Artist: Hocico
Title: Artificial Extinction
Genre: Electro / Industrial
Release Date: 19th July 2019
Label: Out Of Line
Album Review
The Mexican Electro-Industrial duo HOCICO was formed in 1993. Since then they already released 11 albums and a few EPs. On the 19th July they will release their 12th album, ‘Artificial Extinction’ which will be published at Out Of Line Music.
The first song, ‘Dark Sunday’, starts with dark, pulsing synth sounds and a melancholic female voice which creates an almost ghostly atmosphere. The intro is followed by an aggressive beat and the powerful, almost screaming voice of singer Erk. “There is no god here today” is the core message of the song, giving us a hint on the record’s overall theme. The second song ‘El Ballet Mecanico’ is more than just a song. It’s the acoustic version of an art print: mechanical sounds and noises paint a picture, almost feeling like somebody teleported the listener to a construction zone somewhere on another planet or into another time. There are no vocals in this song, it's just synths and mechanical sounds, but the song doesn’t really need anything else! It’s impressive all the way through, even if it’s far away from a typical HOCICO song.
Another highlight of the record is the song ‘Cross The Line’: the beginning reminds of a circus or a freak show; the song itself is more dark and creepy - yet in a intriguing way. The album ‘Artificial Extinction’ might be the best HOCICO album so far. It has a story to tell, the sound is rich and powerful, giving Electro fans definitely a lot to listen to. HOCICO’s sound was always unique and special, however this album can be considered their most diverse and creative work.
Tracklist
01. Dark Sunday
02. El Ballet Mecanico
03. Artificial Extinction
04. Blinded Race
05. Shut Me Down!
06. Psychonaut
07. Damaged
08. Breathing Under Your Feet
09. Cross The Line
10. Palabras De Sangre
11. Quite Zone (in dead silence)
Line-up
Erk Aicrag – Vocals
Racso Agroyam – Programming
Website
http://www.hocico.com/
Cover Picture
Rating
Music: 10
Sound: 9
Total: 9.5 / 10
