Gothtober- Circut Preacher : "Heaven Can't Heal"

 

Now here is the kind of industrial music I am looking for this month, the kind that is dark as fuck. It almost makes me think of Strvngers in the nu-metal fashion that the vocals brood and emote over the bouncing groove of the churning verses. Rooted in the 90s dance floor darkwave, there is a tinge of Nine Inch Nails to "Lower Nature". To their credit, they are writing songs and not just giving you bangers to dance to. The vocals hold tortured tension not unlike Johnathan Davis here. "Negative Training" is less aggressive and contemplates its motives. The vocals smooth out in order to do this. 

"This All Hurts" is an interesting blend of futuristic dark wave synths bringing the grooves while the vocals get more confrontational. Oddly alluring despite not being hooky in the conventional sense. There is more of a Pretty Hate Machine bounce clashing with the sneer and bark of the vocals. "Full of Swords" sounds more like it came from the late 80s. The vocals are anchored in post-90s dystopia. Things get darker for "No Love Lost,"  though the vocals are shouted in a Wax Trax manner. It's pretty legit, rivet head industrial even without guitars. 

Legit as it might be, this deep into the album, you begin to reflect on the fact that the wheel is not being reinvented here; the parts are just being assembled in a less-than-expected fashion. The sampled sounds are very true to where this came from on "Up In Smoke," but I begin to want more in the way of dynamics, so thankfully, the vocals switch it up a little. The title track that closes the album sounds as if Korn wrote an industrial ballad. I will round this one down to a 9, as it makes gripping dark music that becomes more familiar in the third act but feels legit and works well to capture this era of industry with a twist. 

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