List | F | Front 242 | '00:00:02:42 Angels Versus Animals' MCD 1993

Track:	Name:	Time:
1.	Animal Radio	3:29
2.	Angel Wipe Out	5:00
3.	Serial Killers Don't Kill Their Dog Either	5:06
4.	Modern Angel KMFDM Remix	4:22
5.	Animal Extended	4:00
6.	Break Me Female	4:02
7.	Der Verfluchte Engel	6:36
8.	L'Ange Moderne	5:31
9.	Born To Breathe	17:56
	Total	56:06

Comments:

This is a mini-album with remixes from 05:22:09:12 Off, as well as one new track. The remixes are very different, ranging from opera style to speed-techno-thrash (even within the same song!), some very noisy.

The radio mix of 'Animal' is a bit like Animal (zoo) but with some added drumloops and dist guitars. It's very powerful in this state, yet a bit poppier than the previous versions. 'Angel (wipe out)' is almost completely remade; it's slow, heavy and funky, then fast and speedy, and with quite a bit of added dist guitars. It's almost like an alternative rock band instead of 242. Interesting to hear, but I'm glad that 242 didn't decide to go this way in the future, like too many other old synth bands (hey kids, can we say Die Krupps?). 'Serial Killers Don't Kill Their Dog Either' is a rather amusing name for a remix of 'Serial Killers Don't Kill Their Girlfriend', but most of the original track has been stripped away here (apart from the chanting girl and some vocals & FX) and replaced with hip-hop style funky drumloops, making it an entirely different track. There are still some dreamy parts with the girl sample, but all the creepiness is gone.

The KMFDM remix of 'Modern Angel' is much closer to the original than 'wipe out' is, but with some KMFDM feel to it, like added dist guitars and altered drums. It's quite good. The extended mix of 'Animal' is very much like the radio version, only longer (gee, really?) so I won't waste much space on that, except to say it's probably my favourite version of this song. Instead, onwards to 'Break Me', which is based around a short vocal snippet from 'Animal', "break me" (naturally). Apart from the sample, it's fairly focused on the deep bassline, with some FX and other sounds thrown in, sort of instrumental.

'Der Verfluchte Engel' starts off with nothing but distorted noises, then a half-tempo thrashed bassdrum and a slow drumloop. This makes it a rather funky and almost trancey tune, until the bassline from Happiness kicks in, reminding us that this track is usually twice as fast. The track is also filled with super-disted vocal snippets from 'Angel', but not enough to keep me from labelling this as an instrumental track. The noise and tension keep building throughout the track, making it gain power to a point near the end, when everything just drops off and leaves you with the noise orgy of the intro. In sharp contrast with that is 'L'Ange Moderne', which starts off with a slow piano part and some of those operatic female vocals. It's quite soft and relaxing, and with some soft strings and horns as well, with an all-over orchestral sound. Until the speed-techno-trash breaks, that is. The noise seems so much noisier in between the slow parts, and the two styles seem to progess on their own within the track, like if you accidently switch between two radio stations with drastically different music playing two entirely different (yet mysteriously well synced) tracks.

The new track, 'Born To Breathe', is a slow and noisy funky rap-style song, with lots of disted guitar. Umm... waitaminute - rap?! Yep, the old 242 even experiment a little with rap here, with guest vocalist Eran Westwood (you didn't think J-L was rapping, did you?). Then, after the actual song, the real noise begins; a heavily distorted guitar sound that loops and loops and loops and loops and loops and loops and loops and loops and... well, you get the picture. It gets a bit annoying after a while. One minute is fun. Twelve minutes is a pain. The last minute of the track is more like music though; a disted techno-style track, fairly fast and bouncy.

As for the 'code' in the title: I really don't think it has anything to do with the codes on 06:21:03:11 Up Evil and 05:22:09:12 Off, but you could probably figure that one out for yourself.

All in all, it's a very good remix album if you like '05:22:09:12 Off' and think it should have been a bit noisier. I like both. A pity there weren't any remixes of 'Crushed', but I suppose that would sort of destroy the title of this CD. (...but didn't 'Serial Killers' already do that...?)

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