CIRCLE OF DUST - ALT_Machines
Driving Into The Future
Heavy electronic music may not qualify as “metal,” but there is no doubt that when Klayton (Circle of Dust, Celldweller, Scandroid) releases new material, it will be of interest to some of our readers, many of whom have been entertained, inspired and challenged by Klayton’s music for the span of nearly 3 decades now. Not only is the music powerful, intricate and highly rhythmic, but the sci-fi world he creates is a reflection of the physical, social and political world around us today. And although no one attempts to describe the music of Klayton as “Christian,” there is no denying the sobering observations regarding human nature in his lyrics – truths and revelations worth heeding.
That said, alt_Humans is not a collection of entirely original tunes. Almost all of these songs were released previously in one form or another – most of them derived from 2016’s Machines Of Our Disgrace (see link). As has been Klayton’s way, nine of the songs from that album have been remixed by various artists in grand fashion. In fact, I would have to say that this is probably the best remix album I’ve heard from the Circle Of Dust/Scandroid/Celldweller catalog. So often I’ve observed that the remixes are not better than the originals, but sometimes complement the originals. I think some of these remixes are really, really strong and maybe even rival the original compositions. It is not uncommon for electronic music artists to “remix” each other’s songs as a form of flattery. Every one of these songs have been carefully remixed by the various artists you see listed (below) and the result is a collection of songs (previously released over the past year as digital singles) that exploit a different color and flavor of the often abrasive, sound-byte driven world of COD. The songs are driving, expansive rhythmic electronica – even cinematic at times.
While all of these songs are really good, the Zardonic remix of “Dust To Dust” (a new song from the upcoming 6th COD release) is one of my favorites, along with the all-new track “Drum Machines of Our Disgrace” – a fantastic medley of the musical themes from 3 songs from Machines of Our Disgrace (fun to figure out which 3). The final four tracks by Blue Stahli were previously released on each of the 2016 reissues (Circle Of Dust, Brainchild, Metamorphosis, Disengage) but it is great to have these excellent remixes of these classic tunes on this one disc, especially for those who may have missed out on some of those releases back in 2016.
Fans of strictly metal stay clear, but for those who love heavy, pulsating electronic music with a metal edge, check out this release along with 2016’s Machines Of Our Disgrace. And look forward to more new music from Circle of Dust soon.
Track Listing:
1. Humanarchy (Blue Stahli Remix) (3:24)
2. Neurachem (Voicieans Remix) (4:55)
3. Contagion (Sebastian Komor Remix) (4:28)
4. Hive Mind (The Anix Remix) (4:20)
5. Embracing Entropy (feat. Celldweller) (The Plague Remix) (5:15)
6. Outside In (Raizer Remix) (5:22)
7. alt_Human (3FORCE Remix) (4:39)
8. Machines Of Our Disgrace (DJ Hidden Remix) (5:59)
9. Neophyte (Necromancer Remix) (4:52)
10. Dust To Dust (Zardonic Remix) (4:29)
11. Drum Machines Of Our Disgrace (3:21)
12. Deviate (Blue Stahli Remix) (2:55)
13. Nothing Sacred (Blue Stahli Remix) (4:12)
14. Yurasuka (Blue Stahli Remix) (4:18)
15. Bed Of Nails (Blue Stahli Remix) (3:45)
