CD, InfeKted Sound, 2007
www.sintechnologies.co.uk
The greatest peril one is always faced with when listening to full-length industrial/rhythmic noise albums (the possibility of eardrum trauma notwithstanding!) is that of similarity: a 30-minute-plus live set is far more than a selection of songs, and that something fails to translate in many cases. More often than not, the listener is faced with more distorted virtual drums than they can handle without the added euphoria-inducing benefits of other people dancing, screaming and partaking in alcoholic – or possibly narcotic – enhancements. Queynte’s “Sincarnate” falls, for the most part, into this category.
Subsequently, apart from having the filthiest name for a band this side of extreme death metal (“queynte” being a Middle English slang term for the female genitalia) and some cleverly manipulated samples, there isn’t very much on offer here that’s particularly original. Luckily, what is provided is of above average quality. It’s also quite interesting to note how Queynte typifies how modern industrial has progressed from the guitar-driven grind of the 90s into pure digital noise; in many ways, “Sincarnate” puts one in mind of late-70s experimental projects like SPK, only the samples are electronically looped and sequenced, rather than created live, and at much higher tempo, while maintaining a similar level of minimalism based around intense percussive treatments. “Methylphenidate” is the only track to break completely from this mold, skirting along the edge of ambient noise.
The additional remixes on the CD add value to the product, injecting much-needed generated sounds into the mix. The Hyperdriver and Coreline mixes, especially, deliver the aural equivalent of circuit-bent root canal work, without the benefit of anesthesia, and a hard, driving EBM bassline (something often missing in industrial music) respectively. All in all, it’s a good record, but more variety could make it a great record.
[7/10]
— David vander Merwe