Customer Reviews

Terminal

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

 

 

I've been a fan of SMP ever since I heard Ultimatum in 99. I thought electro had bitten the dust and I was corrected. But this new CD Terminal is differant, this time SMP give the mix a heavy dose of Coldwave. No, not the metal coldwave, the original coldwave like Chemlab & stuff. Looks like they had a line up change so maybe that's why the CD is soooo diverse. There are punk tracks, electro-industrial tracks, even some electro-raps are getting spit! And the guitars are used they way they should be. Get this and get Ultimatum (an interesting companion).

forkboy

SMP is a hard to pigeon-hole band, they have a huge variety of elements coming together to form a cohesive whole. This, their third release, is their best yet. Terminal is a strong 17 track trip through the many faces of SMP. Rejoined this time around by a founding member, the energy is palpable, and incredible. I was impressed with the breadth of this release, ranging from straight up hard edged rap, to in your face EBM sure to pack the dance floors. The disc starts with a hard edged dance track that is hard not to move to, called 'Last Start' (and I hope that it is not their last start..), with other standout tracks being the cover song 'Pictures of You', the self referential but undeniably fun track, 'Policy' which is already tearing up the airwaves on local radio, and the sad but true 'Chemicals'. (Sad as in it happens too often. :) 'As I sit at the bar, and knock them back. I let my mind slip to the past. and I remember or better yet regret...'

SMP stands for 'Sounds of Mass Production' according to the website, but as with any acronym band, you can make your own... The band is Jason Bazinet, Sean Ivy, and Matt Sharifi, and the disc is out on the ADSR Musikwerks label, and hopefully are there to stay, this being the third label for the third album.

It seems to me that ever since KMFDM kicked the bucket, industrial music has been hanging its head a little. But when I grabbed this disc by SMP, the crowned kings of elektro-punk-cyber-rap, I saw that head pick itself up with a jolt. Slamming electronics, punchy guitars, and even distorted rap tracks have been sprayed all over this album, giving it the ultimate edge over its competitors. My personal favorites: Finished, Sheet Metal, Anthem, and Necron 99. Get yourself a copy of Terminal now!!!

SMP has to be one of the most original industrial bands out there, these guys mix up styles like nobody else. You will find everything from ebm type stuff, to outright industrial to well done industrial rap. My first comment would be to watch for what version of "Terminal" you get as there are two different versions floating around. ........... If your unsure of what version you are getting, just look for Sean's tracks which include "Policy", "Finished", "Plastic" (there are a couple others).

From start to finish this CD just kicks your ass, as a DJ I find myself giving my dance floor a lot of SMP.............<As both a Industrial music fan and a DJ I highly recommend you get this CD, best CD of 2000 hands down!

If you ever get a chance to see this band live, do it! One of the best two live bands to see live .........

If you like rap and you also like industrial, there's a pretty good chance you'll like SMP's Terminal. Unfortunately, I'm not a big fan of rap, so this album just doesn't do it for me.

The rapping is competent, and not annoying in the high-pitched whingeing manner artists like Eminem have. The voice is very white boy, but it's angry white boy, which suits the aggro music quite well.

Still, I think it's rather telling that "Militia Love", perhaps the one track with the least amount of rapping, has been SMP's contribution to various samplers. Its emphasis seems more on the refrain than on quickly-chanted lyrics.