Over the course of time I’ve spent reviewing, I’ve been lucky enough to collaborate with a number of PR companies and labels, covering a wide variety of artists and genres and in recent times, one of the labels I’ve highlighted has been FiXT. Based in Detroit, U.S, and founded by workaholic visionary Klayton, its home to artists like CELLDWELLER (Klayton himself) and BLUE STAHLI, and focuses primarily on electronic music; ranging from synth-pop and EDM to industrial and aggrotek…slowly but surely, the label has steadily been growing in success and as a result, its roster has been growing in numbers. Recently, Klayton dusted off (pun intended) CIRCLE OF DUST, a heavy industrial metal beast that was prominent in the 1990’s and introduced a lot of fans to a back catalogue of music showcasing his heavier history…but it’s not the only thing to resurface and, as it turns out, he isn’t the only musical member of his family! Let me introduce you to LVL…formerly known as LEVEL, it was formed by one Mr Dan Levler (Dan Albert, Klayton’s brother) and back in 1999 he released his sophomore album “Devil’s Advocate”…now, in 2017 it’s been remastered with 7 additional bonus tracks and will be available digitally for the first time ever on September 8th courtesy of FiXT…the question is, are FiXT going to level-up? Or have we found a glitch? Let’s find out…
The album opens up with “She: Backslide” and after some brief, semi-pleasurable, almost sadistic screams, we’re greeted with some fairly basic drum & bass style percussion accompanying generic crunching riffs…to a degree up-tempo but to another degree a little repetitive…there are basic breakdowns and key changes, brief pauses allowing for certain progressive qualities but vocally it’s a little rough, almost demo-like in places…and it ends really quite abruptly too which sounds a little off…a faltering start. “Best Way Out” follows up and here we’re given a far more metal-based offering…the riffs are meatier, there’s more weight behind them and there’s an anger within Dan’s vocals this time around…it’s very much of its era, bridging the gap between grunge rock and the early days of nu-metal…utilising the electronic elements to offer a slightly different sound for its time, fans of say, PITCHSHIFTER would appreciate this…this is better.
Further highlights include “Caught Slick”; a complete contrast in style comparatively…it’s incredibly light electronica, it’s gentle and almost aquatic…the synth carrying an almost bubbly tone and as a result we’re given a far calmer track, before the end sadly spoils things with its randomly included chugging guitar and another complete cut-off…the title track on the other hand kicks into life with a sense of assertiveness…we’re back with attitude; edgy, riff-laden guitar and raw, shouted vocals layered within a generally industrial tone gives this track a feeling of STATIC-X inspired metal however yet again, the ending feels cut short, it’s a reoccurring problem that hampers the record, while “She: This Time” closes the album, similar in style but not as heavy, leaning more towards the style of say, early ORGY. Sadly however, the majority of the record fails to excite…”Downplay” is rather lacklustre, it’s quite lifeless with a dull vocal tone, despite the brass inclusion peaking some interest while “Hero Zero” has a real, slow, foreboding, generally depressing feel and suffers similarly to the aforementioned…before 6 of the 7 bonus tracks ultimately waste your time purely as instrumentals…there’s virtually no need for them. There IS a Circle Of Dust remix of “Backslide” at the end but, it’s too little too late. While die-hard fans would appreciate this album getting a second lease of life, especially with the additional content, and yes, it did in its own way help develop the sounds and styles honed by the rosters main stays today, it’s a shame it just hasn’t aged well since its first release on CD nearly 20 years ago…if you like your electronica dreary with occasional metal dabbling’s, you might find something of value here but, personally, this isn’t even a glitch, it’s a corrupt file. [4]
The album opens up with “She: Backslide” and after some brief, semi-pleasurable, almost sadistic screams, we’re greeted with some fairly basic drum & bass style percussion accompanying generic crunching riffs…to a degree up-tempo but to another degree a little repetitive…there are basic breakdowns and key changes, brief pauses allowing for certain progressive qualities but vocally it’s a little rough, almost demo-like in places…and it ends really quite abruptly too which sounds a little off…a faltering start. “Best Way Out” follows up and here we’re given a far more metal-based offering…the riffs are meatier, there’s more weight behind them and there’s an anger within Dan’s vocals this time around…it’s very much of its era, bridging the gap between grunge rock and the early days of nu-metal…utilising the electronic elements to offer a slightly different sound for its time, fans of say, PITCHSHIFTER would appreciate this…this is better.
Further highlights include “Caught Slick”; a complete contrast in style comparatively…it’s incredibly light electronica, it’s gentle and almost aquatic…the synth carrying an almost bubbly tone and as a result we’re given a far calmer track, before the end sadly spoils things with its randomly included chugging guitar and another complete cut-off…the title track on the other hand kicks into life with a sense of assertiveness…we’re back with attitude; edgy, riff-laden guitar and raw, shouted vocals layered within a generally industrial tone gives this track a feeling of STATIC-X inspired metal however yet again, the ending feels cut short, it’s a reoccurring problem that hampers the record, while “She: This Time” closes the album, similar in style but not as heavy, leaning more towards the style of say, early ORGY. Sadly however, the majority of the record fails to excite…”Downplay” is rather lacklustre, it’s quite lifeless with a dull vocal tone, despite the brass inclusion peaking some interest while “Hero Zero” has a real, slow, foreboding, generally depressing feel and suffers similarly to the aforementioned…before 6 of the 7 bonus tracks ultimately waste your time purely as instrumentals…there’s virtually no need for them. There IS a Circle Of Dust remix of “Backslide” at the end but, it’s too little too late. While die-hard fans would appreciate this album getting a second lease of life, especially with the additional content, and yes, it did in its own way help develop the sounds and styles honed by the rosters main stays today, it’s a shame it just hasn’t aged well since its first release on CD nearly 20 years ago…if you like your electronica dreary with occasional metal dabbling’s, you might find something of value here but, personally, this isn’t even a glitch, it’s a corrupt file. [4]
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