VARIOUS ARTISTS "COUP DE GRACE. INVASION & FRIENDS 2K5" (INV028)

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CHAIN DLK (4/5)

COUP DE GRACE is a new Invasion Wreck Chords compilation which include bands linked to Ambassador 21 (friends or collaborators). The twenty bands / tracks deal with power noise / techno grindcore / industrial bringing rhythm and noise to a new level. Try to imagine twenty years of industrial music all blended and brought to its extremes and you'll have someway how COUP DE GRACE is sounding like. There's also space for some hip-hop / grime mixed with techno industrial thanks to Deathsit.com, to Boot-Sector-viruz and to Maladroit, for the industrial e.b.m. of CTRLer, the updated 80's industrial electronica of Rasputin and On/Off or the ambient industrial of Flint Grass, just to name few. When you review compilations like these it is difficult to give a general judgement, because there are always some tracks you love, some others that you liked and others that doesn't sound that new but COUP DE GRACE is a good way to know new names and to find old friends of the noise scene.

by Maurizio Pustianaz for Chain DLK

SPACE JUNKIES

It's been a long while since my auditory sensors have picked up on the harsher side of the industrial/electronic (digital hardcore) music scene. This 20 track compilation of Invasion Wreck Chord's artists and friends (as the title states) contains a bushel load of artists that are new to my ears, such as Boot-Sector-Viruz, Flint Glass, Mourmansk 150, and On/Off. Though the compilation also includes some old familiars and favorites such as Ambassador21, Schizoid, CTRLer, Fragment King, Not Half, Deathsit.com and Rasputin. This is a typical sounding Invasion compilation, lots of glitchy noises, shrill electronics, minimal drones, drums'n'bass rhythms, EBM excerpts, industrial blasts and so on. There's a few tracks that caught my attention like Synapscape's "Travel Agent," Rasputin's "Die Gefahren Des Modernen Lebens," Fragment King "Monolith (Pathomecanical)," and Maladroit "Ambassadors of the Funkdoom."

by Wednesday Elektra for Space Junkies

GOTHTRONIC (8.5/10)

Great sampler! Invasion Wreck presents us a bunch of noise, drum'n'bass, industrial and it's own speciality on ths "Coup De Grace"-sampler. Its subtitle is 'Invasion & Friends' which tells us that this is a compilation of Invasion Wreck's own artists (Rasputin, Ambassador21, Deathsit.com) mixed with musical friends like Flint Glass, Synapscape, Mimetic Fake and CTRLer.
With 20 songs and 74 minutes, it may seem like a long release, but time passes quickly. There is enough variation on this disc to easily sit out the entire record, which is not a common thing for most samplers nowadays. Opener Crno Klank delivers us two minutes of straight noise, preparing us for the more rhythmic Muckrarckers vs. Lith. That songs nearly sounds like Winterkalte, which is no doubt a great compliment. Mimetic Fake is a bit smoother, and takes a step back, whilst Synapscape is another powernoise-grenade aimed straight at your speaker. A small break in the form of Deathsit.com who mess up an Eminem-track. A weird combination, but set through by Boot-Sector-Viruz (although he does it with a 90's rave-track, mixing it with noise) and Schizoid vs. Thorarcic Disruptor who basically do nothing more than scream a lot.
We're halfway in the CD then, and made us realize that even though most songs are short, they're powerful as well, combining it with some great intensity. The cooperation of Invasion Wreck with Ant-Zen and Ad Noiseam builds up exactly the sort of compilation one would expect, but it remains interesting for people that are only new to this genre. Flint Glass and Fragment King deliver some great songs, especially in comparison to the weak offering of Maladroid. Merzbow seems to be the tutor for Dead Data Ponks ("My Tsunami Is Bigger Than Your Tsunami"!) whilst a sort of noisy-soundscape is the base for Mourmanks 150's "Abolition". Three minutes later, more insanity arrives in the shape of Rank Sinatra and the bizarre mixture of drum'n'bass of Az-Rotator. Not Half chooses a new path, and shows us how a Cold Meat Industry-fest sounds like.
Closing up these 74 minutes are On/Off and Ambassador21. Both deliver some great songs, which provide the perfect closing for this album. What is there left to say? Nothing basically, for you should have bought this already.

by Eelco for Gothtronic