CoC : Curse of the Golden Vampire - Mass Destruction : Review

Curse of the Golden Vampire - _Mass Destruction_
(IPECAC, 2003)
by: Xander Hoose (9 out of 10)

Those of you unfamiliar with Curse of the Golden Vampire cannot be blamed, because this collaboration between Alec Empire (Atari Teenage Riot), Kevin Martin (Techno Animal) and Justin Broadwick (ex-Godflesh) has never received the proper attention it deserved. The first collaboration album was released in 1998 on Alec's label DHR and featured aggressive techno breaks with a strong hint of industrial. The album wasn't a big success, even though it explored some new territories for all parties involved. _Mass Destruction_, the new Curse of the Golden Vampire album, is a second attempt at bringing new and refreshed music to the masses, strangely without the help of founder Alec Empire. Mixing the aggression and vocals of Godflesh with the heavily distorted beats of Techno Animal turns _Mass Destruction_ into something far more lethal than what we're used to from either artist -- think of a bass-driven hardcore/noise version of Phantomsmasher and you might be on the right track. Don't be mistaken, the material on this album might be a little bit too inaccessible for Godflesh fans who think that guitars are a vital part of music, while the aggro-vocals might turn away the more hardcore electronics crowd. Still, _Mass Destruction_ is definitely worth a try for fans of Atomsmasher, Atari Teenage Riot and the Fear Factory remixes. IPECAC did a good job on signing CotGV and I can only express my hopes that we will see more material in the future because the 36 minutes on this album went by a little too quickly for my taste.

(article published 3/6/2003)