IMPERATIVE REACTION RUINED ALBUM METROPOLIS RELEASE: JULY 9, 2002 REVIEW: AUGUST 1, 2002

It's amazing how much a bad vocal performance can ruin a good song (maybe that's what the album title stands for?). Take "Diminish Me" for example, perhaps the best track of this entire album (except for the chorus which just annoys me no end, because the singer can't hold the tune). I have bitched about low quality voices before, and my quest continues. To further increase my wrath, Imperative Reaction decides to draft a female vocalist on one track, introducing a completely bland, atonal, nasal and emotionless voice.
This band of two youngsters from Los Angeles makes fast and furious EBM with catchy melodies. Sounds like you have heard it before? Well, you have. It's obvious that these lads have talent, hidden under the simple programming and repetitive use of sounds, but they make nothing new. Their sense of melody is not to be taken lightly though, and in all honesty most of the time the vocalist sounds very good, adding almost a rock quality to the otherwise typical EBM style. To end this review on a happy note though, I'll say that many tracks here passed my "head bobbing" test without struggling.

JOHAN CARLSSON