TRACKLIST

1. bEll ringoor. . . . . . .5:45  2. zass pie. . . . . . . . .5:59  3. uhm . . . . . . . . . . .5:57  4. krakatoa pt 1 2 and 3 . .8:40  5. neuron proper . . . . . .6:07  6. sorcear . . . . . . . . .4:53  7. 12 yearsblows . . . . . .4:37  8. starving. . . . . . . . .4:13  9. eruption. . . . . . . . .4:46 10. hoorse. . . . . . . . . .8:03

If you have been missing this act as much as I have, I don't feel so alone. Five years. Five years have passed since we heard anything from Download. I could never put my finger on what made me love them so much, but now I can: this project isn't designed for mass consumption as Skinny Puppy. Not that this is a bad thing, but I'm not much of an Ogre fan anymore. I am, however, a huge fan of Mr. Key and his magical machines.
He is joined once more (finally!) by electro maestro Phil Western (Off & Gone, Floatpoint, Kone, Philth et al) for an outing into some truly beautiful chaos. That's right, everybody, forget "Mythmaker", Download have made what will surely be regarded by many as their finest record yet. Western's influence is in evidence abundantly as the atmospheres on "Fixer" have some serious depth. I am all about "Starving" which ought to make even the most skeptical listener (or Puppy devotee) realise this is where the truly original and innovative ideas of the SubCon camp lie. This is the music which defines the times we live in. It is everything and nothing, subtle and subversive; subscribe, you lot, subscribe.
There are lovely piano melodies which flit throughout "Fixer" paired against rhythmic pulses designed to confound your thoughts and pulverize your expectations. Which previous Download album does this one sound like? None of them. It is something new, something you have not heard before, which is the reason why Key is regarded so highly (no pun intended) by so many. I'm still hugging this thing. Please, please don't take such a long break for the next one, guys, I'm pleading with you. Who cares about Puppy when stunning releases like this are waiting in the wings hungrily biding their time. Dwayne has got to be smiling wherever he is at his comrade's superb effort. We all are. ~ by Peter Marks