YELWORC

EN

On a New Year's Eve somewhere between 1987 and 1988, Oliver Büttner and Peter Schiffmann founded YelworC in Munich. A band that would become one of the protagonists of the dark electro genre in the early 90s, which was still really nasty and dark at the time. After releasing some demos here and there, their first formal achievement was released in 1992: the album “Brainstorming” (Celtic Circle Productions), which immediately unleashed hits such as “Sacred City”, “Blood In Face” and “Get Vomit” on the dance floor.

Dark electro wrapped in terrifying, dark and occult atmospheres, their name is a simple anagram for Crowley (Aleister), notorious esotericist and occultist. However, their career was short-lived because in 1994 the plug was pulled for the first time, only to be resurrected in 2004 with the album “Trinity” (Minus Welt) as a solo project of Peter Schiffmann alias Peter Devin. After the album “Icolation” (2007, Minus Welt), YelworC gradually disappeared from the scene completely.

However, the last period has been a bit turbulent, for example last year vinyl releases appeared in very limited editions and now there is this “The Ghosts I Called” that mainly wants to serve an American market, it seems, and for the time being (?) is only digitally available. The fact that I go back to it is of course out of childhood sentiment and curiosity. The songs presented here date back to 2013 and are mainly instrumentals laced with menacing, esoteric and occult samples. So it never becomes really danceable, rather 'atmospheric' and pitch black, sometimes even a bit tending towards ambient bits of sadness or menace.

Less energy and no more haphazard “Blood In Face”, but sometimes even a bit subdued and almost sacral, then dark and menacing like the gaping mouth of a demon. Am I disappointed? Not really, because I have also grown older since 1992 and it must be said that I do like the atmosphere of this album, although I doubt whether it will open the eyes and especially ears of a new generation of electro enthusiasts who have probably never heard of this YelworC before.

And yet this release deserves a mention on these precious virtual pages of your favourite website, because with the right attitude, songs like “Mute Voices”, “The Way The World Ends”, the most danceable “The Inner Dialogue”, “Hypnotic Mile” or “Babylon's Code” blow the fear out of you. To make you feel better, you can try it all yourself via the jukebox below. YelworC no longer screams but is still just as intense and dark, even with age.

Kurt INGELS
01/02/2024

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NL

U kan de Nederlanstalige versie van deze review HIER nalezen bij onze collega's van Dark Entries Magazine!

Kurt INGELS
01/02/2024

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