A good number of industrial bands that began in the 1980s still exist in some form or another. Very few of these bands do so on the strength of four full albums, the most recent of which was released ten years after the previous album. Such is
Die Warzau. Originally founded in 1987 by Jim Marcus and Van Christie, the duo put out three albums, culminating in the critically acclaimed
Engine (1995). Unlike many "obscure" bands, the ten years that lapsed between
Engine and 2005's
Convenience was not due to label woes. The two main artists simply decided to take a hiatus from Die Warzau to work on other projects.
Convenience was worth the wait. While Die Warzau never shied away from its industrial roots, it also has never hesitated to deviate from the usual non-melodic noise. This constant melding and reworking of electronic, dance, funk, jazz, industrial and Jim Marcus's expressive vocals come to fruition on
Convenience.
"Glare" off of
Convenience and
Vinyl 88 (2008):
Part EP and part best-of,
Vinyl 88 was released in 2008, perhaps in an effort to combat
Convenience's rapidly occurring out-of-print status.
Vinyl 88 includes six new tracks and 10 others from the previous four albums. Songs from
Convenience remain pretty much unchanged while tracks from the first three albums have been tweaked and remixed to bring forward Marcus's vocals and to create a cohesive album. Considering that only
Engine and
Vinyl 88 are easily available from Amazon.com, the compilation is a good choice if
Convenience isn't available. (As of 1/12/09, a Google shopping search reaped
Convenience available through Walmart!)
Abney Park has a new album, Aether Shanties, coming out Dec. 1st. Captain Robert has posted a two of the tracks for download.
Tapping the Vein's second album, Another Day Down, is available from Amazon.com and is as solid as their first.
