Prometheus Burning- Plague Called Humanity

ARTIST: Prometheus Burning

ALBUM: Plague Called Humanity

LABEL: Crunch Pod

REVIEWER: Matthew J.

DATE: 4-7-10

Rooted in the darker, harder side of classic EBM and aggressive electronic music, Prometheus Burning's newest offering is their best yet, combining the intricate and occasionally bewildering textures of Skinny Puppy at their best with a modern conceptual approach. The Skinny Puppy comparisons are most obvious on "Mother of Abominations" and "Blackmagick Tongue" with their sparse sequences, classic science fiction samples and reverberating breakbeats, but the distinctly feminine though thoroughly demonic vocal work of Nikki Telladictorian are unmistakable. "Ouruboros Deathride" and "Confronting Pandora" merge occult themes with evil disco-tinged dance beats in a way that will appeal to fans of early My Life with the Thrill Kill Kult and Electric Hellfire Club. And if the duo's roots in the scene's classic sounds weren't made clear already, the album finishes with a cover of Ministry's "You Know What You Are" that slows the original's jackhammer pace to a series of slowly clashing snares, thickly processed ambient loops and buried vocoder, all garnished with an eerie piano line that takes prominence as the beats fade out. Prometheus Burning wear their sonic inspirations on their sleeves, but it's the conceptual basis of this album that really soars. Blending occult imagery focusing on the darkest female figures of the pantheons of world religions with sneering aggression, Telladictorian and programmer Greg VanEck tie disparate threads together in a tapestry fit for the end of the world, Kali Yuga style, making this an album that pays homage to the sounds of the past while hurrying the onset of an apocalyptic future. A chilling and impressive release.

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