Hate Dept
Technical Difficulties
Restless
I want to support Hate Dept. fully, but I just can’t. Guess I’m lame. This record would have been setting both the college radio charts and 120 Minutes on fire in 1993. But now, when Apoptygma Berzerk and Wumpscut are both so consistently fucking amazing, and even Velvet Acid Christ have succeeded in making a nearly perfect “fuck-you” record, I’m left feeling a little flat. Technical Difficulties sounds sooo much like early Sister Machine Gun and Nitzer Ebb, it’s a bit scary.
Being a jerk, I would suggest the following areas of improvement:
- Lyrics. Now lyrics have been the death for many a good electro-industrial band, but some of the lyrics on Technical Difficulties are cringe-worthy. I was tempted to cite examples, but that would be too mean-spirited.
- That tinny guitar sound. A sterile guitar sound might have been okay around the time of Pretty Hate Machine , but after Godflesh and Fear Factory, it doesn’t cut it anymore. The guitars sound like mosquitoes.
- More innovative song structure. Try listening to Stockhausen, Third Eye Foundation, Labradford. Verse-chorus-verse-synth breakdown-scream-chorus is stale.
I’m sorry, I tried to be tough but fair. If it helps any, I think “Release It” is pretty near classic, with its rave-up keyboards and hair-trigger tension. Hey, this band is young, they’ll improve, they’ll progress. I’m certain of it. See if they send me any records again…
Restless Records, 1616 Vista Del Mar, Hollywood, CA 90028
