If you’re like me, you’ve waited for this for a long time. You followed the teases, the slow reveals, heard the snippets, ordered the shirts…everything! Well now my friends, the wait is finally over. But after all the hype, all the teases, all the build up…is Primitive Race, the album, ultimately worth the wait? If you’re into fan-fucking-tatsic electronic/industrial music then the answer is a definitive and resounding “Yes!!!!”
Hot on the heels of the Long in the Tooth EP, released earlier this year and featuring Raymond Watts, Primitive Race is a different bag altogether with eleven tracks and a veritable who’s who of the electronic/metal/industrial scene. Members of Pop Will Eat Itself dance with members of Exageist one minute while Gary Numan’s guitarist is mixing it up with Prong’s vocalist elsewhere. It’s a strange mix to say the least but one that works despite the various artists showcased from track to track.
“So Strange” is like an atom bomb to start the album with, has synths which hit the ground running, and features LUXT/Exageist’s Erie Loch and Dave “Rave” Ogilvie (Is he still called “Rave”?). Next up, “Follow The Leader” is a lush, almost spoken word, repetitive electro monster led by PWEI’s Graham Crabb with Mark Gemini Thwaite, Loch, and PR mastermind Chris Kniker bringing up the rear musically.
“Acceptance Of Reality” is like this throwback Prong song. Like something off Prove You Wrong but produced during the Rude Awakening sessions….and it helps that Prong’s own Tommy Victor lends his voice to the track. But that’s not the last you’ll hear of Victor here. Oh no no no! Later on, he pops up on the visceral “Taking Things Back” along with Loch’s beats and boops. And while it’s weird to hear Victor on such an electronic track initially, within the confines of PR, it works. And if that wasn’t enough, Victor is back yet again for “Seeing Right Through It All” where he kind of channels Jaz Coleman on a track that echoes Killing Joke’s dancier days (Think Pandemonium tracks like “Exorcism” or “Whiteout”).
As for other repeat offenders, Stayte/RevCo crooner Joshua Bradford lends his talent to “Addict Now” with Thwaite, Ogilvie, Mark Brooks, and Kniker providing the score. Speaking of scores, Bradford rears his head (and voice) yet again for closer “Below Zero” which is like the most perfect lead out song for the soundtrack of a movie that doesn’t exist yet, channeling Peter Murphy even with his grandiose delivery.
If you’re still not convinced that Primitive Race has something for you then try the industrial hoedown (You read that right) of “Cage Rattler” or Sex Gang Children’s Andi Sex Gang adding some vox to the riff-driven goth aesthetic of “Give up the Ghost” or Army on the Dance Floor’s Kourtney Klein adding her programming skills to the Crabb-sung “DJFH”. In short, there’s something for everyone on Primitive Race.
Primitive Race is out through Metropolis Records on August 7th. Pre-order yours here and here.