CD, Noitekk/COP International, 2007
www.myspace.com/xentrifuge
New Jersey-based Xentrifuge defines their name as “a machine in which devastation is manufactured.” Fitting I think, considering that every track on their debut album “Light Extinguished” pours on the sonic annihilation like a wrecking ball to the aural senses.
Xentrifuge would probably fall into the “Terror EBM” category. However, they have purposely attempted to separate themselves from the pack of Suicide Commando and Hocico clones by not only dropping the all-too-familiar techno synthlines and clean four-on-the-floor kicks, but adding a surprisingly refreshing “old school” Industrial sound to their music. Don’t let that scare you off: each track here is quite intricate, pushing out an unavoidable wall of sound, spitting harsh, distorted beats, creepy synthlines, and sharp vocals with unrelenting maniacal force. Right from the opener “Disembodied”, the listener is slapped across the face with a dark, hard, and menacing rampart of sound; effectively demonstrating the band’s complexity and depth. Without offering the listener a moment to breathe, “Ceremonial Ruins” smacks the other cheek with a blood-curdling scream followed by massive beats, pulsating synthlines, and dirty vocals. This is pure aggression; raw, focused and sincere, with a revolution of a new breed of harsh Industrial music in mind. It doesn’t stop there. Take the fifth track “ICBM” for instance: a momentary slip of distortion and the throbbing beats kick in, quickly joined by an entourage of fierce rhythms, stuttering noise, mysterious underlying samples, and sparsely placed vocals, allowing the cycle of brutality to make its way through the tympanic membranes of the ear and straight into the bloodstream.
“Light Extinguished” has girth, drive, and pure adrenaline that successfully injects a much-needed classic Industrial sound back into the harsh EBM genre. This should appeal to fans of Tactical Sekt and notable fellow newcomers such as Wynardtage and Acylum.
[7/10]
— Paul Nielsen