First Aid 4 Souls feat. LD50 – Fire (Album – Alfa Matrix)
Genre/Influences: EBM, body-pop.
Format: Digital.
Background/Info: Last year Hungarian electro/EBM act First Aid 4 Souls joined hands together with Alfa Matrix unleashing the great album “Keep This World Empty”. The band’s mastermind, Istvan Gazdag, is now already back on track releasing a new and somewhat conceptual work. “Fire” in a way pays homage to the Hungarian underground scene LD50, which reassembled bands and fans. First Aid 4 Souls invited several Hungarian artists to release this new work. The featured artists are Emke from Black Nail Cabaret, Josef Stapel from Ultranoire, Vic Willow and ‘Damage’ from Planetdamage.
Content: Nine of the twelve songs are featuring Vic Willow as the singer and the least I can say is that this artist has a great timbre of voice. He sometimes reminds me of Gary Numan, but he’s injecting passion to the songs. And the songs are moving from pure EBM towards electro-pop tracks. Some cuts are supported with poignant atmospheric layers. This is a real diversified work, also experimenting with orchestral arrangements, funky grooves and even a rather cinematographic last cut. Emke (Black Nail Cabaret) is also an artist with a unique timbre of voice. She really rules over the song and I have to say that Istvan Gazdag created a meticulous composition fitting with her vocals.
+ + + : First Aid 4 Souls is a band I’m keeping an eye on for some years now. I’ve never been disappointed and this new –and particular work, only confirms the talent of Istvan Gazdag. This musician operates as a true sound architect who feels comfortable with different styles of electronic music. But I have to say that the opening song “Burst Of Anger” is just like an amazing sonic assault! The song is driven by menacing bass lines, hard dance kicks and a great lead while the charisma of singer Vic Willow is doing the rest. “The Worm Queen” is another great song with the same singer and here again it reveals intelligent EBM. The somewhat more groovy driven “Burn” –again featuring Vic Willow, is also an attention grabber. I also remain fascinated by the female power of Emke. Last, but not least I like the ‘Hungarian’ concept of the work!
– – – : I noticed a few cuts, which can’t convince me; probably because electro-pop isn’t Istvan’s best exposure.
Conclusion: First Aid 4 Souls remains to me one of the hottest newcomers from the Alfa Matrix stable; this is intelligent EBM mixed with a few more influences.
Best songs: “Burst Of Anger”, “The Worm Queen”, “Das Messer”, “Burn”, “Ordinary Demonism”.
Rate: (8).
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