Search - Dark Illumination :: Pathfinder

Speak softly and carry a big sequencer. If you're an industrial band, that Weltanschauung will get you reasonably far, and Germany's Dark Illumination are smart enough to understand that equation. Pathfinder, their sophomore release, is nothing if not pure nectar for lovers of crisp, clean techno-industrial. There is little in the way of overprocessed vocals, few cheesy horror-movie samples, and not a guitar in earshot. It's easy on the ears and, not accidentally, on the dance floors. "Concrete Age," the disc's toe-tapping highlight, milks a fluid groove built on beautifully layered synths and a well-programmed, nimble beat. "Another Light" phases the synths in and out and puts some funk behind the cold electronics. The lyrics, sung mostly in English, are bound by traditional industrial themes of alienation and hopelessness (with detours on space travel), but it hardly matters--you'll be too seduced by the beat to care. --Steve Landau