Pakt - Freiheit.

Chris Ruis and Gio Van Oli are Pakt. Some of you may recognise the duo from their time spent as members of bodypop giants And One. Pakt continue the frontier probing work of And One creating stirring sounds betwixt the worlds of EBM and bodypop. Just in time for their debut performance at Augusts M’era Luna Festival, Pakt prepare to release debut single ‘Freiheit’. Freiheit is an electronic anthem loaded with irony, sly grins and massive bass. A brief snippet of the track is available via their facebook bandpage. Packing a similar body pop strut to some of the heavier tracks on Zerstörer but with an added oomph, Freiheit is rougher and rockier. Pakt take the best from their past and mould their body pop roots into an altogether different kind of beast. The single comes packed with two pounding club mixes and the mighty B-side smasher ‘Angriff’.

‘Freiheit’ will be released August 15th via Out Of Line Records.

Uberbyte - NFY.

Previews of tracks from Uberbytes upcoming album ‘NFY’, scheduled for release September 5th, have begun to surface and are decidedly club oriented. Judging by the titles alone on this release the focus is all on oontz, hardcore beats and a self explanatory attempt at Evil Trance. Uberbyte have in the past played with the many niches and clichés of the industrial and EBM scene with pounding beats and powerful vocals from front man Richard Pyne constantly present in their work.
While these first few tracks are issued as a DJ pack it is possible they are not fully representative of the new album, but, granting the exceptions of ‘Hardcore Industrial’ and ‘Moneyshot’, they mark a distinct swerve towards a more mainstream dance sound. In the case of ‘Gott Mitt Oontz’ the deep booming industrial archetype vocals of Uberman Mr Pyne are balanced against the warbly altered voice of Keyboardist and backing singer Charleen which sit squarely in the vein of acts like Scooter. A cynic could read this as a parody of the well publicised remix the dance act released as a B-side to the single version of Rammstein’s ‘Pussy’, though the short punchy bursts of crowd samples and slightly more sour sounding synths on Evil Trance point more to an homage than hilarity. Evil Trance, though a tad repetitive packs the sinister aggression that is often so effective in modern EBM while retaining this touch of mainstream influence.

Uberbyte gig goers may likely have already heard ‘Hardcore Industrial’ and ‘Moneyshot’ performed at a number of past dates, with ‘Moneyshot’ receiving a limited free release last year. Moneyshot is a fast paced pounding track with a beat for beat breakdown of porn that has constantly proved popular, while ‘Hardcore Industrial’ is another club banger in the vein of ‘Gott Mitt Oontz’ without its Scooter soft spot. A lot more accessible and much more varied ‘Hardcore Industrial’ can, and has gotten whole rooms bouncing along every time I’ve seen it played. Maybe It’s just personal preference but I like EBM and industrial to have that bit of bite that ‘Hardcore Industrial’ seems to have in abundance. The filthy electro beats of ‘MOwr FOcking COwbell’ would be deliciously sleazy if it weren’t for the almost comically perfect cowbell loop behind the positively silly lyrics  along the lines of “More fucking cowbell. Hit me with it. I love that shit”. In another preview, available via the band’s soundcloud page a snippet of new track ‘Like You Don’t’ clearly stands out. A surging EBM Synth loop punctuated with eerie key stings plays out before the line “I know you love me, but fuck me like you don’t” all of which play together into a sense of savagery and sexual deviance which always goes down well within the industrial scene.
These previewed songs make up just over half of the new album and have me torn. While I love ‘Moneyshot’, ‘Hardcore Industrial’ and ‘Like You Don’t', tracks like ‘Gott Mit Oontz’ and ‘Evil Trance’ play a little bit too far out of what I could comfortably call the boundaries of the scene. I have no doubt that these songs play to another niche and carry on Uberbytes tradition of keeping all bases covered, but could best be described as musical Marmite in that you’ll either love or loathe these tracks. What I’m even more unsure of is whether these songs represent the overall direction and voice of ‘NFY’. A release for the album explains that ” Indeed some of the styles utilised can only be described as unexpected. You’ll find nods to underground hardcore acts like Neophyte mixing with mainstream techno influences and even trance. ” but also reassuringly states that “fans of Nachtmahr, And One and Combichrist will also find familiar themes”. Uberbyte are right, taken together these previews show NFY to be anything but two dimensional and sounds that challenge and perhaps offend always pave the path of progress.
NFY will be available september 5th 2011 via Crunch Pod Records and Pray Silence Records. The band will also be touring twice this Autumn; Once in a headline slot and again in support of industrial act Aesthetic Perfection.

Bayonetta, Witches, Bullets, Hair And Nudity.

Recently I had the pleasure of being in control of a leggy cat-suited brunette beauty in the shape of gun wielding witch Bayonetta.
The fast paced combat against wave after wave of monstrous angel creatures hits a curious note wherein the game essentially looks like a total negative image of Devil May Cry series which was developed by the same team. The in game currency collected mid combat takes the shape of angelic halos which cheekily tips a hat to Distributor SEGA and the gold rings that took up so much time in their hugely successful Sonic The Hedgehog franchise. Collecting the currency is a blast, and it is easy to get competitive about it! Like in casino games (http://www.partycasino.com/), the more currency you win the more fun it is and the more you want to play! Bayonetta is seriously addictive.
The first climax demo gives little away in the way of plot but Bayonetta is essentially the tale of a woman fighting against the odds to survive as a member of an ancient and mysterious clan with ties to the powers that be.
The fights are of epic scale with hordes of enemies attacking from all angles and often featuring humongous boss creatures which as as demonic as they are divine.
The controls are relatively simple but hard to master with special techniques, spells and combos to learn where Bayonetta can materialize special weapons or convert her hair into all manner of weapons and beasts. Some of the more entertaining combos include the torture attacks where iron maidens and guillotines magically appear for Bayonetta to destroy, decapitate and disembowel her enemies with.
Visually the game is amazing with great character design and effects. While technically a part of Bayonettas character transformations, which were sadly not featured in the demo, the double jump effect where Bayonetta sprouts a pair of butterfly wings is beautifully supplemented by a cloud of tiny purple butterflies which explode from your feet on landing.
The game which is to be released in the new year is available in a variety of limited editions which vary in content from retailer to retailer with a personal favorite being the replica gun set. until the release date curious gamers can play the demo available on Xbox live and the PS3 PSN.