This disc by Romanian industrial act Infectator.com is actually two releases in one: The first seven tracks are from the band's 2002 demo, while the remaining four tracks (two of them remixes) are more current material. This is dark, brooding stuff, industrial from the old-school mode, with lots of rumbling ugliness and cryptic muttering, hollowed-out and distant percussion, and strange, brooding sounds designed to jar the senses and alienate the soul. Good reference touchstones would be early Brighter Death Now, early MZ.412, Archon Satana, Masochistic Religion, Cabaret Voltaire, Front 242, and similar bands form the first and second wave of industrial music, especially the ones straddling the chilly divide between dark-ambient and early industrial sounds. The beautiful part of this release and its stark, frequently rhythmic tracks is that there's no hint whatsoever of the more commercial impulses that would eventually pretty much ruin the genre; this was designed to be unsettling and forbidding, and succeeds in commanding the listener's attention without the need to resort to cheap gimmicks or watered-down beats and melodies. (In fact, this is largely a melody-free outing, driven far more by atmospheric drone and noise and machine beats.) Dark, unsettling stuff, even when it's actually danceable (which is more often than you might think), and well worth seeking out, especially if you were weaned on early industrial music.
review from Dead Angel, issue 8
Infectator.com new album is the fifth release by FIR, a small independent Romanian label which print cd-r performed by interesting Eastern bands dedicated to industrial/power electronic sounds. Infectator.com's CORUPT contains nine tracks plus two remixes of "Deliberat" (reworked by Julian M, who made a ambient techno track out of it) and of "Conectat" (Satellite Empire remixed it turning it into an instrumental dark e.b.m. track). After the dark ambient intro of "Cybernet intro" we enter immediately into the band's sound with "Coruptor", a track based on throbbing distorted rhythms, minimal melodies and whispering vocals. The following "Traseu periculos" recall the latest Clock DVA sounds but mixed with a certain disturbing dark ambient atmosphere (the same goes for "Keep") while "Deliberat" is more focused on industrial sounds/atmospheres dear to early Laibach (the whispered voice along with a certain approach to rhythm make me recall those sounds even if Infectator.com sound seems to be based mostly on samples). Also "Sabotaj Viral" and "Conectat" have a similar approach but even if the formula doesn't change that much at the moment the CD has no weak moments as the tension don't leave the listener for a second. The surprises comes with "Ce simti" and "Dark mission", two tracks based on a structure that reminds early industrial electronic sounds but with a sort of death metal vocals. CORUPT is an good CD that will interest the lovers of industrial electro dark atmospheres.
review by Maurizio Pustianaz, Chain DLK
Infectator com are a Romanian Industrial project from Timisoara, first formed in 2000 by Dacian V�lcu and Cosmin Iancu. Their debut release was 2002's untitled CD demo, followed by appearances on two compilations, 'Compendiu de Muzica Electronica' in 2004 on the FIR label, as well as appearing on 2005's 'Homenaje' 2 CD memorial compilation from Rackham Records (commemorating the dead of the Madrid bombings of 3rd November 2004). Through this period Infectator com's line-up has fluctuated around core member Dacian via various collaborations, leading to 'Corupt', his latest work, once more released by fellow Romanian label FIR. This creation provides a broad overview of the band's activities so far, featuring some old and some newer tracks, as well as a couple of remixes that give a fresh take on some of their older material (tracks 1-7 having been recorded in 2002,.tracks 8 & 9 from 2003, and the final two remix tracks having been done in 2005). It comes on a professionally packaged CDR featuring austere esoteric black and white artwork, which aptly reflects the nature of the purist Industrial and ambient sounds contained within, and certainly looks intriguing to any die-hard old-school Industrial fanatic...
The echoing tapped microphone samples of 'Cybernet Intro' evolve into a deep, harsh dark ambience thickened by background industrial strikes and clicks, to which effected whispers and compressed spoken vocals declare an ode to eerie and threatening dark future cyberspace realms of 'cyberterrorism'. Hisses of static and the grating sounds of grinding metal set the scene quickly and efficiently for the sonic sculptures to follow, a tomorrow of rapidly replaced components be they machine or flesh, where the individual becomes redundant and secondary to the rush of industrial progress and evolution, and the organic is subservient to the inorganic. This melds seamlessly into title track 'Corupt', whose introductory sound collage continues with the ending samples of the previous piece, before a throbbing filtered analogue synth bass and delayed resonant kick drum energetically drive beneath in cold clinical fashion. Further whispered lyrics emerge from the dark recesses, viewed along the journey within the machine, and the percussion grows in intensity and dynamics. This slowly transforms into a distorted warlike march where further intricacies build via more layered hissing samples before reaching conclusion with a final crescendo, leaving the listener to try and regain their bearings to the accompaniment of a lone muted analogue synth pad.
The more ambient opening of 'Traseu Periculos' with its overtones of S.E.T.I. radio transmissions then shifts into higher gear with an intricate percussive track of drum and bass influenced beeps, clicks, and robotic drums that power along with emotionless intensity, while the now familiar vocal layers disorientate with spinning panned interjections that threaten an intelligence behind the mechanical facade. Rising and falling combinations create an illusion of spinning uncontrollably through deep space, with the final faded droning hum evocative of watching a probe recede into the blackness after it has scanned the consciousness with morbid neon green lasers. 'Deliberat' follows with a similiar drum pattern made more individual with the introduction of hammer-struck hollow metallic blows to punctuate the beat. Both vocal and non-vocal constituent samples move from foreground to background via clever yet subtle variation in pitch, timbre and reverb, while newer more grainy synth textures fill in the remaining conceptual spaces leaving little room to breathe within the claustrophobic robotic mix. The overall impact would be perfectly suited to the hyperspeed kinetic visions of underground Japanese cyberpunk cinema where anything and everything tends to happen, blurring the distinction between circuitry and organism in a nightmare reality.
The next track 'Sabotaj Viral' rhythmically combines both synthesised and percussive basses to create a vision of the machine's electrically fuelled metabolism under attack from it's own defining source code, be it in the form of virus, worm or trojan. Relentless and pounding, the slight reduction in speed serves well in making the end result all the more sinister. Variations in drum patterns suggest a constant evolving and refining of the attacking entities, while sharp ascending knife-edged walls of fuzz slice through the previously stable programming thus throwing up new walls of confused data that the weaving whispered voices futilely seek to make sense out of. 'Conectat' then grows from breathing static and vocal snatches into a slower more groove orientated piece that reduces the speed and density of the mix, instead creating a more psychedelic open space from slow chord pad progressions and filtered random bleeping, where the mind is left to wander and fill in further details from the experience of the listener (as compared to the pummelling inescapable brutality of some of the preceding tracks). This is suggestive of new pathways and gateways of logic coming into being as the soul of the machine seeks to expand beyond it's previous boundaries, and into the possibilities of life possessed by more delicate organic entities...
The same minimalistic rhythmical combinations are continued in the next track 'Keep', with the backbone of the beats formed by a heavily echoed bass drum and a regular sparking as of arcing ungrounded electricity. Fearful female cries alongside the familiar male tones (both whispered and distorted) are once again given forward momentum by stormy string progressions and filtered synth bass, while samples are created from a lot of time-shifted vocals to add that inhuman touch. The slow measured timings seem to suggest entanglement within the wiring as it arcs and fizzes in seeking evolving combinations for the future, with the piece's conclusion formed of the ever present echoing bass and a climactic claustrophobia of random sounds. Rapid-fire non-acoustic snares spitting like machine guns then fade in over a regular slowed and down-tuned linn drum-esque foundation at the beginning of 'Ce Simti', creating a false sense of security shattered by the multiple percussive intricacies suddenly introduced to create a full-on pounding techno rhythm. Arpeggios of analogue lead phrases and bassy roaring voices are soon joined by additional layers of more of the same, in order to create a maniacal insanity bordering on falling over, as it spins around itself like the final intimidating death throes of some deranged inorganic out of control robotic beast.
A repetitive clock-like ticking combined with a sub-bass fuelled drum and bass pattern then characterises 'Dark Mission', with gothically influenced grandiose keys adding a dramatic element that helps shape the final original track of 'Corupt' into one of a quickening heartbeat upon walking into some mysterious future's cyberpunk cathedral. This instrumental helps round off the original tracks effectively, with suggestions of an expanded space of further musical territories left still to explore, thus being an apt conclusion which helps demonstrate that Infectator com still have plenty of unexpected excursions to unexplored realms on which to take the listener in the future. The two remixes of the tracks 'Deliberat' and ''Conectat' then follow respectively, giving a chance to hear others takes upon Infectator com's material from different angles to the concepts of the actual creating artist. Julian M.'s remix of 'Deliberat' transposes the original's driving cyberpunk feel for one of a more restrained and swirling filtered dark ambience, with the background textures brought more to the fore, and a minimalist treatment of the percussion slowly evolving into the energy of the original. This is backed with somnambulant bell-like phrases and sombre hollow keyboard pads to create a more restful and meditative atmosphere despite the energy of the drums, as of a flight through mechanical dreamscapes. The Satellite Empire remix of 'Conectat' however takes a markedly different tack with a more pop-influenced production which fills much of the space within the original with darkwave inspired basses and chord pads created with the dancefloor in mind. While not so much to this reviewer's taste, the end result is certainly a clever reworking that demonstrates the flexibility of Infectator com's compositions, and certainly makes use of the energetic drum programming to create a fitting empowering highpoint to the end of the 'Corupt' album in suitably lively style.
Well, 'Corupt' certainly acts as a whistle stop tour of many classic industrial styles, and just manages to do so using a relatively limited palette that could well have descended into clich� if in the hands of the less innovative. Comparisons would have to be made to the artists that may well have had a significant influence upon Infectator com in formative years, and these would have to include such luminaries as Front 242 and also more recent acts such as Cold Meat Industry roster of bands. Overall this retrospective of the band's creation since their formation in 2000 works well in giving an overview and insight into their growth since their inception, and certainly has many involving creative highpoints, although a little more originality would probably go a long way in helping them stand out from the pack. One can't help but feel unfortunately that the limited nature of the scope of 'Corupt' is due to the artist's own personal choice, although to be fair it is probably consciously done as a tribute to their own favourite influences and heroes. The talent is certainly here though, so with a little widening of their chosen boundaries I'm sure that Infectator com could move up a rung from the ranks of 'effective imitators' to that of more inspired innovators; and to break musical boundaries (and thus push their chosen artform into new territories) would surely be the best way to ensure the healthy progression and survival of a genre they obviously have a sincere affection for and genuine connection to. Definately one for those who know and love old-school industrial, but probably not for those seeking a more innovative take beyond the original giants of the genre. A worthwhile release certainly, but hopefully an act who will expand their boundaries and flex their innovative muscle a little further in the future...
review by SilverHand, Heathen Harvest
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