Alec Empire - The Golden Foretaste Of Heaven Format: Album Release Date: 24th Mar 2008 Label: Eat Your Heart Out Rating: Deliciously distressed synth and beat heavy industrial dance from the keen creative mind that is Alec Empire. Storming out of Berlin, this is a huge record, reminiscent of Gary Numan at his most rhythmic, with the heavy setting of Nine Inch Nails and the anger of early Prodigy. If you happened to be on the dance floor when any track from this album came on, you would swear later to have been dancing with the devil. Well known for his work as Atari Teenage Riot, the creative flair has not left Alec Empire and seems to have come back with renewed vigor in 2008. This said, the record doesn’t sound stereotypically modern. It sounds like a record that would have been hailed in the 90’s or the 80’s as a forward thinking yet relevant release. The beats are huge, vocals are tempting and torturous and its all held together with a drive as unrelenting as a lost soul searching for solace. The sparkling moments on this record are the stark vocals and the heavy beats, but those that engage the greatest emotion are the rough melodies which stick into your head like a twisting fork. Alec Empire is back, and this time it is going to get heavy!

Written by: Pete