Is there such a thing as ‘Cheesy’ industrial music? Once this hybrid rock dance genre appeared to be a celebration of all that was challenging and pioneering in contemporary music. These days it appears that any hot shot thinks that they can conquer the industrial dance floor with a sampled Slayer riff, a chart friendly techno rhythm and a distorted Darth Vader impersonation.

Or in the words of Armalyte Industries co-founder Gilez Moorhouse, music which is "no more than hard chart techno with all the menace of a neutered rottweiler with dentures". He and Armalyte partner Dave Chapman (Of the band Punishment State) have recently issued this compilation to act as a platform for the various artists who have appeared on their live bills and to open up a forum for the unsung heroes of the industrial movement.

Perhaps the worthiest card in their deck is the long awaited first studio recording by popular live powerhouse Sulpher. Of all the bands to appear on an Armalyte stage, past experience would suggest Sulpher to be the most organic act on the CD. Well, surprise, surprise, as featured track ‘Fear Me’ has to be one of the most dance floor friendly tracks on offer. It may for the most part consist of a relentless techno pulse and Rob Holiday repeating the words "Fear the Needle" ad infinitum, but listen to the buzz saw guitars and try not to feel that Trent Reznor’s crown of all things cyber metal is about to slip!

Amongst those that shared the first Armalyte live bill alongside Sulpher (At the Violent New Breed Event) were the Pain Machinery. Whilst on the night the band suffered from a somewhat sub-standard sound mix, their representative track ‘Escape’ demonstrates just how perfect they can be in the right environment: A barrage of mental nosebleed distortion mixed with brooding 242 bass.

The other stars of Violent New Breed, Punishment State place a new mix of ‘Efficiency Born’ in the spotlight. Given a spacier, less intense re-make, the track is still a standout, although it’s easy to feel that the cinematic horror show of ‘Opium for the Masses’ or a newer track such as ’New Dawn’ would have sat better alongside the other tracks on offer. However, this remix is guaranteed to tie the masses over until we can follow the vodka trail to the State’s next live outing.

It’s easy to forget how long the Chaos Engine have been doing the rounds (Five years?) and ‘Custom Built For Anger’ deviates little from past Engine productions. Perhaps most notable for the versatile vocal palette it allows leader Lee H, a man who needs no voice coder, being one of the few industrial front men who can actually sing! It’s a great track, but as with all of The Chaos Engine’s studio output, it fails to capture the sheer barbarity of the bands live shows (Which are an experience unto themselves!).

I’ve been hard on The Saints Of Eden in the past, and maybe now is the time to readdress past misgivings; If only because ‘Slow Stay’ is possibly one of the finest elements of the compilation. A glacial, more ambient creature than much of the neuron bashing material on offer. Whilst such a sound was easily lost live, ‘The Cure gone trance’ fair far better in the studio and if anything display that the brain blending aesthetics that so many ‘alternative’ dance acts adhere to can be easily surpassed by a decent melody and haunting melancholia.

Many other old mates of Vision Thing also put in an appearance, including Oxime 187, Cubanate, K-Nitrate and The Aggression, as do Katscan (Who’ve been listening to far too much Gary Numan). As a compilation Def Con 1 assures us that new frontiers are still being broken within this ever expanding and exciting genre. Remember in the words of Armalyte themselves, it’s industrial evolution, not revolution.

Review from Vision Thing fanzine/webzine

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