Customer Reviews

Redemption

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

 

 

I had never heard of Imperative Reaction until I saw them play live with VNV Nation at the House of Blues in Anaheim. Needless to say, I was blown away with them. They came on before VNV and I just loved their style! They are like a more polished Nine Inch Nails. After I saw them live, I had to buy their music. I purchased this one and also Ruined. Great music, great band!

Hands down the best cd of 2004. This album is amazing. EBM / Industrial connoisseurs will appreciate the wide variety and vocal talent present here. Don't hesitate to buy!

Since Ruined, Imperative Reaction has stepped out of the traditional distorted voice industrial sound in favor of a more mainstream electro sound. Their latest album, Redemption, remains on the same level as Ruined in terms of lyrical themes and music...but with a slightly more energized pace in most of the songs. Actually, Imperative Reaction's evolved sound found on this CD resembles Assemblage 23 in a few ways (don't get me wrong, that's a good thing). Every track could easily stand out as a single, but the hits on here are probably going to be Giving In To The Change, Fading Into One, and Redemption. The overall result is an excellent angry yet uplifting industrial/darwave record that is sure to be a hit with any electro fan that finds it. For all of you out there still stuck listening to Nine Inch Nails and Prodigy...forget them, this is what you should really be listening to.

I don't know why I have put off buying this album for so long but I wish I didn't. I finally bought Imperative Reaction's "Redemption" cd. I first heard of the band on the 2004 release of Metropolis's yearly compilation they release. I really liked what I heard on "Giving in to the Change", the song that was on the compilation. I finally bought "Redemption" when I found a used (but in excellent condition) copy at my favorite used cd store. The music is everything that I expected it would be. There is a good mix of melodic futurepop and aggressive electro/industrial beats. Ted Phelps' vocals ranges from clean to distorted. The production is crisp and clean. My favorite song on the entire album has to be "Faded into One". I absolutely love the crisp synth beats and infectious melodies. I hope to get the band's new album "As We Fall" shortly. I definitely have become an Imperative Reaction fan.

Imperative Reaction are building themselves into a contender in the electro scene. They haven't quite reached the top yet, but at least they are getting closer. The music on this album is more in line with mainstream (read "cleaned up") electro futurepop than previous efforts, but you still hear the traditional industrial influence too. The songs alternate between undistorted and distorted vocals as they also flux from dirty, noisy tracks to cleaner mixes. The latter tend to be the better songs here, and at their best IR sound a lot like the Assemblage 23, while their lesser songs remind me of the weaker moments of Neuroticfish.

The album starts well with the angry "Arrogance" and follows immediately with "Something I Left Behind", one of the album's best. Next come "Giving in to the Change", a dancefloor pounder that sounds like it may be the first single. "Malady" features a female guest vocalist who makes it sound like an Epsilon Minus song. "Redemption", the title track, sounds like ti is meant to be a single but it just doesn't quite work. Watch out, don't tune out too soon... the best song of all is "This Distance", the last track on the disc. This really does sound like A23 - that's a compliment. These are the strongest lyrics and vocals on the album. Sure to be heard in the clubs.

By far the band's best release and sure to be on every underground DJs playlist.

Like other reviewers, I got into Imperative Reaction after seeing them open for another band. This CD is my favorite of their releases even though they are all strong albums. Great driving music!

this is my first expierence with Imperative Reaction and i am quite pleased with it. there is just something i dont like about them.. something i cant put my finger on.. which is why i didnt give them a perfect rating. maybe its the fact that the songs feel repetitive.. even though at the same time they don't.. it's wierd. overall a good listen though. i would describe them as dance industrial

Someone needs to tell Imperative Reaction that we already have a KMFDM. Still, IR mastermind Ted Phelps did his homework; comparisons to Sascha and Co. aren't a bad thing. If you dropped "Arrogance" into the middle of ANGST, I'm certain only the hardcore fans would notice. Phelps perfectly emulates the house music energy and beats, the gritty, quasi-rapped vocals and exploding choruses of said album's era(think "Light"). "Something I Left Behind" carries the same cross, though here the vocals are stripped of their anger, favoring a more exposed sound (imagine a younger, angrier Dave Gahan). From there, the album gets weaker: "Giving In to the Change" is essentially a Paul Oakenfold track with vocals, and "Faded Into One" is...well, another Paul Oakenfold track with vocals. For "Your Truth" and "Salvation", Phelps ups his ire, slows the tempo, and pushes up the distortion on the bass and vocals, but once again... KMFDM's sloppy seconds.

What would save this album? Removing all the dance albums from Phelps's collection and forcing him on a Black Sabbath binge would certainly drown him in the dark and brooding mood he unsuccessfully attempts on Redemption ("Now the sky is gray / the air is all that listens / a tattered frame / swaying in the breeze" -- puh-leeze!) -- but maybe that's not his goal. Regardless, Phelps should want to be more than a middling ripoff artist.

Here we have Imperative Reaction, yet another addition to the overcrowded and underinspired genre of modern synth rock. They are not as bad as some other bands, but still fall into the same traps as so many before them. First of all, the singer is not very good. Many potentially decent songs are dragged down by his flat and bland vocal delivery and lack of charisma. The music is typical--cliche drum machine rhythms and cheesy synth sounds with little to no melody. In fact, Giving In To The Change and Faded Into One are the only decent songs on this album, but that only makes it a two star album. Those songs also sound like a boring rip off of Assemblage 23 anyways. Malady is the ultimate low point, featuring some girl who has possibly the worst, most irritating voice I have ever heard. I can't bear to listen to that song whatsoever, and the rest of the album is not that great either. This is, however, much better than their last album, which was atrocious, but it still isn't good by any means. If you listen to a lot of industrial synth rock, you needn't buy this album, you've probably already heard everything this has to offer before.