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33 of 35 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Part Juno Reactor and part... something else, April 22, 2008
I don't want to say that this is a mediocre Juno Reactor album. That might imply that the album as a whole is mediocre, and that wouldn't really be true. Some of the stuff here is great and would fit on the group's more classic works. But some of the tracks here don't do it for me at all and seem out of place. A couple of them are almost unrecognizable as Juno Reactor.
Inca Steppa: I didn't know quite what to think of this track at first, but it grew on me. It's got a good beat, a good riff, some interesting background vocals and even some guitar intermixed. But what threw me off was the vocalist. This isn't vocal sampling but actual singing, which we've heard from the group before, but the vocalist doesn't seem to fit the tone. He sounds more like the vocalist from Maroon 5 than he does someone me might hear on an electronica track. As I said though, the track grew on me. It might not be Guardian Angel or Pistolero, but it's different and it's cool. 7/10
Tokyo Dub: The second track is a total buzz kill after the first one. My hopes that the vocalist from the first track would remain there were shot down. He's back again, conjuring a mood that belongs more in a jazz lounge than on a Juno CD. And the song itself is pretty boring too. It's very low tempo, which can be all right, but there's nothing about it to make it interesting. And at the risk of sounding childish, (but I can't help myself) I think Tokyo Dud would be a more apt title. 3/10
Las Vegas Future Past: Now this is a lot better. This is all instrumental with some cool effects and a nice mid-tempo beat. It actually sounds like something closer to Crystal Method on their Vegas album than a standard Juno Reactor track, but at least it's techno. It's got a nice ambient sound and follows the first track a lot better than the second. Very listenable. 7/10
Mind of the Free: Sigh... yet another buzz killer. We have more slow tempo jazz music with my not so favorite vocalist present once again. I'd provide some better details but I can't seem to retain anything about this song. It's also very boring. 3/10
Immaculate Crucifixion: Man was I glad when I came across this track. I seriously was starting to wonder weather I had really purchased a Juno Reactor CD until I heard this one. It's epic, ominous sounding and just amazing. It reminds me a bit of Navras from Labyrinth, but it's all instrumental and a bit darker. It has a great several-minute buildup and then hits with hard riffs and hard beats. Great stuff. 8/10
City of the Sinful: Crystal Method? Is that you again? This starts out a tad slow, but picks up really quickly and becomes a cool track. It does remind me a lot of Crystal Method, though this time something closer to their Tweekend album with the weird robotic background vocals and even a little light rapping. I dig it. 7/10
Tanta Pena: Wow... I thought that track 5 would be the best of the album but I was wrong. This song is amazing. It might not be as epic, but it's fast, and has what I love about Juno reactor. The beat and riffs are great and the female vocals with the eastern style wind instruments make for a haunting sound. Think Zwara and Wardogs from Labyrinth combined, but better than either one. Immaculate Crucifixion might be the centerpiece of the album, but this is my favorite. 9/10
Pretty Crime: I had hoped after the last 3 tracks that the dull parts of this album were over. Of course I wouldn't be telling you this if the dull parts were over, and they are not. I'm not quite sure what this is, but it's not techno. We have a new vocalist, one who sounds closer to the singer of Depesche Mode or Type-O Negative. The song isn't entirely bad, but I can't distinguish how it's supposed to be Juno Reactor at all. It's more like an indie-rock song. 4/10
Pretty Girl: Huh? So much for a great finale. What the hell is this? The same vocalist from Pretty Crime is back, but the tone of this song sounds closer to a ballad from Collective Soul. Why is this on here? Once again, in a different context this might be an okay song, but it doesn't belong here. 3/10
I give kudos to Juno for wanting to try something different, but some of this is too different to even be considered the same group, let alone techno of any kind. The songs that are good are... well great. But as a whole I'd say this is my least favorite Juno Reactor album. Do I recommend buying this? If you're a die-hard fan, sure. You're going to anyways. If you want to discover how great this group is, check out Beyond the Infinite, Bible of Dreams, Shango and even Labyrinth. Ah well, 5 out of 9 isn't too bad. Juno Reactor is still my favorite electronica outfit around.
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9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
A change of direction for Juno Reactor, April 22, 2008
First of all, I love the cover.
But I'm afraid that's all I really *love*. There are some standout tracks on "Gods and Monsters" most notably 'Las Vegas Future Past' -- but overall this is a big change of direction for Juno Reactor, and not really a direction I'm all that interested in.
In the first place, most tracks are vocal pieces. I don't really buy Juno Reactor and expect to hear *songs.* They're ok, I guess, but it's not what I was looking for, and they didn't stand out.
Secondly, this album is pretty mellow. For me, Juno Reactor has always been high energy stuff (protons, maybe). Gods and Monsters doesn't really deliver that, for the most part. Instead the music seems more like something from Dead Can Dance, occasionally rather explicitly so.
So: people tired of the same-old same-old from Juno Reactor may enjoy this change of pace, but to my taste the pace is kind of dragging on this one.
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7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Musically Amazing, horrible composition., June 9, 2008
I am a long time fan of Juno Reactor and I strongly feel that this album is their best and worst. Here's the short of it:
If you buy MP3 over CD, GET THESE:
5. Immaculate Crucifixion
6. City Of The Sinful
7. Tanta Pena
You can't go wrong with these three. They pack the punch. These two are also good but different from typical Juno Reactor:
1. Inca Steppa
3. Las Vegas Future Past
Although these next four songs are great musically, they either slow down or don't even fit on the album at all.
SKIP THESE:
2. Tokyo Dub
4. Mind Of The Free
8. Perfect Crime (Superman)
9. Pretty Girl
Both Tokyo Dub and Mind of the Free are somewhat slow and different. They are good songs and would be fine to listen to when you're winding down but I think it was a mistake to put these at the front of the album since it drags the momentum.
Perfect Crime sounds like Dead Can Dance with a Brendon Parry-esque singer. Pretty Girl sounds like Johnny Cash. Both are good songs on their own but have no reason to be on this album. They don't sound like Juno Reactor and have little to no tie to techno.
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