REVIEWS

Buy this album from Amazon.com

Combichrist
Get Your Body Beat

Metropolis Records

Posted: Wednesday, June 14, 2006
By: Matthew Johnson
Assistant Editor

Andy LaPlegua's formula of pounding techno beats and violent lyrics has launched his Combichrist project to arguably greater popularity than Icon of Coil, the band that first brought him international acclaim. Last year's Everybody Hates You was inescapable; it was impossible to spend more than an hour in any industrial club without hearing "This S*it Will Fcuk You Up" or "This is My Rifle" and seeing the inevitable crush of people filling up the dance floor. The Get Your Body Beat EP is more club-friendly fun in the same vein, although none of the tracks have quite the same immediate hit potential. The title track has some nice hard acid sounds and lots of yelling, although some deliberate speaker overload effects make for a less than pleasant headphone experience. "Products" is notable for the contrast between its perky rhythms and LaPlegua's deadpan delivery of the demoralizing message that "You're just a product," while exclusive track "What the Fcuk" features a bit of self-deprecating humor in the form of sampled shouts denouncing Combichrist's music. The rest of the disc is filled out with remixes, with Manufactura's high-impact power noise version and Sergio Mesa's old-school acid house interpretation diverging the most from the original. KMFDM's mix is also interesting in that it sounds more like a stereotypical Combichrist song than even the original version, all old-school acid loops rather than the pugnacious guitars usually associated with the industrial rock superstars. Bonus track "DNA AM" slows things down with a bit of dark ambient, which is a welcome change of pace. While there's little doubt that this EP will be making its presence known in the clubs in the coming weeks and months, there's barely enough substance on the disc to whet a Combichrist fan's appetite. If you're obsessed with LaPlegua, you'll have already purchased this, of course, but more casual fans may want to wait for the full-length album in September.