'Skins'
SELF-RELEASED
Channelling the best of
the 1990s' industrial rock output, Projekt F have made a few waves in
their north American stomping ground. And with good reason. The bands
hard, thrashy style recalls the heyday of Nothing Records talent like
Nine Inch Nails, Marilyn Manson, 2wo, Prick and Pig. It's a sound
that still fills dance floors around the world and the Canadian band
demonstrate on their début full-length album, 'Skins', that they
definitely have the tools to repackage it for the 2013 crowd.
The album mixes the
bass heavy, dissonant rock of 'The Downward Spiral' and 'Antichrist
Superstar' saturating electronics of 2wo's underrated 'Voyeurs' and
gODHEAD's '2,000 Years Of Human Error'. The end result is somewhat
nostalgic, but the band's grit and attention to detail make this an
utterly compelling album.
Songs like 'Evolved',
'The Wall', 'Lymph', 'Room 13' and 'Perfect Enclosure' give the album
a sheer driving force that makes good use of memorable hooks and
sing-a-long choruses. The band do like to slow things down though as
tracks like 'Rust', 'Disease', and 'Book Of The Flies' can attest to
with their use of dominant piano melodies to counterpoint the angst
of the majority of the album. However, the over-reliance of this
trick does tend to bog down the second half of the album and somewhat
stall the momentum of the first few songs.
Production-wise the
band have managed to get the balance between the harsh rock and
industrial electronics spot-on so that neither is too dominant,
effectively evoking that classic “Nothing” sound. The only real
fault to be found is that there are one or two songs where the vocals
don't quite sit right in the mix, which can be a little distracting.
Projekt F have crafted
a very strong début in 'Skins'. It will no doubt be equally praised
and criticised for it's nostalgic edge. But that is missing the
point. This is a solid first album, from a band with a lot of
potential, that displays a level of song-writing and execution that
can comfortably hold its own with some classic albums.
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