Black Rain Compilation 2 -- 24 August, 1999 [Last Sigh Magazine]

1. dava-n-tage - decadence
2. feindflug - bluthandwerk
3. black design - final day
4. accessory - revolution
5. infinite gloom - picture of dread
6. the days of the trumpet call - dem morgen (andacht)
7. staub - the damned
8. ecodalia - bloodtears
9. flesh field - heretic
10. cyborg attack - bitch
11. warsaw pact - transrapid (live)
12. defcon5 - human (000 time out remix)
13. for a space - the phoenix-case

bonus tracks :

14. black design - circulus
15. shadowland - sailing away

this compilation from german label black rain offers up 15 tracks (oh how I wish it was 14), an assortment of classically-styled darkwave, variations on the body music theme and crunchy post-industrial angst. the 4 exclusive tracks are provided by dava-n-tage, the days of the trumpet call, warsaw pact (live) and defcon5.

first up is dava-n-tage with 'decadence', a routine 4/4 synth/ebm track reminiscent of depeche mode live at crocs circa 1980 and 'where are they now' machinery boy band syn-tec, ergo this sounds *old*. the tom shear-like vocals stand out however. moving on we find feindflug and 'bluthandwerks', full-on power-noise psycho seeks curious offbeat melodic type. black design's first offering is 'final day', a peculiar brand of electro-goth warblings that admittedly won me over. I prefer the english gothic rock tradition as opposed to the softer strings 'n' synths of german darkwave, but the english vocals are of a very high standard here.

accessory with 'revolution' is fledgling electrobeat, a confusing mix of harsh 'industrial' vocals and immature melodic content. infinite gloom make way for the oddly named 'the days of the trumpet call' and 'staub', the former bordering on neo-classical nirvana with 'dem morgen (andacht)' while the beginning of 'the damned' is a dead ringer for the 12" remix of 'eloise', by yes, the damned! (vanian, scabies etc.), developing however into an excellent piece of horror-ambience thereafter. twilight records' artist ecodalia present 'bloodtears', an unremarkable token ballad.

flesh field's 'heretic' taken from the album 'viral extinction' is the standard bearer for electro/ebm on this compilation, the switch male/female vocals are not entirely convincing but the polished style of abm and overall production cannot be faulted.

cyborg attack's comical 'bitch' is abm, no, not advanced body music, read on. ebm kids will have to learn how to pogo pretty damn quickly before this track disappears into the annals of anal body music. 'bitch', 'I hate you bitch', progressing to '**** you bitch' is the apparent extent of cyborg attack's command of the english language, but you can dance to it, and that matters doesn't it?

'transrapid' (live) by warsaw pact is industrial as in tg, as in 20 years ago when experiments with sound came to define the term 'industrial music' in the relative absence of technology. we have sub-analogue noise and shouted vocals, repeated ad nauseam to a cacophony of distortion. maybe it was free to get in.

defcon5 and the '000 time out' remix of 'human' is contemporary synth/ebm while for a space (basic unit productions) combine dark ambient, darkwave and trip-hop in 'the phoenix-case'. black design return on this compilation for a second time with 'circulus', a storming goth, metal, darkwave track with german vocals this time around. excellent.

outro 'sailing away' by shadowland. the only sentiment that comes to mind when fed with this excruciating sub-diva cringe is 'get me the hell outta here'. it's eighties metal cheese and nineties goth crock rolled into one, it's awful. cue 'mystical' spoken-word verse, the 'diva' tells us 'I will never return'. let's hope so.

of 15 tracks, 11 are competent, 3 disappoint, and then we have 'sailing away'. despite the latter, 'black rain compilation 2' succeeds in balancing a potentially volatile mix of darkwave, dark electro and industrial in a user-friendly package. easier said than done. check it out, yes really.