A1 The State
A2 Insanity Lurks Nearby
A3 Casualties
A4 Ausgang Zum Himmel
B1 Nine Times
B2 Black March
B3 No Control
B4 Slaughter House
With a limited range of equipment, Leeb manages to do an amazing job on this album back in 1987. It may sound primitive at first, but the tracks really grow on you.
The State.
This is a nice intro for the album. It's very repetitive, with no chorus or vocals, but it's catchy nonetheless. It starts with a medium paced synth line and then quickly adds a strong looping drum beat which is the highlight of the song. There are some very effective samples used throughout the track in place of vocals, and some Delerium-like orchestrations in the background.
Insanity Lurks Nearby.
Very bass driven track. The bass sound is quite artifical sounding compared to more recent works however. Leeb also does a decent job of singing on this track, with no vocal distortion. Overall a decent mid-paced track, very EBM-like, but a little darker.
Casualties.
Fast, tinkly synths start off this track. It's also quite melodic overall. There's some low singing by Leeb far in the background. Again no chorus. This track is very different from usual FLA, sounds like it should belong on an early Delerium album as it's pretty atmospheric.
Ausgang Zum Himmel.
This is a very strange track. No real structure or beat to it. Mostly a lot of samples and sound effects thrown together with no vocals. It's quite dark as well. This one I would almost have to put on a Synaesthesia album because of it's style.
Nine Times.
This one starts with tinkly synths and samples, followed by a funky bass synth that wouldn't sound out of place on a Front 242 track. There's also a high pitched synth that almost souds like a guitar solo, but works well in the song. Again quite catchy overall, very EBMish.
Black March.
This one sounds quite like Front 242 musically, and even in terms of vocals. It's also the first track on the album that seems to have something of a chorus. It's a great track, with some dark vocal melodies.
No Control.
Very rythmic synths with lots of reverb. A lot of different instrument sounds. No real vocals. One of the fastest tracks on the album. It is also quite atmoshperic in places. Excellent overall.
Slaughter House.
This track is basically synthpop with samples. Not bad, but not outstanding either.
This is a good album overall. Excellent if you factor in the limited equipment and the fact that it's Leeb's first album. A must have if you like EBM, but be warned, it's very different from their recent albums. Hard to find in record stores but plentiful and cheap at online music stores. I got my mine for $10 US.
Review by Flavius
http://www.delerium.com/
http://www.mindphaser.com/
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