On this day, 30 years ago, Front 242 released their seventh studio album 05:22:09:12 Off or simply pronounced as “EVIL Off” as each letter preceding “Off” is represented by its equivalent numerical position in the alphabet. It was released by Red Rhino Europe, a sub-label of Play It Again Sam, on 23 August, only three months after their sixth studio album, 06:21:03:11 Up Evil. Sony released 05:22:09:12 Off worldwide on 2nd November 1993 through their Epic sub-label.
Upon its release the album was received with mixed feelings by fans and music critics. For the first time it featured female vocals, those of Christine "99" Kowalski, while Jean-Luc De Meyer only appeared on a few tracks. EVIL OFF also seem to have had no significant input from Richard 23 who also didn’t get cited on the album's liner-notes. On the other hand, a variety of new contributors were listed as members of Front 242 on these albums, for instance Jean-Marc Pauly and Pierre Pauly of the Belgian electronic band Parade Ground.
While most electro industrial bands stuck to their ‘successful’ 4/4 beat formula, Front 242 decided to leave this well-trodden path behind and embraced new musical styles and elements emerging in the electronic scene music at the time. The ambient and rhythmic atmosphere on the album can be seen as groundbreaking and innovative in those days, however the sudden style change left many Front 242 confused ranters behind.
However, we at Peek-a-Boo Magazine encourage you to dig these albums up from your archive and to listen to them again at high volume! Just like wine, this music, and most likely your brain too, needed some aging!
Front 242 – 05:22:09:12 Off (RRE 22 CD)
| 1 | Animal (Cage) | 3:00 | |
| 2 | Animal (Gate) | 3:02 | |
| 3 | Animal (Guide) | 2:44 | |
| 4 | Modern Angel | 4:12 | |
| 5 | Junkdrome | 7:35 | |
| 6 | Serial Killers Don't Kill Their Girlfriend | 5:58 | |
| 7 | Skin (Fur Coat) | 3:59 | |
| 8 | GenEcide | 6:53 | |
| 9 | Crushed | 6:13 | |
| 10 | OffEND | 1:38 | |
| 11 | Animal (Zoo) | 4:02 | |
| 12 | Serial Killers Don't Kill Their Boyfriend | 3:09 | |
| 13 | Happiness (More Angels) | 6:39 | |
| 14 | Crushed (Obscene) | 4:09 | |
| 15 | Melt (Again) | 5:06 | |
| 16 | Speed Angels | 2:52 |
Electro-Industrial band, State Of The Union has unveiled their latest single release, "Purgatory".
"Purgatory" is a song that explores the topic of suicide. As human beings, we go through the "ups" and "downs". Some of us have a harder time than others dealing with these emotions. Some of us can even get to the brink of suicide because we want to make it end as fast as we can.
In esoteric belief, a person who commits suicide disrupts their karmic flow and goes to a timeless place where one second could feel like a million years! This is very hard to comprehend within our own minds. To experience something like that, we have to have an out-of-body experience and travel to a very low-frequency dimension known as purgatory.
In some religions, purgatory is known as the place where spirits go to pay for their sins and burn karma before they move on to their next life experience. All in all, we will never know unless we go there. That’s why it is better to keep making powerful electronic music that makes club-goers dance their nights away to songs like "Purgatory."
"Purgatory" is available on all major digital platforms including Bandcamp.
Elektrikill Reveals The Darker Sides Of The Human Condition With 'Monsters'
Industrial band, Elektrikill recently unveiled their latest full-length release, Monsters.
Monsters deals with the dark side of the human condition. We're all monsters, one way or another. The connections are all the ways someone can be hiding a monster. The album’s songs deal with life in the internet/social media age, culminating with the song "Your Browser Is" - a comment on targeted information.
Musically, Monsters has two distinct sections: the first six songs were given a club-vibe while the second eight songs were based on Steve Vil’s time as a soundtrack composer: "Requiem", for example, began as an instrumental piece used in the climactic overdose death scene of a character in one of the films Vil scored. Furthermore, the aforementioned closing track, "Your Browser Is", hints towards Elektrikill’s future sound: a heavy beat, spooky synths and huge bursts of industrial noise.
Vil’s musical influences range from early industrial innovators like Cabaret Voltaire, Gary Numan, Skinny Puppy & Ministry to the future industrial sound makers like KMFDM, Laibach & Rammstein
Today, it’s exactly 32 years ago that Nitzer Ebb released Join In The Chant (12mute64 / 10th August 1987).
It was the 3rd and last single to be taken from their debut album That Total Age. Like the album this 7” / 12” was released by the renowned British label Mute Records. The song hit #9 on the US dance chart in 1987 and became a Balearic Beat anthem in clubs around the world. Even to this day this track is still a dance floor filler.
Tracklist 12"
A1. Join In The Chant (Burn!) - Remix by Phil Harding
B1. Join In The Chant (Gold!) - Remix by Miller*, Flood
B2. Join In The Chant (Lies! - Instrumental)
Lyrics
Lies, lies, lies, lies
Gold, gold, gold, gold
Guns, guns, guns, guns
Fire, fire, fire
Gold, gold, gold, gold
Church, church, church, church
Guns, guns, guns, guns
Fire, fire, fire
Muscle and hate
Muscle and hate
Muscle, muscle, muscle, muscle
Lies, lies, lies, lies
Books, books, books, books
Burn, burn, burn, burn
Fire, fire, fire
Industrial metal band Our Frankenstein has just unleashed their new video for the single "Illuminate".
‘Illuminate’ is a song about finding the light that can exist in a barren and hopeless wasteland while building a better future for yourself. It's about forging forward and discovering the strength in yourself to move on past a difficult time in your life.
"Illuminate" is available on all major streaming platforms including Bandcamp.
