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| UNIT 187 | |||
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Album: "Loaded"
(1997) |
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Reviewed by: Darklight This follow up to Unit:187's 1996 debut self-titled release shows that the band has matured and has gotten a lot tighter with their sound. The first song "Loaded" starts off with a whispered vocal approach while pure electronics make up the music in the background. Every once in a while a guitar riff makes an appearance letting you know that this song is going to attack eventually. Well, it does in full force. The vocals turn into screaming and the guitars thrash and overpower the electronics. Things calm down after the rage just to give you a slight rest before the song rages again. The second song "Dick" starts off with a catchy electronic beat combined with whispered hip-hop style vocals, but guitar riffs make occasional appearances once again until the song just goes totally berzerk. The third song "Dead Dogs" changes things a bit with a more melodic vibe that reminded me a lot of 16 Volt. As usual electronics are the main focus as low sung vocals follow with the beat, but guitar comes in and out over and over again until it finally takes over and the vocals turn into yelling for the main chorus. The fourth song "Nobody" is without a doubt my favorite song to be found here. The vocals just start off with belting anger and shouting that prove this singer is extremely pissed off. The music is in the background as if it's scared to come any closer. You just have to hear this song to experience how much it kicks ass. The fifth song "Traces" is a techno instrumental. It's good, but does seem a bit out of place for this album. The sixth song "Shape Shifter" goes back to the anger and aggression with malfunctioning electronics, thrashy guitars, and pissed off vocals. It's great. The seventh song "Rat Trap" is upbeat and catchy at first with melodic singing, and then it slowly builds with anger until it just explodes with rage. It returns to its roots after the explosion just to build and let loose once again. The eighth song "Planet Claire" is a thrasy punk version of the B52's classic. The song has a rather long intro with a cool eerie keyboard harmony, but once the vocals kick in it's pure thrash punk until the end. I like it a lot. The ninth song "Stillborn" is a bit funky and dreary at times, but the guitar that comes in later makes it have a cool thrashy edge. It's angry and aggressive like all of the other songs, but does include some cool electronic moments thrown into the mix at times as well. The tenth song is a remix of "Dead Dogs" that is strictly an instrumental so it doesn't seem like a remix at all. The eleventh song is a remix of "Loaded" done by 16 Volt. They managed to suck the aggressive energy out of the song. I don't like this remix at all. The final song is a remix of "Stillborn" done by Rhys Fulber. This is an excellent remix, and I like it a lot more than the original. This is without a doubt one of the best Cyber-Core albums that you can pick up right now.
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Album: self-titled
(1996) |
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Reviewed by: Darklight This debut release from Canada's Unit: 187 rocks hard-core. These guys are pissed off, and they let you know it. Angry guitars, drum beats, synths, and vocals are what this band is all about. The music found here has a punk flavor to it similar to Idiot Stare. But the electronics are very noticeable with robot vocal distortion and electro beats with dance floor rhythms. But this music is strictly meant for the mosh pit with its grueling guitar attacks and screaming vocal assaults. My complaint is that I want more. When a Cyber-Core band this good comes along, the more songs that they provide the better. There are eleven songs on this album, but four are strictly instrumental. It's the songs including vocals that stand out the most. Seven of these excellent songs just isn't enough. I could handle a lot more. But these seven songs kick ass big time, and make this album a must own.
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