C-Drone Defect

C-Drone Defect

(originally published in Re-Gen magazine, 2011)

Category: Electro industrial

Album: Letters from Dystopia

Stars: 3

Blurb:  German industrial wiz returns with a taste of things to come…

When bands release entire EP’s dedicated to promoting their next album, one could perhaps be forgiven for expecting the worst. Of the 9 songs which comprise Letters from Dystopia, 5 of them are originals that will make the forthcoming Dystopia album list. So you’ll all be glad to know that this “taster EP” feels more than just a shameless way of bleeding money from diehard fans. And, if you’re one of those people who simply can’t wait for C-Drone Defect’s next serving of industrial aggrotech, then this should succeed in tiding you over until its imminent release. 

  Marc Horstmeier has been touring and making music under the C-Drone Defect pseudonym for over a decade, storming the German Alternative charts with electro-industrial hits like “Fashion Victim” and “Sin Society”. But from the off, we can see a dramatic change in ethos and maturity on this new offering. Horstmeier’s ambition is broader, his musical scope more complex. There’s the relatively new concept of a narrative present here too.

  The main theme coursing through Letters from Dystopia - if you hadn’t guessed already - revolve around the bands bleak premonitions for our ruinous future. Epic opener “Morituri Te Salutant” provides a grandiose slab of militant cyberpunk that does well to set things in motion. A falsetto of Gregorian chants feel as sinister as they do victorious while the drums pound away like hydraulic rams in typical industrial fashion.  There’s no escaping the hugeness of Horstmeier’s music. The addition of symphonic instruments weaves “Morituri Te Salutant” into a stirring protest march against C-Drone Defect’s oppressive fictional police state.  

 

  Another thing which may pleasantly surprise listeners is that the remixes are pretty fantastic.  Truth is, track one and track two (“Mundus Vult Decipi”) are the only un-tampered originals on here. It should also be emphasised that this in no way takes away from Letters from Dystopia, quite the contrary - the other songs have been fiddled with by some very talented DJ’s.

  Implant’s take on third track, “Tempus Fugit”, sees the first use of sequencers bring a much needed diversity to proceedings. Behind the hellektro warnings of “Big Brother’s watching” a different dynamic entirely is at work. The tinny snare claps and tribal tom beating is suddenly replaced by drum machines. Engelmacher and Finish new-bloods Plastik Suicide offer inventive new takes on tried and tested rhythms and melodic frameworks, introducing skittering dance beats reminiscent of Belgian Hard-core or 90’s Detroit techno.

  Virtual Terrorist’s remix of “Morituri Te Salutant” maintains more of Horstmeier’s spirit, opting not to deviate too much from the original track. In combing all its syncopated elements with the grittier polyrhythms found in heavy metal and industrial music, C-Drone Defect has all the bases covered to produce a truly memorable genre record in Dystopia. We’ll have to wait and see. Based on this EP it could very well be worth the wait.

  The whole “Letters from Dystopia” EP is quick and pulsing with energy and we rarely stop for breath. Though it’s maybe not enough to really get your teeth into, it presents some very nice moments and should keep fans satisfied.

Track list

01.Morituri Te Salutant
02. Mundus Vult Decipi
03.Tempus Fugit (Implant remix)
04.Ratio Misericordiae (Waste rmx)
05.Lex Talionis (Rotating angels mix by Caustic)
06.Morituri Te Salutant (Engelmacher mix)
07.Mundus Vult Decipi (Plastik Suicide Remix)
08. Morituri Te Salutant (Silenti Etc Remix by Virtual Terrorist)
09.Mundus Vult Decipi (Cold Start Mix by Vested Serpent)

C-Drone Defect Web – http://www.cdronedefect.de

C-Drone Defect MySpace - http://www.myspace.com/cdronedefect

C-Drone Defect Sphere – http://www.spheremag.co.uk/1128-cd-review-c-drone-defect-dystopia

C-Drone Defect Facebook- http://www.facebook.com/pages/C-Drone-Defect