ReADJUST- Level of Courage

ARTIST: ReADJUST

ALBUM: Level of Courage

LABEL: Rebco Records

REVIEWER: Matthew J.

DATE: 7-20-10

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Loaded with 10 original tracks plus bonus remixes, this release from Germany's ReADJUST is a heavy duty assault of modern terror EBM. In terms of tempo, most of the tracks on display here are somewhere in the middle, faster than :Wumpscut: but slower than groups like Tactical Sekt, making their impact with atmosphere instead of speed. "Fear of the Unknown" and "Embrace the Fear" wrap their cold, reverberating kicks in symphonic synthesizer arpeggios and orchestral effects; the German-language "Stahlgewitter" is more sparse, its sense of tension not emerging from minor key electronic tones but from the spaces between them. Though a fairly narrow approach to the genre gives this album some repetitive moments, it works for the most part. "Guilty," for example, could very easily turn into something dull and plodding, but its buried vocoder growls sink into the background to let the simplistic beat turn into a hypnotic groove. The most memorable original track, however, is "Machine," which brings terror EBM's trance influences to the forefront with soaring progressive techno synths that feel completely at odds with the rasping vocals, but nonetheless manage to perfectly convey the song's themes of dehumanization through technology. The best of the remixes also draws heavily on trance, with Blind Before Dawn kicking "Guilty" into high gear with driving synths and relentlessly pulsating beats. Though this isn't a particularly memorable release, it's very good at what it does, and ReADJUST's well-crafted club tracks should keep fans of modern EBM on the dance floor. Check it out if you're a fan of groups like God Module and Decoded Feedback.

Test your level of courage and visit ReADJUST on MySpace at www.myspace.com/readjustmusic.