Schkeuditzer Kreuz-No Life Left album review. FFO: Dystopian D-Beat Industrial Masterpiece.

July 07, 2023

Schkeuditzer Kreuz-No Life Left album review. FFO: Dystopian D-Beat Industrial Masterpiece.

Second album problems, no chance with this wise punk wizard steering the mayhemic Schkeuditzer Kreuz. Crushing, engaging and overall a better album than the debut. Strap your brain in for some distorted electro-brilliance.

SK is the awesome hard as hell, doomy/depressive gloom fest of Kieren from Darkhorse and numerous other noteworthy punk bands. No Life Left again dips into that nostalgic region of classic industrial aka Skinny Puppy, Einstürzende Neubauten, Front 242 etc mixed with a loud version of dark electroclash underground techno. No Life Left works extremely well, it's as psycho as much as disrupting thee psyche.

The new release is eight tracks of banging SK classics that are all cross-genred as fuck, just as I love. It's nasty, raw and immense underground industrial techno that sounds punk as hell. Opener No Redemption gets the bleak shit happening with a ghastly sample and the forcible beats this project is known for. But this release has a few more tricks up its sleeves. This great track has some insane echoing and reverbed vocals that make it sound both thunderous and like there are several vocalists on the track.

Dead Alive is as wild, with a solid Discharge meets Skinny Puppy style opening and as always perfect sample placement to build the drama and mood. Kieren has that splendid gothy-punk vocals that are chilling and super energetic. Three Inch Scar has my fave opening beats, the chime-like synth delivered at the same time as an eerie sample of a weird child laughing was spot on. Plus from the two-minute mark has some wicked acidic techno magic going on, all with distorted tension and almost a breakdown-like ending.

Joy is the single and a killer choice, and also a clear indicator of the mammoth progression/step up on this album, the samples, and the synth work/programming is just wild, robotically entrancing and so apocalyptic. Sometimes you just need an animated and gloomy electronic sledgehammer to your face; well at least I do. And as I keep crapping on, I adore the brilliant intersection between punk, dark electronica and industrial. It is unique and heavy as hell. And transports you, like all proper and really crafted music should. Track five is the peppy Second Life that starts off with gunshot samples and is one blazing track. The tempo is insane and along with crazed samples is a huge highlight of this release with its structure and psychotic mood. Banger, banger, banger. And the synth on this is simply sensational and entrancing.

Ratchet is a super pleasant tempo and mood change in a glorious Snog(band)-like way. Dirty, weird psychedelic trance and divergent beats all through distortion and loud Marshall stacks. Another huge epic track. Loved this so much. Next another wild cover track like on the debut, this time Anti-Cimex's classic Victims of a Bomb Raid, but done with excellent delay effects and as noisy as hell, great version and very necessary.

Then one of the hugest tracks of the album, the colossal closer, Inside World; an end-of-world track of punishing beats, weird electronica and acidic doom.

What an album, one for the ages, one for the savages, the dancey, the punks and the goths and anyone else that wants to join the party. But an intense, action-packed and tremendous album and one that is one of the year's best.

Drops in August but get your pre-orders for all formats in as this will surely be an essential album for everyone with decent music taste. Plus SK is also doing a European/UK tour this year also. It's all happening as it should for this great.