Combichrist’s latest release is ”No redemption”, which is thirteen new songs written for the computer game series Devil May Care. In addition to the standard 13 track cd, ‘No Redemption’ will be released as a limited deluxe 2 disc edition which contains a second disc which contains ten classic Combichrist tracks that are also used in the game.
Combichrist have always had a distinctive sound that blends Metal, Industrial and electronic dance sounds. It’s a sound that has won them a lot of fans, particularly when they toured supporting Rammstein.
This new album is quite different – with some tracks the electronic sounds have been scaled down dramatically and what you’re left with is a more generic Metal/Industrial sound which I found extremely disappointing – tracks such as ”Age of mutation” and ”I know what I’m doing (Planet treason)” are good examples of this. Where the keyboards are used in other tracks, they are still scaled back significantly and are less integral to the music and are more of a background thing. There are still some tracks that retain the classic Combichrist sound though
Brief comments on a few of the tracks…
Right from the start it’s clear things are different. Opening track ”Age of mutation” starts promisingly enough with the keyboards, but quickly degenerates into a heavy guitar-driven industrial sound with the keyboards gone apart from a couple of short interludes.
”Feed the fire” has more keyboards throughout the song, but the song still doesn’t sound like a proper Combichrist song – the keyboards are more background atmospherics here rather than being a core part of the sound.
”Gimme deathrace” is the best track on the album – it’s the track that sounds most typical of Combichrist
I’m afraid that as a Combichrist fan I was rather disappointed by this release. That’s not to say it’s a bad album though. If I hadn’t heard anything by Combichrist before then I’d have enjoyed this album far more. It is a very good album but I just don’t think it’s anywhere near as good as their other albums.
“No Redemption” will be released on January 28th 2013 via Out Of Line Music.
Track listing:
CD 1:
1. Age Of Mutation
2. Zombie Fistfight
3. Feed The Fire
4. Gimme Deathrace
5. Clouds Of War
6. Buried Alive
7. Empty
8. I Know What I Am Doing (Planet Treason)
9. No Redemption
10. Falling Apart
11. Gotta Go
12. How Old Is Your Soul?
13. Pull The Pin
CD 2 (limited deluxe edition only):
1. Declamation
2. What the Fuck is Wrong With You
3. Get Your Body Beat
4. Never Surrender
5. Deathbed
6. Follow the Trail of Blood
7. Sent To Destroy
8. Throat Full of Glass
9. Electrohead
10. All Pain is Gone
