List | F | Front 242 | '05:22:09:12 Off' CD 1993

Track:	Name:	Time:
1.	Animal Cage	3:00
2.	Animal Gate	3:02
3.	Animal Guide	2:44
4.	Modern Angel	4:12
5.	Junkdrome	7:35
6.	Serial Killers Don't Kill Their Girlfriend	5:58
7.	Skin Fur Coat	3:59
8.	GenEcide	6:53
9.	Crushed	6:13
10.	offEND	1:38
11.	Animal Zoo	4:02
12.	Serial Killers Don't Kill Their Boyfriend	3:09
13.	Happiness More Angels	6:39
14.	Crushed Obscene	4:09
15.	Melt Again	5:06
16.	Speed Angels	2:52
	Total	71:11

Comments:

This album is somewhat in the same style as 06:21:03:11 Up Evil, at least if you compare it to older 242 stuff. These two new ones aren't really that much alike, but they have more in common with each other than with any of the old ones. This album is in general more techno-ey and often with female vocals. Yes, really - 242 with female vocals. Believe me, singer 99 Kowalski (normally in N.Y. band Spill) sounds great with distorted voice. Those new elements are mixed in with the style of 06:21:03:11 Up Evil, especially the use of synths and sounds. There doesn't seem to be any guitars of this album, but maybe I've just missed them.

The album starts off with three versions of 'Animal', but since they're so different you don't get bored. The first one is really just an ambient intro, and the second a minimalistic version with drums, bass and gated distorted female vocals. In the third, the vocals are male instead, and not gated. It's also a bit richer in sound.

'Modern Angel' starts off with a tinkly intro and then progresses into a screaming aggro-techno track with shouted and disted female vocals over a pulsating techno beat. Occasionally, this noisy tune breaks off and you hear an angelic almost opera-style female voice, that gets gated after a few seconds and then the song kicks in again. It then tinkles out the way it started, leaving room for 'Junkdrome'. It's essentially a remix of 'Crapage' off (no pun intended) 06:21:03:11 Up Evil, and pretty nice one at that. I think someone (was it the legendary Al Crawford?) described it as Jean-Michel Jarre on steroids, and it's not an entirely unfair comparison. It's sweeping, swooshing and tinkly, and then it starts stomping to a hard techno beat and with an evil bassline.

'Serial Killers Don't Kill Their Girlfriend' is again quite different from anything else 242 has done before. It's a slow, funky, disted beat (not unlike Circling Overland but more thrashed) with some creepy disted vocals, nearly whispered, from this strange and scary character that hides under your bed. It's probably as scary as 242 has ever been, really cold, noisy and creepy. At the same time, it's a bit funny; it seems like he's really enjoying being this super-evil character. The ending has a looped female voice chanting "I can just be myself" forwards and backwards over a sweeping soundscape, reminding me quite a bit of 'Little Fluffy Clouds' by The Orb, a band that has worked with 242 on several previous occasions. I wish I had that excellent song of theirs.

'Skin' (fur coat)' is like 'Junkdrome' an instrumental remix from 06:21:03:11 Up Evil, more techno-ey and blippy, and with a superb drumloop inserted at certain points in the track to induce some extra power.

Another tinkly intro starts off 'GenEcide', which then bounces into a harsh techno-like near-instrumental track with some occasional female vocals, alternatively angelic or disted and shouted. The track then fades out much like it started.

'Crushed' is a beautiful slow track with sweeping blips and soft female vocals over a funky beat, almost like a smoother yet more noisy version of Edge to Life by Recoil. The vocals are, while soft and sometimes whispered, sometimes also disted, creating an agonising atmosphere. Someone is not happy here. It's a lovely track though, and it bothers me somewhat that the intro has been used for some MTV adverts; you jump out of your seat thinking "finally MTV plays some good music!" only to discover it's a damn advert. Why do MTV never play the good music they have in their ads? Because they're so fucking focused on being commercial.

The name of track 10 seems rather amusing; since it ends at a total time of 45:13 I guess this is where the LP version of the album ended. This is my kind of humour. After this 'official' ending of the album, the remixes take over. Starting off is yet another version of 'Animal' but this one seems like the 'real' version, with disted female vocals (not gated) and a lot more sounds than the minimalistic 'gate' version. You can actually make out a certain chorus here, which was quite hard to discover in the other version. This version is also more aggressive and noisy, and very good. The second version of 'Serial Killers' is shorter and noiser, and possibly with heavier drums. There are less vocals, and the creepy feeling of the first version is replaced by a more outright and direct terror. 'Happiness' is a remix of 'Modern Angel', but more focused on the (film?) vocal sample "I want you to find happiness" and on the pulsating bassline. The operatic bits have also gotten some more room. It's kind of like an extended instrumental version, with more and dancier beats, and with more bleeps and little noises. 'Crushed (obscene)' is more minimalistic than the first version, more beats and less sweeps. I suppose the 'obscene' name was given because you can more clearly make out the vocals here, and especially the part where she sings "fuck me" and other seedy parts. 'Melt (again)' is, naturally, a remix of 'Melt' off 06:21:03:11 Up Evil. This version is a bit more noisy and twisted, but not too unlike the original. It also seems a bit funkier, but perhaps that's just because there are bits where there are only vocals and drums, I'm not sure about that. Closing the album is another remix of 'Modern Angel', but as the title suggests this is a bit more 'speedy' and noisy.

The number code in the title is (supposedly) the same as on 06:21:03:11 Up Evil, so check out the comments on that album to crack it. To my knowledge, there were no singles released from this album, except perhaps 'Animal'. The reason I'm not sure is because 'Animal' was most definitely released on the remix mini-album 00:00:02:42 Angels Versus Animals along with remixes of (naturally) 'Modern Angel'. The concept of a mini-remix album wasn't really a new 242 idea; they did the same thing with Mixed By Fear.

All in all, this is indeed an excellent album as well; different enough from 06:21:03:11 Up Evil but with the same sort of 'feel' and aggression, although perhaps somewhat 'softer' yet still more agonizing. Although the songs are in more varied styles than on 06:21:03:11 Up Evil, it's got very much of an album feel. Very, very good. A modern classic.

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