It is a sad thing, indeed, when such unheard levels of homogeneity within one genre are reached that a compilation CD could very well pass itself off as one artist’s work. “United Vol II”, the latest label sampler from the German NoiTekk label, manages somehow to pull this off, though.
Despite some clever glitch-ridden rhythms from DYM (on “The Invillid”) that recall artists like Coreline, the softer piano stylings embedded in the harsh assault of Panic Lift (on “Everything I Have”) and the downtempo march called “Warsong” by Die Sektor, there is very little that stands out. Admittedly, Derma-Tek achieve an individual sound, even if this feat is only accomplished through the misuse of some particularly nasal female vocals on “Push Away”. Not even “Seventh Circle”, a 2008 track from scene stalwarts Aslan Faction, succeeds in creating some variance on this compilation.
Hellektro, aggrotech, endzeit or harsh EBM… Whatever you may call it, it’s a sad day for this genre of electronics. The only people that should buy this disc are DJs that are too impatient to wait for new albums from these acts. “United Vol II” is, quite simply, thirteen tracks of the same old tried and tested four-four industrial-esque percussion, atonal melodies and distorted vocals we’ve been afflicted with since the early ’90s in the form of Hocico, Aghast View and many, many others. Even though they may have some skill within the studio, it’s long past time for these artists to take a long, hard look at their music and figure out what they can do to revitalise
[4/10]
— David vander Merwe