Interface Beyond Humanity CD

New York’s Interface combines elements of darker EBM, trance, and industrial, all with a melodic, emotional edge. Founded and led by Eric Eldredge, plus keyboardist Jon Billian. Originally signed to Tinman Records, who released The Artemis Complex (1999) and Angels in Disguise (2002), Interface has reached audiences worldwide with tracks such as “Wasted Time”, as well as numerous compilation and remix appearances.These tracks will grab you, hook you and make you dance! Imagine Funker Vogt, Kraftwerk, Assemblage 23 and cut.rate.box all rolled into one. Plus, with remixes by Combichrist, Stromkern, Assemblage 23, Imperative Reaction and (well known trance DJ) Sean Tyas, how can you go wrong?The album starts with a short, spatial ambient intro with some sci-fi post-apocalyptic spoken word samples and then jumps right into the pounding beats and futuristic theme with "Age of Computers". The vocoded vocals are a nice touch on this track giving it that mechanical and over-the-top digital feeling (or lack of feeling). However, the melodic vocals interspersed between the mechanical gives the track a human touch and should really please synthpop fans. This theme of Beyond Humanity remains strong throughout the album providing a cohesive theme and smooth transition between tracks making the entire album nice to listen to. A few tracks have various samples included which add some nice accents to each piece. "Mind Killer" builds on this feature and some harsher vocals and heavy bass and beats for another excellent dance track that has quickly become a favorite on this disc. This heavier, more aggressive tone and harsh vocals is actually more of the exception, which is nice in today's onslaught of vocals that sound like the vocalist has gargled gasoline. Adding some nice variety to the album are the mid-tempo pieces "Wonderland" and "Insomniac" with a heavy, but smooth trip-hop beat and non-distorted vocals. "Stranger in a Strange Land" also moves away from the industrial edge with some smooth, melodic synth loops and clear vocals. We're also treated with a moving instrumental piece "Despair" which builds on some solid synth loops and dance-friendly beats. And really moving into another realm is "Beyond Human" which takes the name to a new level with all computerized vocals while the music creates a moving, dance-friendly atmosphere. And to wrap up the original tracks on the album is the track "Faith in Nothing" which jumps back into the harder edged industrial rhythms and slight distortion. This powerful piece provides a nice ending to the regular album tracks ending on a strong note. --Gothic ParadiseInterface arrives finally after a long 3 year wait since Angels In Disguise in July 2002. The album begins with a moody sample taken from the film Equilibrium, setting the futuristic and somewhat dystopian theme of the album as seen from the full opening track The Age of Computers, its a strong dancey number that should be popular on the dancefloors. The next track is the first display of the harder Funker Vogt-ish feeling of some of the tracks here. Wonderland is a slower paced tune that really displays the bands song writing skills, it would work well in acoustic form with just guitar and vocal. Track 5 - Despair, is an instrumental ending in a nice uplifting almost euphoric trance style. The albums title track Beyond Human continues the futuristic theme with heavily vocoded Kraftwerkian voice accompanyied by electro beeps and moving again into a straighforward almost euphoric trance for the second half. It can appear to be an odd mix if you arent famililar with the genre, with some loving the first half but not the final half because of the change into openly trance influenced coming into effect so sharply. More science fiction theming in Stranger In A Strange Land, another slower paced track about change, the fear of it and its necessity. Track 8 - Insomniac is the albums weakest track for me with just not alot happening in it. Nob