First and most definitely foremost, let us take a minute to remember Adam Waters. His noted contributions here, “3 AM” and “Nubian”, are the incarnation of something big that managed to storm its way through the cusp that was between the time and space held by a potentially explosive and tenacious partnership between Lenny Bogatch & Mr. Waters, and then his recent passing away. These tracks are quite assuredly the most noteworthy in the album. The album itself is more than just a step above previous Cenotype (US), it is the next phase. While Adam may be gone, Lenny seems to be taking to a more cinematic direction with his efforts, and this newer, more seasoned posture leaves no doubt that he either knows what he’s doing, or he knows who to let touch his art. “The Hour Before” displays both these avenues.
While I count Cenotype as one of the very few projects I know of that can properly carry the flag of Industrial Dance music, and not just be another Das Ich or VNV Nation, I have to admit that I was only ready to face up to some decent 4/4s… at best. “Let the Blade Speak” is what I expected. So is the Vynilrob version “Unearthed in Brooklyn”. That leads me to one of the more selling of points about this album, that it is comprised of both very decent mixes by other parties, as well as new originals, all of which push Cenotype ahead. The tracks done with Waters show an intricacy that I feel is essential in keeping this particular branch of the Industrial community respectable.
I would love to see a print-out of the insane midi-mapping/sequencing that I am almost positive went into creating “3 AM”. The array of sounds is itself jaw-dropping, let alone the many directions, tempos and velocities they are struck with. “Nubian” is a monster track. The moderate, well sequenced build of the album lets this track come up on you the way it should. A rather intimidating selection, it is a tone-setter for the tracks that have been manipulated for the close of the disc.
These last three remixes are the stuff that makes yarn-haired girls pack the dance floor, the one I favor most being Intoner’s remix of “She’s Dead… Requiem”. The production here is showing progression without question. The clarity of the sound engineering/mastering is also very much worth noting, as it is crisp, near-immaculate. Clearly, these tracks were meant to be played loud. Both by design, and composition.
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Rating: 5/5
Label: Industry8 / Format: CD / Cat. # i8-04