Customer Reviews

Vertical Theory

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(9)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I guess you hear one of the best albums ever and you expect the next to be up to these standards or better. This is the case with "Polarity" I was so blown away with this album that I never thought the next album which I highly anticipated could be less than that. This is an excellent album as all are still, but not an absolute favorite. I think the original penetration song should have been included instead of a remix but who am I. Still you have a great mix of industrial beats and dark erie vocals with a slightly less urban dance sound to be good enuff to achieve that audible high your looking for. I'm such a fan I hate to rate this a four but probably suits the album grade.

Introducing Haujobb, one of the few innovators and original musicians in a genre known as EBM (Electronic Body Music). If you are familiar with the genre however, Haujobb needs no introduction. One of the few EBM outfits to bring together successfully elements of minimal electronica and mature ambient, Haujobb turns a stale, dancefloor-ridden style into something interesting. There's just as much here for Aphex Twin and Gridlock fans as there is for the ravers.

Each successive Haujobb album grows more mature, experimenting in one direction or another. Vertical Theory is a culmination of Haujobb's past, and a welcome step into the future. That is the beauty of this group; they provide something with their distinct sound, but choose not to grow stale, repeating territory they know.

Vertical Theory, in specifics, brings together the danceable grooves and futuristic textures found on their last album (2001's Polarity) with the minimal drum'n'bass and lush ambience of NinetyNine. The first track, "Renegades of Noize", is somewhat standard Haujobb territory, danceable with nice atmosphere. "S.adow" is a move in the right direction, a dense landscape of synths and pads, hard rhythms, not to mention some suprisingly catchy vocals, an oddly beautiful track.

Next up is "The Noise Insitute", starting us off with a quirky synthline and distorted 4 on the floor dance rhythms. One thing's for sure though, Haujobb's 4x4 beats are never boring; they never stagnate. There's always something new going on, some new rhythmic element. Whether it's a tweaked clap, an odd distorted sample, or a slight offset of the kick, there's no boring "boom boom boom boom" here.

Skipping ahead with the tracks, "Claim the Planet" and "Faith In Chaos" are the highlights of the album. "Claim the Planet" has an off-kilter synth section, backed by stuttery rhythms and Myer's vocals vocoded and slipping over top the crystalline atmospheres. "Faith In Chaos" continues, with an emphasis on interesting rhythm and noise, before a more up front beat pattern comes crashing in, startling you with its immediacy. Myer's vocals are also electronically aided in this track, plenty of distortion. The track builds to a climactic chorus section, stating "deal with the demons....the last man on earth doesn't know he is alone, doesn't know it is his fault...."

Overall, this album is an excellent release for Haujobb and their forward-thinking progressive electronic sound. Similar to this release is the album by Myer under the Architect moniker, called "I Went Out Shopping To Get Some Noise".

Upon the first hearing of "Freeze Frame Reality", I fell in love with Haujobb. When I first heard "Vertical Theory", I didn't like it. It sounded too much like VNV Nation, which I don't like.
Having gone back and listen to "Homes and Gardens" and follow Myer's vision, I realize that he is a true artist. "Vertical Theory" is full of real songs. While the lyrics aren't great, one gets a sense of his creativity and knack for the groove.
Did anyone else catch the Vincent Price-like rap in "Metric"? Its like straight outta "Thriller"!
Hearing "Polarity" now, after hearing "Vertical Theory", it makes me think that either Myer has vastly improved his vocal performance, or he discovered Antares Autotune (Its probably the latter).
The fan in me says, "This is a work of a true artist and has reached a maturity in musicianship that could only come from being a real music lover( Deftones, Coldplay, etc.)."
The cynic in me says, "Finally, Myer got laid!"

Nowhere here have any of these reviews noted the one thing that in my opinion lifts this from a four-star record to one of the level of a masterpiece.

There is truth to the claim that sonically--there is more continuity here than on many previous Haujobb efforts, but this is a concept album that simply wasn't marketed as a concept album.

When I analyze the music along with the lyrics, I get the impression of self-aware machines ending humanity, told from the perspective of one of these machines. Each song comes as if from a suddenly remembered event, with Penetration--the album closer--singing the final note of man's now faded existence.

If this interpretation wasn't Myers' intention, then I give extra points for designing lyrics that can have a myriad of possible connotations.

Sonically, this is the most sparse album since ninetynine. Compositions are still minimal in the traditional Haujobb sense, though some of the individually crafted sound samples have very complex textures that create islands of dense structure amid the spacey openness of the rest of the album.

S.adow probably the best and most danceable track on the album, and Metric has an end song-percussion breakdown that conjures mixed images of Cubanate's mid-song breakdown in 'Horse Trader' and Future Sound of London's "Herd Killing."

Overall, if anyone here is familiar with Pan Sonic, if you took Solutions for a Small Planet and merged it with the nonhuman influence of Pan Sonic's album "A," you get a good idea of where this album is headed in the grand scheme of things.

This album took a few listens to grow on me, but it now ranks as my second-favourite haujobb release (just behind ninetynine).

The lead-off (Renegades of Noize) is one of the strongest tracks ever put down by Samardzic and Myer, and the syncopation in 'Claim the Planet' is simply stunning.

I look forward to their next full-length studio release. For those intrigued by the remix album 'Vertical Mixes', I say to you that unless you are a die-hard fan, don't bother.

Ok, I have had to come back and uprgade my review of Vertical Theory. After getting away from my inital impressions and coming back to this album with an open mind (and a better mood), I have come to really appreciate it as truly an amazing work. Definitely an evolution of the Haujobb sound and formula. The programing, sequencing and all the sound enginering is all simply mind blowing. A few of the songs that I really liked had some great uses of samples from movies very smoothly mixed into the sequences. While there is still a chorus here or there that isn't perfect, overall the songs really pound hard with an incredible intensity. You must listen to this album on a great car stereo or insanely loud in a club to fully appreciate the full depth of the compositions. Haujobb is arguably the one of the best electronic musicans producing today, right up there wih cEvin Key. If you like Haujobb, you won't be disapointed.

Like Polarity, this album had me gripped at first. It's got great music, good vocals, and some catchy lyrics at points. However, now that I've been exposed to Haujobb's earlier (and better) albums, especially their mid-career works (Solutions, Matrix, and '99) this albums seems to be a bit less of a masterpiece. Now, don't get me wrong, it's still a great album,
but now I can recognize its flaws. A good portion of the tracks seem to blend together into a single kind of sound that's not bad, but not exceptional. In fact, that basically describes the entire album -- not bad, but not their best work. Still, the album is very good, but it's not as good as it should have been.

Well, most people here seem to be of the opinion that this is "okay" Haujobb. Them doing alright, but certainly far from their best. I'm of the opposite opinion, and I just love this album.

All of the tracks are in my head constantly, and it's become one of my favorite synthpop/whatever albums. Keep in mind that I find a lot of their earlier stuff fairly inaccessable. I loved Polarity, but I think that this is a definate step forward. So if you're into Haujobb in their crazy days, you might not like this as much, but if you're more of a fan of the poppier goth/techno stuff and like catchier melodies and choruses, this is the album for you. I highly recommend it to first-time Haujobb listeners who might get hooked on the intricate but catchy songs, and then learn to love the more eccentric earlier releases.

Just so you know what other music I like, some of my other favorite bands are VNV Nation, Apoptygma Berzerk, Covenant, Wolfsheim, Fictional, Clan of Xymox and The Cure.

fIRST OFF THE SONG "PENETRATION" IS WORTH BUYING THE WHOLE ALBUM FOR. aS FOR THE REST OF THE ALBUM...IT'S GOOD. eXPERIMENTAL, FUTURISTIC INDUSTRIAL AND POP. gREAT RECORD!

How unusual!!! I was so happy when I finally got around to buying this CD. In the past, when it comes to Electronic Industrial music, I have been dissapointed. I am pleased to say that Haujobb are indeed an original band with verry good lyrics and truly great talent. The music is complex, verry technichal, and gives your Ipod/Zune something fresh to help break up the monatany of the other electro/EBM bands that all sound the same. I am amazed that more fans of the Industrial genre don't know about this album. It's soooooooo cool. I love the song "Penetration".