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Dismantled
Breed to Death

Metropolis Records

Posted: Wednesday, March 29, 2006
By: Vince Sander

Dismantled, the brainchild of one Gary Zon, is one of those elektro artists that seems to be perpetually on the verge of something major. Despite achieving critical acclaim on previous outings, Dismantled has never quite battled to the forefront of the scene. Perhaps that will all change with the release of the upcoming Standard Issue; this precursor EP should give us some insight. Gary has enlisted production assistance from Isaac Glendering of Cesium 137 and he does great work. Value hounds should be happy as this EP priced like a single contains a full 10 tracks. There are three mixes of the title track, four of “The Swarm” from Post-Nuclear, original songs “War Dream” and “The Blind,” and a humorous cover of Paula Abdul’s “Straight Up” (maybe Gary’s getting hooked on American Idol?).

The EP leads off with the original version of “Breed to Death” and you could argue that it’s also the best… it’s definitely the most danceable. Zon has a one-of-a-kind vocal style that oscillates between a Trent Reznor whine and full-blown anger. Something else he does that I like is the mixing of multiple vocal FX and layers in the same song. The lyrics of this song are not only catchy but they reveal a true sense of anxiety toward people in his everyday life. The Xian “feed” Antkow Remix cranks the pace up but stays in a similar vein to the original. Psyclon 9 twists the vox until Gary sounds like a king cobra ordering at a Mc D’s drive-thru; while this adds even more rage, the synthpop confections layered on top keep things oddly light and infectiously groovy. Of the four different interpretations of “The Swarm,” Gary’s own Easy to Swallow Version is likely the most accessible and clubby. The Haujobb Remix almost seems like a metaphorical pun with Daniel Myer seeing just how much he can totally dismantle the track; it’s impressive in it’s brutal simplicity stripping the vocals down to the basic repetition of the phrase “on and off,” backed by a mega-distorted machine assault. Rudy of :Wumpscut: pulls another fast one on us by really slowing down his mix, often allowing Zon’s vocals to stand out in front, adding in some background snarls of his own and tossing in a new sample or two here and there. Daedal’s version is chaotic, shifting from calm minimalism to a hyper-fast breakbeat through the chorus. New track “The Blind” is basic four-on-the-floor EBM, but “War Dream” is a single in its own right with its clever percussion and sly chorus. What industrial EP is complete without a steamy Paula Abdul cover? Well nearly all of them I suppose, but this rocks pretty well. Funny stuff.

If this teaser EP is any indication, Gary has stepped it up and is ready to move on up to that deluxe apartment in the sky. You’ll be anxious to hear the album after taking this in.