Cesium_137 - Elemental

I often find American synth in all its forms to be very interesting with bands like Assemblage 23, Informatik, God Module etc. This band is not an exception.

Cesium_137 are from Philadelphia and they started their career in 1998. Their music reminds you very much of the work done by Assemblage 23. This is not a coincidence though Tom Shear (the man behind Assemblage 23) has been in the producing process behind the bands first demo 'The Art of Controlling and Composing'. He has also done a remix of the track "Language without Lies". The band has done a full album 'Advanced/Decay' and two singles, 'The Fall' and 'Regrets'. Shortly after 'Regrets' was released, the planes struck the World Trade Center and the band member Matthew Cargil left the band to join the army. The trio became a duo and began working on their second full album witch this review is all about.

The album is a pleasant mix of synth, EBM and some other types of dance music. The singer Petra Deluca contributes on some of the tracks and that makes a much more dynamic flow. None of the tracks is an outstanding favourite of mine, the album is evenly good. It's strong and well put together. Furthermore, it's a very, very good album.

This review was written 2004 and initially published on Neurozine.com Jan 01 2004