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Album:
"Survivor" |
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| Reviewed by: Darklight After
a two year absence since their stellar Maschine Zeit
release, Funker Vogt return with this follow-up Survivor.
And I must admit that Gerrit and Jens have once again delivered an exciting
compilation of high energy aggressive EBM tracks that will keep the
dance floors packed.
There is no mistaking this CD for anything but a Funker Vogt release. There are no "future pop" elements here. This is pure heavy electro-industrial/EBM the way Funker Vogt has always made it with hyper frantic electronic programming, slamming bass beats, dark dramatic melodies and rough and tough male vocals. One of the reasons that I like Funker Vogt so much is that they stay true to their sound on every release without giving into the trends at the time. But they do it in a way where they add just enough little changes and differences to keep each and every album sounding somewhat varied from the one before it. This Survivor CD is no different. The patented Funker Vogt sound is here in full force with a little more polish and melody mixed into many of the songs. You get a nice sizable batch of all out aggressive club tracks as well as a few somber and moody ballads for variety. This is just a good solid CD packed with thirteen entertaining songs that Funker Vogt fans will be more than pleased with. I admit that I still like Maschine Zeit more than this release, though. I just don’t feel that each and every song here stands out as a hit like the tracks on Maschine Zeit did. But this album does have its fair share of stellar songs, with just a few that aren’t as memorable. The bottom line is that this is another great Funker Vogt release that will please their fans. But it’s still too similar to their traditional sound to convert those who don’t like their music.
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Album:
“Maschine Zeit” (2000) |
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| Reviewed by: Darklight Funker Vogt
impressed
me with their first two releases Thanks For Nothing and
We Came To Kill. However, their third CD Execution
Tracks was a bit disappointing because the music had not evolved
or changed from their previous two releases. I was a little worried
that this fourth Funker Vogt release entitled Maschine Zeit
might not offer much of a different sound, either. However, to my pleasant
surprise it’s the band’s best release yet.
First of all, the overall sound and production is a lot cleaner than past Funker Vogt CDs. Funker Vogt’s music had always contained a somewhat noisy and distorted sound to it, but the sound is much more polished on this release. While there is no denying the fact that this is indeed a Funker Vogt album due to a lot of their trademark elements such as highly dramatic and energetic electronic music combined with rather rough and angry growling German accented male vocals; there are new workings included in the songs now that were not present in the past. For example: Gerrit Thomas layers the music a lot more with a large variety of different electronic sounds and effects overlaid on top of dark and haunting orchestrated synth melodies. And Jens Kastel’s vocals are slightly cleaner using less distortion so you can actually understand the words he’s singing. This is a good thing considering that the lyrics are well written and interesting. While most of the songs presented here are fast paced and energetic designed for stomping on the dance floor, they do include a lot of variety and changes that make them interesting for home stereo, car stereo and headphone enjoyment as well. The songs on Execution Tracks suffered from all sounding the same without allowing anything to really stand out, but every song on this release sounds diverse making them all unique. There are more melodies and harmonies found in these songs than in previous Funker Vogt material allowing them to be more catchy and memorable. The band does mellow a bit at times here adding even more variety to the CD. These mellower tracks are a nice addition and are just as interesting as the more aggressive songs. They add a good balance to the overall fast paced and chaotic feel of the CD. My main complaint with the CD is with the last track “Zeit”. It’s basically just a slower more mellower version of “Maschine Zeit”. Also, the European release of this CD includes the bonus track “Horizon” that Metropolis failed to put on the domestic version. Lastly, the recent Funker Vogt single Gunman included the track “F-117” which was quite good. It’s a shame that it was not included on this full-length. But other than those few minor complaints, this CD is just about perfect. Anyone who likes electro-industrial music can’t miss this incredible release.
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Album:
"Execution Tracks" (1998) |
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| Reviewed by: Darklight Funker Vogt
return with their aggressive and energetic style of electronic music
that blends dance floor rhythms and beats with harsh distorted vocals.
The music is dark and frantic techno with chaotic electronic programming,
while haunting and melodic synth harmonies fill in the background. Overlayed
on top of the music is angry distorted shouting that yells with rage.
There's no doubt that every track delivered here could work well in
clubs. But the problem is that there just isn't a lot of variety in
these songs. They're rather straight forward and structured with only
energy and anger carrying them along. Also, they kind of sound similar
to each other. There's not many differences from one track to the next.
They're all equally impressive, but nothing really stands out. After
two previous Funker Vogt releases with basically the same sound, I expected
something a little different this time. However, if you have heard earlier
Funker Vogt material, you know what to expect to hear here as well.
Don't expect anything new or different. It's still very good aggro electro
industrial music, but just not very original or creative.
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Album:
"We Came To Kill" (1997) |
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| Reviewed by: Darklight With the album title "We Came To Kill" I knew that I was in for a treat with this one. The music found on this album is pure electronic mayhem with anger and aggression that is not found too often lately. While other electro industrial bands seem to be taking a more experimental sci-fi electro/techno instrumental approach; Funker Vogt delivers pure dark and serious pissed off anger fueled music that will make you want to smash everything in sight. But they prove that all of this pent up rage can be inventive and danceable with excellent programmed electronic rhythms and beats combined with dramatic synths. While their debut release "Thanks For Nothing" is a great first effort, this one is even more mature and polished with harmony mixed with horror that will make even the most jaded rivethead stand up and take notice. While the music is a powerful force all on its own, this band does know the importance of passionate lyrics and emotional singing. There are vocals on all but one track. The singing follows the rhythms and beats growling with pissed off distorted anger. The electronics are almost techno style mixed with noises, samples and dark background synth melodies. The songs twist and turn with aggression and melody making each one a diverse experience that doesn't allow the listener to know what awaits them next. The bottom line is that this album can't be missed.
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Album:
"Thanks For Nothing" (1996) |
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| Reviewed by: Darklight Do you like Leaether Strip and :wumpscut:? If you answered yes, then buy this album without question. This is very angry and aggressive music with electronics that go haywire combined with structured beautiful synth harmonies and slightly distorted heavy German accented growling male vocals. The songs are very catchy, and would work rather well on the dance floor. But they are also very dark and moody with a lot of emotion and expressed feelings. All of the songs found here are fast paced and energy filled, but do have moments where they calm down at times to help add some variety. Every song on this album is good, but I did notice that some of them seemed to be recorded at a lower volume level. This kind of took away from the overall flow of the album a bit. Also, this band isn't really doing anything new or original. What they do is very good and ranks up there with some of the best, but that doesn't change the fact that you have already heard this same style of music many times before. The bottom line is that if you like dark European style electro industrial music, then this album is a must for you.
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