Toxic Aeon - Synthetic Senses

When I first set my eyes on Toxic Aeon I could not help but think there was too much of a standard going on with this EBM/Aggrotech act. Their first music video is for the song 'God Bless Amerika'; good looking  cybergoth girls dance in the back and foreground while replacing the 'c' in America with a 'k' was just bringing out more of the standard. That being said, the music video was well shot and the music was fairly well produced and wasn't overproduced or blasted to shreds as that seems to be popular in the industrial scene. 


That being said I decided to click the download link I was provided with from the E-Mail sent to me via Toxic Aeon and checked out their debut album Synthetic Senses. Right away, just like with the music video, I knew this would be a banger for the cybergoth scene the world over. Science fiction, quasi-political messages, and stompy basslines all contribute to my previous statement; I'm just glad the album is not overproduced or shoddily put together. 

We're led into the album by 'Loading in Progress' which takes some cinematic turns, electronic notes, and drum'n'bass to good use. I don't think it properly represented the album, however, and it's one minute and three second length could have been scrapped just to get us straight into the music. 'Dermafix' brings us into a factory with mechanical noises and four-on-the-floor dance beats. When the screaming hits a similar fascination takes control with the rest of the Aggrotech world. 

Most of the songs on the album follow a similar fashion playing off cybergoth styles and subculture while maintaining an aggressive dancefloor feeling. Songs such as the previously mentioned 'God Bless Amerika' tend to stray away from that sound with a bit of a noisy and crunchy delivery and cleaner vocals mixed with the vocals, But, for the most part, you're getting that club groove. 

Toxic Aeon is good at what they do and while their album may not be completely revitalizing or an album that will be sung for its innovative hooks and melodies, it is higher quality aggrotech and not your shitty bedroom producer's affair. I do think Toxic Aeon will be able to move forward and mature their sound a bit more later on down the line, but for now Synthetic Senses remains as a good effort and one that should put them on the map. 
Aug 05 2016