Funker Vogt

Maschine Zeit (Metropolis)
by Scott Hefflon

One thing I’ve always liked about industrial (or whatever fancy title they come up with) is that the albums are long. While that ain’t really saying much about the quality of the music, for me, it all comes down to two things: Is it kinda spooky/cold/aggressive/whatever, and can ya dance to it? Funker Vogt is no better or worse than the pretty good industrial bands who drone on and on with the same beats, yet they add some nice melodies every so often (even repetitive thump-a-ramas sometimes have a chorus) to break up the “haven’t KMFDM and Front 242 driven this vocal style into the ground?” vocals. A typically bleak ballad, “Nuclear Winter,” distinguishes itself from the typical driving thud of the rest of the CD, but if you wanted something new, different, and unexpected, well, ya probably wouldn’t be listening to cookie-cutter industrial anymore. Maschine Zeit achieves the mood it sets out to, nothing more and nothing less.
(PO Box 54307 Philadelphia, PA 19105)