A7ie - The Shattering

September 2007 was quite a monumental month for the Harsh EBM movement. It marked the release of the debut album "Distress", by (Arguably) the most well known and popular French act, A7IE. (Pronounced "Aseptie")

A brief History lesson here, to introduce this review. Prior to the release of "Distress", Gyom had put out a compilation track on various albums, and the official first track to be released was "Pray (This Agony)". If you are one of those people who owns the mp3 albums "No Final", or "Evilization", then I am sorry to tell you that neither are official.

The new album, "The Shattering" nearly didn't happen. It was due to be released back in 2008/2009, under the name "Words of Violence", but due to a Computer error, the tracks were lost forever.

It is easy to see how much A7IE has evolved since the release of "Distress". Opening track "Scars" is just as catchy as "The Cage", which remains to this day one of the acts most well known tracks.

As regular readers will know, I'm not a fan of track-by-track reviews, and the album has as many great moments as it does surprising and controversial ones (to be discussed later).

Like you would expect from a release of this genre, the lyrics, titles, and themes range from Hatred and Religious themes, to Medical references and Remorseful Rhetoric. "Inner Hate" and "Scars" are very much songs composed unter the abrasive hatred of oneself, and whether literal or metaphorical, the theme very much fits in with the title and concept of the album.

"Words of Violence" is a nod to the doomed album that this would have been if the aforementioned system error hadn't have occured. "Neuroleptics" appears to be a first official release of a track that has been circling around on the 2007 demo, and one of the albums finest points.

As seems to be the trademark A7IE Style, just when you think you understand where the album is going, something changes to steer you off the road - take for example "Angels (Dancing In the Dust)" - the title has nothing to do with the theme or overview of the album, but maybe the more romantic listeners will see it as some sort of post-suicidal moment of fleeting bliss.

The one thing that people come away from the album with, is the memory of controversial track "I, Liar". It almost suggests that the composer is asking to not be trusted, and when halfway through the track, the music is replaced by Suicide Commando's "Hellraiser", you can almost feel the bile of 10,000 enraged Industrial fans. Seriously - I have seen pages of people bitching about this. Gyom made it obvious from the song title that this was intentional to get people talking. Good job he did too!

Sending the album off, we have 4 remixes, and for the first time, I feel inclined to discuss them. Greek act PreEmptive Strike 0.1 have taken "Some Kind of Hate", fellow Advoxya act Sadiztik:Injektion has "Neuroleptics", Advoxya act AktiveHate has "Angels", and the final remix (also of Angels) is of unsigned, but potentially excellent Bolivian act Adeonesis.

Ultimately, despite the promise and talent of "Distress", the three year absence has produced a more refined, ambitious, and downright cheeky album. Everything that has previously been criticised seems to have been improved on, and if you can push aside your own feelings about the controversy of "I,Liar" (which I honestly think is fuss about nothing), then you can pick up one of the best albums of 2010 for a good price.

Evolution is Key. A7IE is the lock. Mar 21 2011