Gegen Den Strom

1. Was Wäre Wenn?

2. Burning Ground

3. White Wall

4. Liquid Lust, Pt. 1

5. Leben & Tod

6. You Are - Lights of Euphoria,

7. Night [Futurezone Club Mix] [Mix]

8. Moment of Past

9. Feel the Pain - In Strict Confidence, Lights of Euphoria

10. One Nation

11. Liquid Lust, Pt. 2

12. White Wall [State of the Union Remix] [Mix]

13. Night [Rotersand Rework][Mix]

14. White Wall [Desperation Remix][Mix]

15. Feel the Pain [Hecq Remix] [Mix]

16. White Wall [Glis Remix] [Mix]

17. Moment of Past [72 Mix by Xotox] [Mix]

Tracks:

Was W Wenn?
Burning Ground
White Wall
Liquid Lust, Pt. 1
Leben & Tod
You Are - Lights of Euphoria,
Night [Futurezone Club Mix]
Moment of Past
Feel the Pain - In Strict Confidence, Lights of Euphoria
One Nation
Liquid Lust, Pt. 2
White Wall [State of the Union Remix]
Night [Rotersand Rework]
White Wall [Desperation Remix]
Feel the Pain [Hecq Remix]
White Wall [Glis Remix]
Moment of Past [72 Mix by Xotox]

Average customer rating:

Struggling to surface from under a stream of repetition.

Gegen Den Strom Limited Edition

Manufacturer: Accession
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Alternative Rock | Styles | Music

General | Dance & DJ | Styles | Music

General | Alternative Rock | Indie Music | Stores | Music

General | Dance & DJ | Indie Music | Stores | Music
ASIN: B000772H2U
Release Date: 2004-12-10

Tracks:

Was waere wenn?
Burning Ground
White Wall
Liquid Lust (Part I)
Leben & Tod
You Are (Feat. Punto Omega)
The Night (Futurezone Club Mix)
A Moment Of Past
Feel The Pain (Feat. In Strict Confidence)
One Nation
Liquid Lust (Part II)
White Wall (State Of The Union Remix)
The Night (Rotersand Rework)
White Wall (Desperation Remix)
Feel The Pain (Hecq Remix)
White Walls (Glis Remix)
A Moment Of Past (72 Mix By Xotox)

Customer Reviews:

Struggling to surface from under a stream of repetition........2005-01-05

Following closely on the heels of the highly successful "Krieg Gegen Die Maschinen", LOE's latest is mostly a retread of the familiar territory of that album. Very similar in execution as "Krieg Gegen...", it nonetheless suffers from a sense of repetition, and the lack of truly captivating standout tracks. And don't be fooled by the album promotions out there, as this is not the first time that LOE has presented itself as a full band, as opposed to a collection of artists. Long before the success of "Krieg Gegen..." came a little known album called "Voices", with just Torben Schmidt and vocalist Jimmy Machon delivering track after track of solid electro. This is not to say that "Gegen Den Strom" is a bad album, as Torben has crafted some truly enjoyable songs. It's just not as good as it should have been, given their previous bodies of work.

Was Wäre Wenn? - The customary short, sampled intro. Strangely enough, the synthesizers rolling in the background bear a very strong resemblance to the opening track from VNV Nation's excellent album "Praise The Fallen". Not much going on with this song, just the aforementioned barebones synths, with someone speaking in German sampled from some movie or other.

Burning Ground - The minimalistic intro gives way to this pounding foray to the new, heavy LOE sound. Four on the floor beats and a recurring synth line carry this song along at a quick pace. Jimmy Machon's vocals mesh perfectly with the mild distortion on the kick drum. It's good to have Jimmy back with the band, and this song benefits greatly from his voice. The chorus gets a tad repetitive near the end of the song, where synths in the same vein as True Life kick in to help close it out.

White Wall - Admittedly, when I first heard this song, I was less than impressed. Featured 4 times on the limited edition of this CD (3 remixes plus the original version), I expected to be grabbed forcefully by this track, smacked around like a red-headed stepchild, and then left for dead on the cold, hard floor. But that didn't happen... However, the more I listen to White Wall, the more I like it. It's a gradual thing. The first third of the song is the weakest, as it is highly repetitive. But the song does get much better as it progresses. Same beat as Burning Ground, with similar synth work, until halfway through the song, when the orchestral synths kick in, and the song takes a turn into synthpop land.

Liquid Lust (Part I) - A fairly heavy track, relying mostly on the excellent sequencing to move it along. What little vocals are here are either heavily vocoded, whispered, or just plain distorted. The liquid lust phrase is repeated throughout the song. This track could have been much more effective without the vocoded vocals, sparse though they are. Had it been an instrumental, it would have been more enjoyable than it is in this form.

Leben & Tod - A rehash of Was Wäre Wenn?, with similar sampled lines over minimalistic synths and keys. A filler track, clocking in at less than a minute and a half long. Could have been left off of the album altogether.

You Are - A fast paced, bassline driven track featuring the heavy industrial act Punto Omega. Furious kick and snare drums abound, with angry vocals snarling over machine gun sequencing. Not my style of music at all, so I don't really care for this track. Not sure how it stacks up against Punto Omega's original work, but if they sound anything like this, then I'll be steering clear of them. This is a harsh, heavy track that feels out of place on an electro album.

The Night (Futurezone Club Mix) - Another fast paced track, and a remix of a song originally found on "Voices". The original was a very kick drum and sequencer driven track, while this remix ups the tempo and adds more synths and keys. The remix fits well with the style of the album, but simply does not compare to the original. The Night featured on "Voices" had a darker, more somber feel, while this one, with its synthpop keys, trades the darkness for danceability. Not bad, but definitely not on par with it's predecessor.

A Moment Of Past - A nice, simple sequence opens this track, followed by a structured mid-tempo beat. Slower than the tracks that came before it, and very synthesizer oriented. Jimmy's vocals are sung in a higher key this time around, and they seem a little out of place. The lyrics are less than stellar as well, but if you can ignore that, then you'll probably enjoy this track. Very reminiscent of a NamNamBulu song, which makes sense, as Vasi from NamNamBulu co-programmed this track, and others on this album, with Torben.

Feel The Pain - Starts slow, with noises staggering from channel to channel. Ambient synths roll along in the background and the verse starts up with no additional accompaniment. A very minimalistic track, with very little percussion and synths to fill it out. Now, I am a big fan of In Strict Confidence, and Dennis Ostermann from that band sings the vocals here, so I had high expectations for this track. I must admit that I am extremely disappointed, however. The vocals are weak, the lyrics are pointless, and the song as a whole sounds more like a b-side than a true album track.

One Nation - The first single taken from "Gegen Den Strom". An oldie brass orchestra tune opens the track, quickly followed by distorted kick drums and a building synth sequence. Jimmy Machon's vocals are back to normal, thankfully, and the keys and synthesizers really get this track going. The beat will get your foot tapping, and I can see why this was the choice for the single. Very club friendly, with an anthemic chanting chorus that would do Nitzer Ebb proud. This track proves that when it's just Jimmy and Torben at the helm, LOE can truly shine.

Liquid Lust (Part II) - More shuffling than Part I, this track relies more on the beat than the sequencing to move it along. Incredibly repetitious, this song seems to be an afterthought. The beat reminds me of a thousand of the trance songs popular a few years ago. A truly boring track.

White Wall (State Of The Union Remix) - More upbeat than the original, this remix starts out with synth keys and fairly clear vocals, supported by some minor sequencing. The kick drum provides the backbone, with the synthesizers kicking up a notch during the chorus. The transition of the original song is gone, as this remix follows the same patterns throughout its entirety. Aside from being more upbeat, this remix doesn't alter the basics of the song too much.

The Night (Rotersand Rework) - Rotersand is an up-and-coming electro act that gained recognition for their club hit Electronic World Transmission, and they incorporate their own style on this remix. Deep synthesizer lines give the song its rhythm. Minor sequencing appears over the chorus, along with ambient synth keys. The pace of the song doesn't quite match the delivery of the vocals, but Rotersand does a great job in giving this track a completely different feel.

White Wall (Desperation Remix) - A very sequencer driven remix provided by Analogue Brain. The chorus is given a more ambient treatment, but this remix doesn't do much aside from making this track slightly more upbeat and club-friendly than the original. Fans of Cut.Rate.Box may enjoy this track more than I did, as their remixes have similar sounds and structures.

Feel The Pain (HECQ Remix) - I am not really a fan of Benny Boysen's (aka HECQ) remixes. Yes, the man has talent in taking apart original songs and remaking them into something completely different. However, the remade songs, technical marvels that they may be, just aren't enjoyable. This remix of Feel The Pain makes the original seem like an epic, 5 star song, which it's not. Very noise and ambience driven, this is yet another remix by HECQ that fails to inspire.

White Wall (Glis Remix) - Very drum, snare and cymbal driven, with intense sequencing providing the horsepower to get this track going. Pretty simple in execution, this remix nonetheless adds a certain aggression to the original, making it more of an industrial monster than an electro giant. Very club friendly, this one could really get the masses off of the wall and onto the floor. Short, sweet, and to the point.

A Moment Of Past (72 Mix By Xotox) - Sequenced noise on the intro, and I'm wondering if this is a Haujobb remix. The vocals kick in amidst muffled and shuffling percussion. Like the percussion, the rest of this song shuffles along, with the discordant synths and sequencing making it seem like LOE on acid. Unless you are a noise and oddity enthusiast, then it's doubtful this song will appeal to you.

Altogether a short album, especially if you get the regular version without the final remix tracks, which is honestly the way to go, as only the Glis remix offers anything amazing to the listener. Lacking the powerhouse songs in the vein of True Life and Face Yourself, this album fails to live up to the standards of its predecessor. If you don't have either of their newer albums, I would recommend "Krieg Gegen Die Maschinen" over this one. Not a terrible album, but LOE is capable of so much more.

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