This is a psychedelic industrial trip—very diverse, organic and holistic, showing us the perfect combination of Key’s sound sculptures, Fulber’s arrangements and Leeb’s melodies and vocals.
Everything is alive, developing, and breathing
Having been a fan of Front Line Assembly, Skinny Puppy, and all their side projects for over a quarter of a century, of course I was looking forward to this album. And here it is, Cyberaktif’s eNdgame, the mutant child or “crime of the future” by creative union of cEvin Key, Bill Leeb, and Rhys Fulber. The album which not only pleased me, but amazed and delighted in pretty unexpected ways. This is a psychedelic industrial trip—very diverse, organic and holistic, showing us the perfect combination of Key’s sound sculptures, Fulber’s arrangements and Leeb’s melodies and vocals, seasoned with ingredients such as samples from movies, newsreels or radio shows (yes, we really have been missing this classic feature for a long time).
The journey starts with the hurricane “A Single Trace,” where Bill Leeb immediately unwinds a signature “apocalyptic neural anthem” in the best traditions of FLA, but now based on the sounds and structures of Maestro Key. This symbiotic mutation is only amplified in “Locked Away,” something like Download meets Noise Unit, with a futuristic pop atmosphere. Further we have the melancholic “Bitter End” which refers to the final album of SP and as soon as we think about this, unfortunately, forever disbanded cult band, it is right there: “New World Awaits,” a gloomy and weird paranoid schizophrenic number. This is Skinny Puppy in its purest form, so skinny that you immediately expect the familiar wheezing and barking from one beloved Canadian genius. And wow, a surprise!—Mr. Leeb is almost adopting the Ogre’s manner here: I don’t know if this is intentional, but it sounds like a wonderful dedication to the great band with which Bill Leeb began his artistic journey. Right after this bad trip, we have an antidote: the cosmic and beautiful dance floor hit “You Don’t Need to See,” future–pop synthetic anthem, which feels like an apocalyptic Ecstasy party (the song is just dedicated to substance addictions).
The property of eternity ::
The second half of the album begins with “In Deinen Träumen,” where Mr. Bill Leeb surprises us again by transforming into Herr Wilhelm Schroeder for a German-language clanging rhythmic number, maybe as a reminder of Blixa Bargeld’s participation in the band’s first album 33 years ago. Next up is “The Fright,” another dreamy callback to SP’s Weapon album, and finally, here it is: the amazing and wonderful “Broken Through Time.” The beginning immediately brings to mind “Clocks” or “Father Don’t Cry” from classic Doubting Thomas album, and then gradually mutates somewhere towards old-school FLA numbers such as “Lifeline.” Combined with phrases such as “far too frail” in the lyrics, the track fully justifies the title. This is a dedication to a wonderful era that seemed to have gone irrevocably along with some wonderful musicians, but in fact became the property of eternity. The journey ends with vintage noises and melodies of “Splot”—this is about how the classic albums of these Canadian geniuses should end.
As a result, we have a real masterpiece that unites all epochs from the 80s of the last century to the 20s of the current one. Inevitably, the lyrics, which are quite traditional for the genre, now sound like a reflection of the sad current reality—but instead of pessimism, it is rather a “joyful participation in the sorrows of the world.” Nothing has disappeared anywhere—everything is alive, developing, and breathing. And no one is forgotten: personally, listening to this wonderful album over and over again; I feel the presence of not only Bill, cEvin and Rhys, but also the Ogre who went on a free voyage, and, most importantly, and unbelievably, Dwayne and Phil who, to our deep regret, passed to the other world. This is a legacy, a tribute and a real continuation. Thank you, dear artists. Low bow to all the participants and strong recommendations to all fans of the genre.
eNdgame is available on Artofact. [Bandcamp]
