Title: Giants from far Away
Artist: Alter Der Ruine
Genre: Industrial
Release Date: 2008
Label: Crunch Pod
Album Review
There has been a lot of buzz around these guys for a fair while now with their previous two albums and EP releases being well received, as well as a number of compilation and remix appearances over the past three years which have kept their name in the public consciousness. That being said, I've not had much experience with ALTER DER RUINE in the past. My exposure to them has mainly been limited to shouting over one of their tracks in a club to the DJ in order to find out what song it was and who it was by (which shows what lengths a DJ has to go to get me away from the bar when I'm at an industrial club). So I'm not really sure what to expect from a full length release, but I'm ready for some pretty challenging and avant-garde electro-industrial noise that could choke a donkey.
This album instantly throws you a curve ball with the opening track ‘A Plea for the Dawn / Cries for the Giants From Far Away’ which is a neo-classical style intro more befitting of a dark metal band that, upon reaching a crescendo, crashes into a power-noise breakdown reminiscent of Atari Teenage Riot - an odd juxtaposition of sounds and styles, but one that hooks you instantly. The transition into the next track ‘Demon Missile’ is seamless while the track itself is unrelenting in its breakdown filled Techno assault. The next two tracks are on the noise end of the scale, but fleshed out with dance beats and strange vocal samples that lure you in before assaulting your ears again. ‘Dark Cheats’ on the other hand is a more blatantly club orientated track with Aphex Twin style glitchy dance beats taking centre stage and all the truly abrasive noises toned down for the masses.
‘Relax and Ride It’ is more of the same club orientated sound, fuelled by sleazy synths and throbbing beats it's music to get up close and personal to. Over the next couple of tracks, ‘Fat Pony’ and ‘Batsmasher’, ADR keep similar pace with the dance beats high in the mix, but also finding enough room in the track to play around with sounds and samples to keep you second guessing their motives. The bands sense of humour comes out in the choice of samples on this record but none more so than the main sample for ‘Stuffin' the Jellyroll Muffin’ which has to induce a smirk as the songs continue along their abrasive dance agenda. The pace quickens and the samples alter for the penultimate track ‘Sexbomb’, before slowing slightly for the final offering on this album ‘Get Offa My Gems (Mother Money)’.
I think it is a fair comment that after ‘Fat Pony’, which is a great track, that the album sort of settles into itself and the band don't throw you off again as well as they did with the opener. That isn't to say that the songs aren't good, it’s just that ADR could make better use of their box of tricks throughout the album rather than exhausting them all at once. I could easily have thrown a lot of comparisons into this review, namely Aphex Twin, The Prodigy and other multi-genre crossover bands that spring to mind, but ADR really are a beast unto themselves and the hype is certainly justified.
Track list
01. A Plea for the Dawn / Cries for the Giants from Far Away
02. Demon Missile
03. Loserstreet
04. Perfect Date
05. Dark Cheats
06. Relax and Ride It
07. Fat Pony
08. Batsmasher
09. Stuffin’ the Jellyroll Muffin
10. Sexbomb
11. Get Off of My Gems (Mother Money)
Line-up
Mike J.
Mike T.
Jacob R.
Websites
http://www.ruine-process.com/ / www.myspace.com/alterderruine
Album Cover
Rating
Music: 7
Sound: 8
Extras: -
Total: 7.5 / 10
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