MXD deliver pure metropolitan futuristic obsession

Can  frustration be  fuel? For the Swiss electro-big beat MXD the answer is  yes, from the moment that their fourth  CD, "Frustration is Fuel", is such a bomb that will detonate with major explosion in the electro- scene. Released on 1 November in France and Switzerland only, it will hit the general market in early 2006, and surely it  will be an event for the scene, due to the high  quality of the product. It's no longer  a mystery that Switzerland is such a cradle of inspiration and brilliant artists concerning all matter Metal/Gothic/Dark and Rock. So please let's avoid to be narrow- minded and let's include Electro/Cyber Metal (attention!! Electrometal and not Metal) in the Olympus of our obscure musical realm, but only when it's Electrometal of finest, that makes honor  to the name. Though  i am devotee of Death, Black and Doom i never barricade a good approach with  Industrial or Electro, when they are heavy, haunting, scratching, assaulting, threatening and lost in infinite threat  themselves.  With this album, MXD deliver pure metropolitan futuristic obsession, that will even appeal to an open minded true metaller,  and though a couple of tracks could be questionable, most of the songs are close to libido standard. The opener Roxygen  together with B-Trial, Ictus, Urban Drive, Hockenheim, Pandemonium and A Meaning of Life simply kick some serious ass. Related with MXD, any comparison with  The Chemical Brothers can sound weak. The way to set electro-synthetic sounds maybe can remember of The Chemical Brothers, but here, with MXD, we deal  with tons of heaviness. Under this point of view, MXD are closer to Rammstein (Hockenheim) or to some proposals coming from UK, like Concept 7. Beside synthetic-industrial and electro -techno-noise, MXD use embedded guitar riffs and pulsing hammering frequencies that are earthshaking, for  example  Ictus and Urban Desert. Though  suitable for dance and club, MXD are massive, powerfully driven, at times even brutal and psychotorturers. Moreover this album, fully coherent in style,  is satisfactory varied concerning melodies, loops and ideas, therefore we can enjoy also  melodic and goth oriented moments as in   B-Trial.

The tracks that i cannot stand are Megadrive, inspired by the monotonic rhythm of a train, powerful but repetitive and good only for hypnotic  electrodance; and Fuel, that, though having a soft  spot for hardcore , comes out too crude and repetitive. But if i don't consider these 2 tracks as musically relevant , it doesn't mean  that i don't realize that technically they too are well structured for  an electro-techno trip. 3 other tracks, Sweet & Sour, WIDKW and  Week-end Bizarre , show on the contrary, elements of interests : Sweet & Sour combines ritual darkness  with easy going melodic hooks , the nervous WIDKW combines alienation, pain and rock, while Week-end Bizarre is ...bizarre indeed, and somehow tribal, not my cup of blood but original nonetheless. 

 

And now the champions: Roxygen is the opener full of beat: Modern metal morphed into Electro that could make the joy of vampire hunter Blade in person, if he only would exist. B-Trial (available for download at MXD's official page) is a little jewel of  cold yet suggestive Melodic Electro Goth, just a bit in the wake of Secret Discovery (an influence already pointed out  concerning the previous CD "Musicogenic") ; B-Trial is enhanced by deep, warm yet very  energetic vocals . Ictus mixes all influences: from electro till techno /acid with the add of  metal riffs, it is a masterpiece of angry, futuristic music, the  vocal approach becomes here rawer  and  often noisy synthetic distorted. This song is the true fuel of the album and  erupts in an enthralling  and powerful refrain. This track is also a kind of little summary of the historic  electro-path: in fact you can find also elements of the German school dating back to early Kraftwerk. And, in spite of its strong techno characteristics, you cannot but bang your head  madly. 

Urban Desert is metropolitan paranoia supported by  guitar riffs and catchy melodic  industrial tones, we could also  say that here Sulpher meet the anxiety of Static X. On the contrary, catchy loop and German oriented heaviness are the protagonists of Hockenheim sung in German. Pandemonium shows Middle Eastern, exotic inspirations, while  A Meaning of Life is more complex with total  acid ambience and a cool stop-start in the middle of the track.

In all these songs too  there is  a  quantity of hypno- repetitivity/reiterate loops, but perfectly balanced by enjoyable variation and unpredictable phrases: the best ones are reached in Ictus, written in memory of Oscar Duany. 

Innovative enough  and cyber-mighty: bravo , les gars!