KLINIK DARK SURGERY ALBUM HANDS RELEASE: JULY 31, 2004 REVIEW: AUGUST 13, 2004

Another new album from Marc Verhaeghen is now out and amongst us. Many felt that perhaps due to Verhaeghen's and Dirk Ivens' re-union shows, Ivens would be featured on the new album. Thankfully he is not. The old Klinik will never release new material. The first box will be re-issued in any case so stop whining and get over it.
With Nickanor back in the Klinik fold, Verhaeghen returns to the amazing trance/electro style he branched out into with 2002's "Sonic Surgery" except that this time around the tempo is more varied and the textures far more subdued.
"Reversal" is a simplistic track when one first hears it but as the song builds and builds, adding layer upon layer of intricate programming, a palpable sense of claustrophobic malaise is unleashed. "Orbit" does exactly that, placing the listener in an otherworldly acoustical space; one has no choice but to submit to the total immersion of sounds. "Cats Eyes" is an epic closing choice for this new release and easily could have wound up on last year's astounding double album "Akhet".
The synthesis is incredible on "Dark Surgery", each sound is calculated to be placed exactly where it will do the most damage. Klinik continue to expand their sound with each release and now that Marc has given us both halves of the surgery equation, further exploration will no doubt commence. Standing by.

PETER MARKS