The best thing about God of Hell was that the songs were all perfectly crafted, with highly memorable melodies and unique beats. The samples were very well-chosen. The lyrics were not original, certainly, but the vocals were actually distinctive-- a gritty and sometimes whispering growl that distinguished itself from the high-pitched screeching ) that filled most EBM albums at the time (nothing wrong with screeching, I'm just saying. The whole feel of the album was menacing. Listenting to it felt like being hunted down.

In contrast, everything just seems tired here. The vocals, instead of sounding sinister and creepy, just sound pedestrian--very "grunty". The melodies are humdrum. The beats are just not catchy.

Just skip this album entirely, and pretend that God of Hell was the last that The Retrosic recorded.