Over The Edge Page 8

a

Two

Voyeurs
(Interscope/Universal)

Rob Halford (Lead Vocals)
explains that he didn’t want
this album to sound like any
other that he had previously
written. Maybe it is the fact
that his songs dictate the
vocals, instead of the other
way around, or maybe it is
because he encourages the
rest of the band to use their
instincts whenever possible
to facilitate critical decisions
in particular songs.
Undoubtedly though, the fact
that Trent Reznor is the
Executive Producer, produc-
ing Voyeurs on his own label
“Nothing” has something to
do with its relative success.
Apparently, Trent offered
“insight and guidance” into
Halfords’ songs, which he
feels made them stronger.

Voyeurs is a heavy CD, with
strong metal tones, yet keep-
ing a subtle (to the point of
often not even noticeable)
techno beat in the back-
ground to help give it its
noise. If Reznor was to mel-
low out a bit and crank the
guitar riffs in Nine Inch Nails,

e might end up with a sound
similar to | am a Pig, the lead
track of the CD.

The varying songs con-
tribute a complicated sense
of futility (Water’s Leaking,
Bed of Rust) to forms of irra-
tionality like on a dream-
scape (Stutter Kiss). One
song even chooses to
address the surreal concept
of living in a hole (Deep in
the Ground).

After a previous album

release, which he claims was
a failure because he tried to
cater to what his audience
wanted to see out of him, it
looks like Halford is back,
this time not trying to “over
sing” his way to fame. With
riff-master John Lowery
(Guitar) to back him up this
time, what else could you
expect besides a well-com-
piled disc of hardened (but
not too much) tunes reveling
in NIN’s grandeur?

-Kevin Milos

Deep Forest Ill

Comparsa
(Epic/Sony)

DEEP FOREST Hil

COMPARSA

Anyone who has had the
opportunity to hear Deep
Forest before undoubtedly
knows that this is a compila-
tion which pays close atten-
tion to sound and not so
much to lyrics, except to use
them to further the impres-
sion that it makes upon you.
Lyrics are nothing on
Comparsa, used only to draw
the listener into a trance and
relate them to a corner of the
world where they have never
been before.

Comparsa, which in Cuban,
means “Partners”, is a mes-
merizing mix of sounds that
draws upon influences from
every corner of the world,
especially those of South
America and the Middle
East.

How do Comparsia’s devot-
ed musicians of create such
amazing songs for the

world? They go straight to

the source. The founding
musicians of the group, Eric
Mouquet (Keyboards,
Vocals) and Michel Sanchez

COMMUNITY

(Keyboards, Hammond B3,
Accordion) traveled the
globe, bringing back little
known prodigies to us such
as Jorge Reyes (percussion,
flutes, vocals), Lala
Raharimala and Monika
Rasoanirina (also vocals),
and Gilles Cagin
(Saxophone). Each of these
artists has their own unique
style, with some very unique-
ly sounding rare instruments.

With some of the songs car-
rying a definite but often sub-
tle techno undertone the
masterfully constructed
pieces sometimes tend to
sound like the forest song of
the Ewoks from Starwars on
some occasions.

The bottom line is that this
CD was created to be an out-
let of joy and as.a message
to the rest of the sheltered
world that there are inge-
nious cultures out there that
should not be disregarded by
western culture.

-Kevin Milos
Curve
Come Clean
(Universal)

DJ’s...Don’t stop spinning.
Just listen for a minute. Here
we have a landmark ambient
techno disc from a group any
well seasoned techno fan is
bound to have run across
sometime in their musical
prowess.

Curve has been around for
a while now. In ‘91 and ‘92,
the duo, consisting of Toni
Halliday and Dean Garcia,
made a name for them-
selves, especially for Toni, as
the lead vocalist. In ‘93 they

took their riffs and synth pro-
gramming to the outer limits
of the time without loosing
their basic industrial sensibil-
ity.

So now they are back, after
supposedly winking out of
existence for some time, and
immediately, they are out for
the big-time. Encroaching on
the Chemical Brothers and
The Prodigy’s industrial
fringe techno rock scene with
their high lead mix Chinese
Burn, they are mixing their
way to raves across the con-
tinents fast.

Reality then? These guys
never really left the scene.
They just hibernated for a
while because they were too
far ahead of the rest of the
ambient crowd with their high
tension Leftism album (early
*95), which wasn’t all that
popular at the time.

Reunited they stand though,
and Curve only proves their
indifference to the ambient
world. Their songs are bril-
liantly mixed and soundfully
engineered.

If you’re in the need to spin
techno tonight, spin Curve,
but turn it up. Everyone will
want to hear this one.

-Kevin Milos.

March 24, 1998

1. Titanic Soundtrack
Various Artists

2. Yield
Pearl Jam

3. Marcy Playground
Marcy Playground

4. My Own Prison
Creed

5. Yourself or Someone
Like You
Matchbox 20

6. Big Shiny Tunes
Various Artists

7. Van Halen 3
Van Halen

8. Ray of Light
Madonna

9. Crystal Planet
Joe Satriani

10. Pilgrim
Eric Clapton

Over the Edge

Wants you...

To submit your name
to a contest.

Win Valuable Prizes
(nothing to do with the
Over the Edge editor).

1st Prize:

$30 gift certificate to the
Tuning Point

2nd Prize:

$20 gift certificate to the
Tuning Point

3rd Prize:

$10 gift certificate to the
Tuning Point

(Alright, they’re all the
same sort of prize, but
there’s three of them)

Brought to you by:

the tuning pornt