Nothing it’s more advisable for this Christmas of carols and sweets than a good mix of dark electro, industrial and EBM like the one Echōdead brings us. Enter the Void, the second album of Carsten Roggenbuck’s project includes 13 quite powerful and danceable tracks with a classic flavor and that run through the whole range of electronic music that we like. The numerous film samples help to create an apocalyptic and oppressive atmosphere that is accompanied, for the most part, by danceable rhythms. Enter the Void has been released on CD and digital by Caustic Records
Carsten opens fire with a hard and full of rage track titled “Rivers of Blood”, in which both the music and the voice are abrasive and hurtful, presenting an apocalyptic sound that will appeal to lovers of dark electro/industrial. “Six Bad Robots” is a lighter and more danceable track, with a more EBM rhythm. The rage returns in “Out of Control” with a strong percussion and a catchy synth melody. The EBM/synth punk style with which Carsten sings the chorus reminds me of our friends from Spammerheads. “I don’t like Humans” is danceable as well as dramatic, with a very neat sound design. “This Disease” is a track in which Carsten plays with the contrast between his more guttural voice and the more melodic one in the chorus.
“Half Life” is intense and dark, and for the occasion, the German musician adds effects to the vocals. “This is your new skin” is a fast and danceable track sung with insolence and with some ‘hooligan’ backing vocals. “Wir Sind Die Anderen” is another composition full of anger that transmits a lot of energy and with an interesting production that sounds very vintage especially in the initial synthesizers and percussion. Carsten is a lover of Yamaha and Ensoniq synthesizers from the eighties and nineties and it shows in the sound of the album. “Triebwerk” is another track with a lot of anger and energy although with a fun touch musically. “Interzone” starts more atmospheric and cinematic and has a curious chorus sang using a vocoder. On the other hand, Carsten sings with a lot of rage in the chorus of the frenetic “I hate the silence” again with some very good synthesizer melodies. “Creep in the shadows” is another slow, cinematic and intense song, that would be perfect in a scary movie or as a soundtrack to your own nightmare. One of the best songs of the album. The second album by Echōdead comes to an end with “Enter the Void”, an instrumental piece, unsettling and very cinematic with a sample that recites We are the music makers popularized in the movie Willie Wonka and the chocolate factory but that actually comes from a poem by Arthur O’Shaughnessy. With its spectral melody of keyboards, screams and some choruses that give an epic touch, the album ends masterfully.
