Suicide Commando : " Forest of the Impaled"

Dark and theatrical are the first thoughts that come to mind from the onset of this electronic acts new album. Nero Bellum from Pysclon Nine provides vocals for the opening track. There is a bouncier dark wave feel to "My new Christ" . This song is less industrial and more edm. The vocals are lower than what Nero does, more spoken through a thick filter of effects than screamed. There is more groove to "Too Far Gone". But the tones are not as dark so it begins to remind me of something from an anime soundtrack. The vocals get more of a hateful edge on "Dies Lies waiting" . The synth melodies are a little more interesting here, it has , more of a Skinny Puppy feel. I think the darker and meaner these guys can get the better.

The tempo accelerates for " the Pain that you like", I can see myself using this song for BDSM sessions, so it has me rethinking if this album could possibly make it over to my iPod. Lyrically it's a lot of chanting , but the song is almost industrial in it's level of aggression. There is more of a stomp to " Poison Tree". But there is something upbeat and slightly more light hearted to it that doesn't really resonate with me.Though with that said it is still not too much out of left field from the rest of the album. It would be sad if a song called "the Devil" did not have a cool evil groove. It's along the lines of the newer edm Skinny Puppy and not the darker industrial Skinny Puppy. There is less balls to "Chasm of Emptiness" .  "Crack Up" has a more robotic feel to it , which is a decent substitute for their more aggressive side as I understand the album needs a sense of dynamics.

The last two songs are alright , but don't strike me as going above and beyond the call of duty in terms of songwriting. When these guys are paying attention to the details and bringing an extra dose of darkness and aggression to the mix then they rise above the run of mill fare for this sort of thing. They even show that they are capable of writing great songs. So when things falls into the more middle of the road electronica then this could be anyone. I'll give this album an 8, it's strongest moments are really worth the time of industrial fans or fans of aggressive electronic music.

From their latest album release ”Forest of the Impaled”. Released: July 21st, 2017. from vanGuardia on Vimeo.