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Unter Null
Absolution EP

Alfa Matrix

Posted: Friday, December 08, 2006
By: Ilker Yücel
Editor

The second of Unter Null's twin EP set picks up right where Sacrament left off, only with more remixes this time. Two new tracks appear on Absolution, continuing to showcase Erica Dunham's impressive skills at creating songs that are as hard-hitting as anything her terror EBM contemporaries dish out, yet with just enough hints of toying with sound and progression to help them rise above the usual conventions of the genre. "Disgrace" is a deceptively simple dance track, with those sweeping pads we all know and love to give it an ambient tone, but it is on Dunham's vocals where the track shines. Ever present is the distortion, but the airy high notes midway through the track, as well as her clean melodies in the tail end give "Disgrace" a lovely personality. The second new track, "Endtime" brings us some more evil synth tones and minor-key progressions amidst some rather nice drum programming. Like "Watch You Die" from the Sacrament EP, this track reminds of later Front Line Assembly. Schlaut's version of "Endtime" has some mystical sounding synth effects to give it flavor, while Mnemonic's mix goes for a much more minimal approach with ringing ambience and subtle glitches. The original version of "Prophecy" is dubiously placed on Absolution, making it somewhat superfluous when listening to the two EPs back-to-back. First Black Pope's remix, however, does well to deconstruct the song into a complex arrangement of searing distorted beats, creating a power noise cornucopia. Closing things out is Headscan's remix of "This is Your End" from Sacrament, a particularly interesting version that somehow transforms the mournful undertones of the original into an upbeat, almost electroclash style head-bopper. In the end, the Absolution EP closes out the twin EP set on a high note. Due credit should be given to Erica Dunham for creating music that is as suitable for attentive listening through headphones as it is for club goers to lose themselves to on the dance floors. Here's hoping she can maintain this blend of quality production and effective songwriting on future releases.