CoC : Red Harvest - Internal Punishment Programs : Review

Red Harvest - _Internal Punishment Programs_
(Nocturnal Arts, 2004)
by: Jackie Smit (7 out of 10)

Was there ever really a possibility of Red Harvest coming out on top with album number nine? After all, with _Sick Gloria Transit Mundi_ in many ways representing the explosive climax to the anger and frustration that fuelled Red Harvest's earlier work, there were only so many directions that, from a thematic point of view, were logically left for the band to explore. That the record positions itself somewhere between being a haunting aftermath and a bludgeoning continuation of its predecessor is therefore perhaps a principal factor behind the press' relatively cold response to _Internal Punishment Programs_ thus far. Certainly the band's decision to strip their sound of much of its electronic grandeur, and in so doing, essentially render one their most appealing components impotent, hasn't helped any. While a song like "Fall of Fate" initially seems at the very least passable, it is quickly shown to be primitive and boring in the face of something more experimental like "Abstract Morality Junction". Likewise the apocalyptic electronica of "Teknocrate" and the sneering thump of "Wormz" prove beyond any doubt that the band is dramatically more effective when they let loose creatively, making the almost conservative route that they follow elsewhere on the record appear insipid and, in all honesty, not particularly welcome.

Contact: http://www.redharvestplanet.com

(article published 22/2/2005)

ALBUMS
16/3/2007	J Smit	9	Red Harvest - A Greater Darkness
16/3/2003	A McKay	5	Red Harvest - Sick Transit Gloria Mundi
12/8/2000	P Azevedo	7	Red Harvest - Cold Dark Matter

GIGS
20/11/2000	P Schwarz	Mayhem / Aeternus / Red Harvest	Declaring War on the Underground