01. A Far Gone Light
02. Lifeless Sentiments
03. The Fiend
04. I Come For You
05. Heartbeat
06. This Killing Emptiness
07. The Last Time
08. Shades Of Former Light
09. The Denial
10. Lost In Daze
"In contrast to other releases in the electro scene, the rhythmical structure of ICE AGES is more complicated and the tunes more polyphonic, making the band frontrunners and innovators of the genre. Richard does not follow trends or the vogue of the moment, but creates his unique and one-of-a-kind blend of dark and sluggish melodies... Threatening mechanical and electronic sounds form the foundation of the disparate tracks in which Richard performs his distorted and otherworldly vocals. The end result of this obscure mix is unique MELODIC INDUSTRIAL DARKWAVE that, with its clean production, allows each detail to ring out and invites the listener to follow ICE AGES into a dark and ominous sonic universe." >gothtronic.com
One of the reasons why many Industrial fans turn to the music's more esoteric/experimental subgenres like Power Noise or Martial Industrial is because today's so-called Hellectro/Harsh EBM/Dark Electro-Industrial scene is lacking innovation and many don't even sound like Industrial. In fact, many of them sound more like Trance than Electro-Industrial and the only Industrial element is the distorted vocal. The EBM basslines, Teutonic beats, harsh mechanical/metallic samples and noises are often non existent in the music. The scene's music is so generic that once you hear one band's album, you almost practically hear the entire Hellectro scene. The same boring 4/4 danceable beats, Trance-like synths, uninspiring basslines, ridiculous dialogue samples, and bad lyrics dominate the scene. It is a shame because Industrial music still has many unchartered sonic territories to be explored.
However, once in a while a minority of Electro-Industrial artists still make music that anyone who is not familiar with the scene go "Wow! That's cool!". Austria's Ice Ages is one example of such artists. Creative distorted beats, well-placed metallic/mechanical samples, foreboding Darkwave-like multi-layered synths, thought-provoking lyrics are the order of the day. Comparison is difficult 'cos no other artist sounds like Ice Ages. Some people call it Melodic Industrial Darkwave. There is some truth in it though, because Ice Ages sounds like early Leaether Strip meets Diary of Dreams. One of the songs is actually reminiscent of a song from Claus Larsen's Solitary Confinement album. This is what cutting-edge Electro-Industrial is supposed to sound like. All songs are full of layers and layers of sounds. Its complexity and intensity is complimented by Darkwave-like vocals. If the vocals were not distorted (and the pounding metallic/mechanical sounds were stripped), this album could be easily classified as Darkwave. Whatever it is called, this is a masterpiece.. [sk@ds]
EXTREMELY RECOMMENDED!
>>DOWNLOAD : This Killing Emptiness
