Review: Contaminated Intelligence – 'Mental Fractures'

CONTAMINATED INTELLIGENCE
'Mental Fractures'
TWO GODS RECORDS

Utah's Contaminated Intelligence revisit their 2014 EP 'Mental Fractures' and augment the original record with five new bonus tracks, stretching it into a full-length album in it's own right. The original was self-released by the band in 2014 after main man Jourdan Turner suffered a snowboarding accident. The release in it's current form now follows his recovery from that time until now, and in the process pushes their experiments with Drum n Bass, Down-tempo Break Beats, and Ambient atmospheres to the fore.

The result is a very experimental but danceable album which while not wholly at odds with the industrial-punk flavour of their last release, 'Status Control', is certainly less vitriolic and more introspective in it's instrumental wanderings. Yet songs such as 'CRUNCH!', 'Recovery', and 'Recovery Pt 2.' from the original tracklist maintain a decisive dancefloor appeal. While the newer contributions such as 'Unscrewed (Removed)', 'Coming Back', and 'Anesthetic Dreams' reflect the band's newer style while maintaining the elements of the original that made it an interesting listening experience.

Production-wise it definitely sounds like a record of two halves. The more crisp modern flavour of the original five versus the grimier sounds of the newest contributions. But it strangely works well when you think of it as side a and side b.

This was an interesting move to revisit an earlier work in this kind of way. But the original EP was worth re-highlighting and the new songs are just as valid as anything included on last year's full-length album release, so why not? The result is a very interesting album that cover's the entirety of the band's sonic experimentation over the past few years. A risky idea but incredibly well-executed and will certainly be on that pays off for them.  

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Review: Contaminated Intelligence – 'Status Control'

CONTAMINATED INTELLIGENCE
'Status Control'
TWO GODS RECORDS 

Dirty and distorted with a very old school feel, Utah's Contaminated Intelligence take industrial back to its rough and punk roots with their new single 'Status Control' on Two Gods Records. With a few releases already under their belts, the duo of Contaminated Intelligence have been experimenting with dark electronic, drum 'n' bass, and down tempo styles within their industrial template. This new single however sees their style sharpened with venomous and vitriolic intent.

'Destitution' opens the release in anarchic fashion with hissing distorted synths, drum 'n' bass percussion and spiky low-fi guitars battering their way through the speaker. The title track is a more solid dance affair that progresses at a steady pace with a pronounced groove that builds into an undeniably catchy song. This is followed up by a great remix from Leaether Strip that ups the tempo and gives the original an old school ebm flavour. The next remix is the band's own and shows off a darker more harsh ebm orientated side that gives the original a serious run for its money. The final cut is 'Intelligence' which blends the anarchic abandon of the opening track with the steady and dark grooves of the title track.

Production-wise this has a very rough and rusted edge to it that keeps an old school charm at its heart. But it is still, despite its distorted low-fi elements, cleanly mixed and well arranged showing that the band aren't hiding behind low-fi elements to cover up any shortcomings in the fundamentals of their process.

'Status Control' will definitely appeal to fans of the classic grimy and low-fi experimentation of industrial rock's infancy. It is aggressive, insistent, and makes you take notice of it. There is still a lot of work and refinement to be done across future releases, but Contaminated Intelligence show a lot of promise.  

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