Everything old is new again, right? If you somehow missed both 2016’s The Negative Space AND 2017’s Dead On Arrivals then you’re in luck because Negative On Arrivals is equally the best of the best from those releases, a refresher course on the majesty of 16Volt, and practically a new album.
Culled from those aforementioned releases and resequenced into a crushing yet cathartic collection of modern 16Volt classics, Negative On Arrivals is also the first outing under the renewed partnership with Metropolis Records and easily one of the best records founder Eric Powell has put together in this modern era of the band.
If you weren’t following the story before, the revived 16Volt (Who had briefly ended/hiatused following 2011’s Beating Dead Horses) returned to the more guitar-oriented hybrid Industrial sound of earlier works on their most recent releases and while Negative On Arrivals definitely works in pieces, when played as a whole it’s like listening through Supercoolnothing or FullBlackHabit for the first time again.
Everything on here is a mood unto itself beginning with the gnarly Gary Numan-esque (Pure and beyond) “For Violence With You” and its’ slow grind and ominous guitars perpetuating a dark cloud that’ll hover over all with “Something Is Coming” immediately scaling back and retreating into the more Electronic territory that Powell is just as much a master in. Next, “The Mission” bounces along with “Pushing Scars” bringing out a full on shred assault that’s similar to the Rio Grande Blood era of Ministry with these Tommy Victor-like guitar squeals before swerving into an angelic chorus.
“The Greatest Worst Thing Ever” from The Negative Space is kind of the greatest best thing ever peppered with a subtle percussive rumble throughout, devilishly delightful piano chords accenting the moody tone, and one of Powell’s most serene vocal performances so far with “In The Thaw” answering with another atmospheric aural excursion that fits in both with modern Darkwave and also old school 16Volt.
Speaking of “Old School”, “The Lamb” is quintessential 16Volt being monolithic in scope and barely contained within four minutes and change preceded by “The Internal Paramour” which just shows that Powell and pals have no problem writing radio-ready jams. Fittingly, “The Last Time” is the one to end Negative On Arrivals with Powell reciting “Im Not Saving You” repeatedly amidst a flurry of fiery guitar riffage.
NegativeOnArrivals, ahem, arrives on May 3rd on Metropolis Records. You can do all that pre-saving stuff now by heading here and then click here, here, or here to stay connected with 16Volt across the information superhighway.
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