Army of the Universe - 1999 & The Aftershow

Army of the Universe is an Italian electrorock/rave trio who had their breakout success with 2011's Mother Ignorance which released via Metropolis Records. The album led them to tour with the venerable KMFDM in 2011, and following 2013's The Hipster Sacrifice they supported Skinny Puppy during February on their Live Shapes for Arms tour. And you can damn well imagine that through their energetic performances and show next to such legendary acts they garnered a pretty decent following themselves.  A couple of other self and Dim Mak Records released EPs and singles decorate their discography, but the important thing is the now. Now we're presented with a new album: 1999 & The Aftershow. 

I've seen some reviewers compare Army of the Universe to the likes of Ministry and Nine Inch Nails but they are fucking dopes if they can honestly compare this music to those bands. I don't mean that in a bad way; ministry was always about classic industrial metal and Nine Inch Nails flowed through with a neo-wave of industrial rock. Army of the Universe is extremely far away from those sounds: they take industrial dance beats alongside electrorock and mash them together for their own sound. 

The first track that shares half of the title is perhaps one of the best tracks on the album. It has an extremely upbeat, party/rave like anthem about it but keeps it in the gutter with crunchier guitars. Other stand out tracks on the album include 'Another Escape' which features dual vocals and a decent electro flow, 'Snake Was Right' which plays around with techno rhythms and ambient sounds, and the bonus track 'Ninety Ninety Noise' which, as imagined by the title, is a relatively noisey and glitchy dance track. 

The only real problem I have with the album are the slight dubstep influences that pop in the album here and there. While once I didn't really find too much wrong with dubstep in electrorock, the more I listen to the genre the more bands I find using the same techniques and the like; it feels like a fad that needs to die out quickly. The track 'Down Till Dusk' I found quite skippable for the above mentioned reason. 

But, other than that, Army of the Universe has an extremely solid sound. The album is well produced, they flaunt their talents, and it's easy to tell these guys had a ridiculously fun time performing this album. Maybe one day I'll catch them on stage! 
Sep 28 2016