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March 29, 2024


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Razed In Black
Damaged (Cleopatra Records)

By: Vinnie Apicella

Featuring a glossy two-disc package of new music and flashy remixes punctuated by two bonus live vids, "Damaged" emits an imposing resonance, in and out of the box. Led by lead spinner Romell Regulacion, the FX are explosive, whether generating throbbing Techno/Industrial impulses or dreary eyed Gothic glances, "Damaged" is a complete mix of genre spanning club moves akin to the unlikely yet uniquely compatible combination of Erasure-style Synth, "Twitch"-era Ministry, NIN and Massive Attack. Riding a recurrent wave of tortured love and sinful lust, tracks like the upbeat "Blush" with its addictive melody lines and "Share This Poison" fire up the footwork to a fever pitch before lowering an eye to the soulful and self-deprecating edginess of tracks like "There Goes My Head" and "I'll Damage You." Later, a shuddering blend of the two extremes combine to make mid-range dance numbers wrought of melodramatic programming runs, Pop vox and intrusive guitar blows for the just the right emotive effects. "Visions" and the flighty "Misunderstood" are further standouts that share fond remembrances of the great New Wave / EBM revolutionaries of years past, cut with quick, biting basslines and man/machine vox precisely executed for prime time. "Damaged" has all the makings of a hit and dares to step on a wire for more than a moment with impassioned, nearly avant garde displays of technical prowess to create a crafty and congruent mixture of Club, Dub, and House that make for an exciting if not outstanding new release.
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