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CD ReviewV/A - "Distention"By Marcus Pan
The release is very professional with excellent production, good packaging and even a CD-ROM track on the disc that holds band info and a pre-release of Mindless Faith's Contaminated video in MOV format. I must admit I still like MPGs better…but that's just quibbling. The CD-ROM track and information could have been laid out better - they don't touch the layout, style and information contained on the Interstellar Harmony release. But just the fact that it's there should be a lesson to all the other labels. Us goth-geeks LIKE this shit! Bands included are Mindless Faith, Raudive Voices, Gears Slowly Grinding, The Unquiet Void and Vivid Liquid. The music here ranges from mediocre to rather good. Mindless Faith seem to be the headliner, and rightly so, with the most tracks. Let's take a look at the bands on the AlterCulture label, shall we? Contact Information:
All songs on the sampler CD here are set to appear on their Manifest Destiny release due in the beginning of 2000. Strangely enough, Contaminated didn't appear - I found that unusual because this is the video that appears on the CD-ROM track of the disc. They are said to be very aggressive and outright stomping during live shows - a tribute to the brothers' punk background. Jim Semonik handles their stage show lights and fog, creating a scene nearly out of Bladerunner from what I could see on their Contaminated and All These Years videos - the latter of which I have on a VHS tape locked away in a safe somewhere (hey, this thing might be worth money someday!). Also, live-member Paul Green handles the drum work turning the duo to a trio in their live performances. MF do an industrial-tinged EBM thing. Their first track here, Rat Race, is an excellent song to start up any rivet-head dance floor. Next comes Strained, a slow and moody song that picks up later. It's a song characterized by dark windy synths and bell-like keyboards. The vocals and bass are windy and deep, giving the song a very "I'm lost" feel to it. They follow this one up with All These Years, another slow-starter with the windy feel. The song then goes into a more industro-stomp dancefloor number. The rhythms that MF use are quite infectious. Finally there's Prodigy, another good song that clearly shows that Mindless Faith are the best AlterCulture has to offer. It's harder-edged than their previous songs, closing their section of the CD off well and making them a tough act to follow - whether they be on stage or on disc. Contact Information:
Debut CD Re: Cycles is due to hit the streets this coming December, 1999. On this debut CD by Raudive Voices is older material from them, re-mastered and placed here with five new tracks. They have three tracks here on Distention from this upcoming release; Flicker, Accused and Dessau #. All three have a clearly Skinny Puppy sound with metallic wind, voxed up vocals and interesting rhythms. Ghostly voices lie in the background of Flicker, which makes it an interesting piece. I feel it should have been sped up a more, though, because it's very slow and tends to drag. The other two tracks are more upbeat. All have that circa-80's industrial feel. Contact Information:
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Pittsburgh Pennsylvania is trying to build
around themselves a strong electronica/industrial scene. While they haven't yet
reached the point that the Detroit Electronica Coalition have achieved, they
are rallying behind new label AlterCulture Records. Chris Sevanick's small
label operation has come a long way since '95 and the days of The
Silence, first release by Mindless Faith and Chris' own product. Since then
they've picked up other bands; including his solo project Vivid Liquid and
Gears Slowly Grinding, another of Mindless Faith's recording projects. Their
latest release is Distention, a label sampler holding five bands on the
AlterCulture label.
Mindless Faith 
Raudive Voices 
Gears Slowly Grinding
The Unquiet Void 
Vivid Liquid
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