Fragment King – Retreat (Album – Annihilvs Power Electronix)
Genre/Influences: Industrial, Experimental.
Format: Digital, Cassette.
Background/Info: Mark Kammerbauer released this new opus last year. “Retreat” features seven songs plus one remix.
Content: “Retreat” gets us back to the early days of Industrial/Experimental music. Next to the 80s influences the work also features very personal input; kind of inhibited, intimate atmosphere. The work has been composed by guitar playing manipulated into Industrial sound effects with menacing sound atmospheres on top. Vocal parts accentuate a cellar-like sensation. The last song is a remix by Snowbeasts which sounds pretty different, exploring Electro-Minimalism.
+ + + : This album evokes to me good-old souvenirs. I got the feeling of awakening in the 80s when I discovered the enigmatic Last Few Days. The menacing, icy, atmosphere has a true impact although there also is a more intimate side running through the work. I like the visual strength of the tracks.
– – – : The Snowbeats-remix is totally unexpected. I like this project and its minimalism but it sounds totally different from Fragment King.
Conclusion: This is a great exposure of early Industrial/Experimental music transposed into the 21st Century.
Best songs: “Devourer”, “Pale Blue”, “Double Infinity”, “Weak Minds Remixed by Snowbeasts”.
Rate: 7½.
Artist: www.facebook.com/groups/60822702408/user/670376642
Label: www.annihilvs.net / www.facebook.com/apextheologian
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