Not long after releasing their largely forgettable 'Big Hit' album in1995, electronic body music pioneers Nitzer Ebb called it quits. Savefor some work with Recoil, Alan Wilder's non-Depeche Mode project,founding member and vocalist Douglas McCarthy disappeared altogetherfrom the music scene. A couple of years ago, Mute decided to capitalizeon Nitzer Ebb's back catalog of label releases by issuing a series of12" records featuring new and unreleased remixes of classic cuts like"Join In The Chant," "Let Your Body Learn," and "Shame." Thatsuccessful endeavor brought about a partnership between McCarthy andremixer Terence Fixmer, a techno producer with releases onInternational Deejay Gigolos and his own Planete Rouge imprint, theresult of which comprises the hour-long Between the Devil...Nearly every track here contains a throbbing, if not downrightpounding, 4/4 beat, as should be expected by those familiar withFixmer's prior work, much of which comprises his phenomenal Muscle Machinealbum. Previously released as the A-Side off a limited 12" single,"Destroy" builds up from a guttural whisper into a roar of focusedrage, lashing out at a deliberately unnamed enemy in such a furiousmanner that it could accompany an actual beating. Similarly, thelive-sounding vocal performance on "You Want It," appropriatelyaccompanied by a menacing EBM-bassline, shows off McCarthy'stried-and-true repetitious lyrical minimalism. On tracks like "ThroughA Screen," and the incredibly catchy "I Run," the anthemic goldenshouts that defined much of Nitzer Ebb's are balanced by a great dealof actual singing, showcasing a diversity that some listeners mightfind surprising. Inadvertently taking after Laibach's successfulcomeback pairing with underground techno figure Umek, Fixmer/McCarthyperfects the formula and offers a new vision for modern industrialdance music that many of the current scene stars and cookie-cutter gothclub darlings should take their cues from. Surely Between the Devil will rank highly on my Best of 2004 list. - Read More
