Title: No Ordinary Man
Artist: S.V.D.
Genre: Industrial
Release Date: 5th May 2009
Label: Artoffact Records
Album Review
S.V.D. was gone for a very long time. Its six years since the project of Steve Campbell played itself into the hearts of music critics and fans of challenging electronic music alike with the album ‘Hope’. With a new instalment called ‘No Ordinary Man’ which is a digital-only release he’s now back for good.
Male chorals and piano set up a rather serene environment for the first and title track of the EP which doesn’t change with the drums coming down an instant later. Next thing we hear is Steven Campbell bringing on an intense, partly whispering spoken-word performance. The chorus is additionally infiltrated by a harsh noise layer. ‘21st Century Mind’ is more a club-compatible effort but coming along with a pile of old-school industrial layering and that makes it by club standards a more challenging piece of music. ‘Dreaded Afterglow’ from its pretty mild beginnings builds into a fierce industrial/rock hybrid that’s constantly dishing out hard riffs at you and towards the end steps it up a fair notch. A few operatic Bravos are the first words we hear after ‘Voyager’ has started. With the inset of the instrumentation a threatening aura takes hold within the song that is a little straighter again. Part of the lyrics is delivered in a foreign language. Can’t tell you which one actually! ‘I Can’t Contradict’ is my least favourite song on the EP. That is not to say that it’s technically bad realized. It’s just…I’m getting nothing for me out of it. That being said it is usual high-quality stuff and the fastest track on ‘No Ordinary Man’.
I admit I skipped ‘Hope’ when it came out in 2003 for reasons I can’t even recall anymore. Now I’ve got here this little EP and I think to myself “What the hell has gotten into you back then?” This is finest industrial music from Canada with a good doze of club appeal but definitely nothing for simple minds. I hope we won’t have to wait another six years for the next release because that would be a shame.
Tracklist
01. No Ordinary Man - 4:44
02. 21st Century Mind - 5:31
03. Dreaded Afterglow - 3:44
04. Voyager - 6:44
05. I Can't Contradict - 5:45
06. 21st Century Remix - 8:12
Line-up
Steve Campbell - All Music & Production
Cover Picture
Rating
Music: 8
Sound: 9
Extras: -
Total: 8.5 / 10
{jos_sb_discuss:19}
