Bio-Tek -- Punishment For Decadence -- Doppler Effects Records, 1999 [Last Sigh Magazine]

Track Listing

01 leviathan
02 eve black, eve white
03 razorback
04 mary alice
05 steel against skin
06 pure morning
07 shield
08 affirmation
09 kingdom
10 exegesis

    Punishment for decadence' is jonathan sharp's third outing as bio-tek since his zoth ommog debut 'a god ignored is a demon born' back in 1996, 'darkness my name is' being the disappointing second album in between times, a bland mixture of ebm pap complete with early hyperdex-1-sect demo masquerading as 'communion' (les amants). ugh. the album is surprisingly competent, although no real musical progress is in evidence since the aforementioned pap-fest. the bulk of material on show here still subscribes to old-school twitchy electro/ebm, but anything else just wouldn't be bio-tek. the most noticeable improvement is the vastly improved vocals which has always been a sticking point for me with jonathan sharp's output. 'eve black, eve white' (any banshee's fans out there?), 'steel against skin' and 'shield' are hideously addictive, hideously straightforward exercises in 4/4 ebm, a dilemma instantly resolved by the sheer power and complexity of opening track 'leviathan', an involving blitz of darkbeat fury, and the superb instrumental outro 'exegesis'.
    so we have quality and consistency from a bio-tek album at last, but where's the catch? 'punishment for decadence' is tainted ever so slightly by three decidedly mediocre tracks; razorback - prepare to experience extreme repetitive ebm syndrome, unexpectedly redeemed by the equally repetitive but quite hilarious shotgun fx and 'blasting the shit out of a razorback brightens up my whole day' sample, 'affirmation' - unremarkable dark electro suffering from grisly spoken-word vocals by alexys b. of inertia to plain awful church organ accompaniment; and 'kingdom' - a forgettable electro/ebm misfit. the bottom line is simple, there are enough good tracks here to justify a purchase, and none better than 'mary alice'. this track features samples culled from a televised documentary about the alleged witch mary millington, a truly malevolent slice of brooding electro, each verse bringing on quite severe levels of tension while the chorus, perhaps overly bright, works well.
    waiting in the shadows, to redefine your world' is a very disturbing lyric, but sounds perfectly at home here. how to out-molko brian molko is the covered copycat vocal style on 'pure morning', a rather daring flirtation with the business end of commercial alternativism. I was sent a demo of this album in spring 1999 and the blend of electro/ebm works just as well now 18 months down the line. if you prefer your ebm plain and simple, and your samples brimful of occult wailings, then buy this album. no frills guaranteed.