Customer Reviews

Re:Vision

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

 

 

What do you get when you combine a band with EBM longevity, voxing on some vocal tracks and understanding of lyrical crafting on others, the ability to go back and change some of your songs and give them an extra "edge," and the aid of other bands willing to help? Well, in Re: Visions case, you get piece of work that doesn't merit the description its been given as a "remix" album. You get new tracks from older pieces that you've already burned out, ones I didn't even recognize when I spun most of them, newer pieces in and of themselves in almost every other title, and you get a great aftertaste that grows with each spin. Mmm, that Informatik.

While Informatik's last release, Nymphomatik, wasn't received by open arms by many of Informatik's following, I actually thought it was an interesting turn for them. They took the messages they had become known for, those forged on topics like war, the attrition of the heart, and political misfortune, and they morphed it and reflected a little on the internal. They placed sexuality in it, the pain of loving and losing, and they made something that interconnected them with the audience. Added to that, they also compiled beats that had energy, making the body and the mind move, and laced it with vocal styles they hadn't experimented with before. And now, on Re: Vision, they've stepped that up a notch.

First, there are four new songs on the album that work like the Informatik I remember from before. The World Belongs to Us (138 bpms), Revolutions (128 bpm), and House of Cards (119 bpms) are songs about empowerment on a social and self-actualizing plateau, saying that we have the power to evoke change and that this world is our world. While all three approach the subject from different angles, they all scathe in their own ways, denoting the indifference that life is treated with and that we all have the right to be. Saints and Sinners (133 bpms) keeps with this while cites its namesake, religion, asking if the world truly is so black and white. So, these are welcome and easy to roll around on the tongue.

Next, there are the remixes that are beautifully remastered and deliciously reformed. I personally found At Your Command to be the most impressive of the lot, changing from a faster piece to a more melodic one. It, like a few other songs, added lyrics in the reconstruction and a vocal transformations, making it hard to recognize and easy to become re-addicted to. Retrogradation was also tasty, as were Flesh Menagerie (yummy) and Atonomous. And A Matter of Time, with its stalkeresque vibe, just makes me feel good. In fact, I really can't flaw the album from beginning to end because, pound for pound, it flowed and interconnected in a way that still has me listening.
And I normally abhor remixes so that says a lot.

This is another great release by Informatik. Sure, it's like a remix album or something, but the songs are remixed so completely and originally, and there are new songs. It doesn't feel like a remix album. It just feels like an album. An awesome, dark, dancey album with interesting melodies.

Informatik's newest release, Re:vision, is a collection of remixes inspired by their latest full-length album, Nymphomatik. A few new tracks are present as well to keep things from getting stale. The World Belongs To Us is a surefire hit with it's explosive beat and inspiring lyrics. Revolutions is another one of Re:vision's high points, and will not disappoint Informatik fans hungry for new material. The result is a well balanced mixture of high bpm club friendly tracks that keeps you listening all the way through...a rare quality in remix albums these days. While none of the remixes really rival the phenomenal energy of the originals found on Nymphomatik, I think DJs and industrial/ebm fanatics of all types will find that Re:vision is a sturdy addition to their collection.

I heard the song "The World Belongs To Us" on an IPOD right after seeing that Pixar "Robots" movie. It was dark outside, I was tired and cold, and I had just sat through about 90 minutes of a Robin Williams voice-over. In short, my soul was in a dark,dark place. But the song made a big impact - it was driving, brooding and yet catchy. I found myself humming the chorus all night...

I bought the album "Re:vision" (with "The World Belongs To Us" as the first track) with expectations that were, perhaps, too high. Why it had been several weeks since the fawning, marble-mouthed voice of Mr. Williams bubbled up into my consciousness, like reflux from a bad burrito. Perhaps, I hoped, perhaps listening to the whole album would wipe all memories of him from my mind(except maybe Aladin...I'll give him that one). Alas, "Re:Vision" did not do that. Nanu, nanu.

Apart from Track 1 "The World Belongs To Us", and to a lesser extent Track 5 "Flesh Menagerie (funker vogt rmx)", nothing really stood out for me on the album. The other songs are sort of the run-of-the-mill eltronic-techno-industrial-"the system is down" stuff, with one track substitutable for another.

Perhaps I need to give it a few more listenings for it to grow on me more. Perhaps I need to take down the giant 25 foot poster of Robin Williams hanging above my bed and unlock the shackles of digust and revulsion by my own hand. When will I realize that no song, no album, however well intentioned, can wipe away "Patch Adams" from my soul? Perhaps when I accept that truth, I will truly enjoy "Re:vision"

Bob