Mortal
Nu-En-Jin
Tooth And Nail
I hate it when CDs come for review without any type of information; half of the fun is looking at the cover! Oh well… It’s hard to put a finger on exactly what kind of music Mortal plays; it’s kind of like industrial music for the modern ages; Nu-En-Jin sounds like Skinny Puppy in their prime, had Skinny Puppy peaked in 2002. Skinny Puppy stuff, listened to today, sounds dated and corny, but at the time it was groundbreaking and abrasive.
The vocals on this one are most bizarre. There’s always a ton of effects on the vocals, including distortion, filters, and a bizarre lack of reverberation. To be frankly honest, though, the guys in Mortal sound way tougher than Al Jorgensen ever sounded.
My favorite aspect of Nu-En-Jin would probably be the beats; they sound very similar to Homogenic-era Björk. The beats hit hard throughout, and have strange little tweaks and turns that make them unique to even anything Björk has ever done.
I don’t really know if anyone even listens to industrial music anymore, but this is one for them if they’re out there. Fans of Nine Inch Nails will eat this up with a fork and spoon, as will fans of early ’90s industrial (Wax Trax!) stuff. Really cool, abrasive, anti-pop record.
Tooth and Nail Records: http://www.toothandnail.com
