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CYCLOTIMIA: Wasteland Release year: 2002 Format: CD Tracklist: 1: Morphology 02:54 Total Length: 45:27 General Facts: 'Cyclotima consists of two members, old synths and various electronic equipment' to quote the band. Besides Wasteland, This Moscow-based act with one of the scariest websites yet (http://www.cyclotimia.com) has released two CD's, two 10"'s and a limited CD-R. The name of the project has been borrowed from Social Psychology, where 'cyclotimics' are persons who are dissolved in a crowd and thus easily manipulated. Review: Wasteland consists of hard hitting pecussions, harsh Industrial sounds and a turmoil of different samples. Vocals are abscent lest for some low, almost unaudible spoken parts by a darkened voice at times. The fundament of this CD is constituted by bleak string arrangements that are gently accentuated by various samples and a menacing Industrial percussion. There are also random outburts of rather weird synthesiser bank sounds. In general, Cyclotimia have been using samples quite avidly. At times, it gives Wasteland a soundtrackesque feel, this could have been the soundtrack to some futuristic sci-fi movie I guess. The ultra-industrial percussion and dark string arrangements sometimes make me think of early In Slaughter Natives or Laibach. A perfect example of this is the track Liturgy, yet in general, the album isn't nearly as bombastic and powerful as anything released by these projects. The track Neon Sleep Empires for example, has instead got a more sludgy approach with a lurching rhythm in front of brooding background noise. Some tracks take on a more serene approach, remiscient of old raison d'être or Sephiroth. In general, I sense that Cyclotimia could possibly be inspired by bands from the CMI roster (or at least share some of their sources of inspiration). As a consequence of this, Cyclotima might not always be very original but I think the biggest flaw of this CD is the mastering. The music is great, skillfully arranged and rich with interesting events but particularly the percussion completely lacks attitude and it certainly could have sounded more powerful and erect. I do however sense an ambition to take this sound into more original spheres while listening to this. Especially towards the end, the music becomes more orginial with nice tracks like Soliloquoy and Figures Frozen. At times, the music becomes quite psychaedelic with its fragmented collage of weird sounds. It makes me think of something being dissolved and swept away in some violent turrent, perhaps an allegory of the ill-fated destiny of a cyclotimic. Cyclomtima may present a Russian alternative to the more heavy Industrial acts of today. Their trade is their nice mixture of psychadelia, menacing Industrial music and serene Ambient. Check it out if this description appeals to you. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ - Click here to contact Cyclotimia - Click here to enter the Cyclotimia website |
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