INTERLACE – Under The Sky (European Version)

You know, out of all fifteen tracks on “SEPTIC III” compilation, I pointed out Interlace’s ‘Soul Of A New Machine’ as the best - even with fierce competition of greats like Suicide Commando, IOC  and Seabound. My words got fortified with this new release from (now acclaimed) Swedish band.
It took a year for “Innuendo” to be upgraded, boosted, metamorphosed into “Under The Sky”; we got the new machine – with soul embedded.

There is a backbone of ideas holding Interlace. Pay attention to lyrics on 'Ascent', 'Missing Link', 'Outcast'… you will find a reason why this not an Everyband. Even if you might not like their sharpness and caustic melodies, complicated construction of songs even, you have to respect their power and depth.
New songs range from tranquil 'Bells' and introspective 'Pinioned' to epic 'Under The Sky [club mix]' title track: it is a story of a man and his end. Did I mention it is epic? All aspects of it are. It opens the album, and I perceived it as materialization of the overall idea of this release. Strong vocals and bass line (not used much in other songs) add needed power to interesting lyrics, which are, I must say, hard to follow through various sounds hovering over. And shrieks ( both of humans and machines) in interludes… add dark dimension – also needed...

Remixes….
‘Equus’ – handled both by Headscan and Implant. One pumps in ice, other blood. Both perspectives really, really good.
But the best is Oliver Beach’s ‘Missing Link’ – surprising breakbeat take (plus strings) match seamlessly with vocals just touched by vocoder. Phenomenal! Akira Yamaoka transforms the same song to horror soundtrack of numbed rhythm section, gloomy sounds and dark chanting samples. Artful. Is neo-horror art really that popular in Japan nowadays?
‘ Ascent’ - … is 100% Interlace, but with pure vocals – less mechanisation, more energy…

There’s more - fifteen tracks in total. All strong, monolithic. If this was an album of just a couple more songs created anew, not remixes – the grade would have been the highest. Easy. Still, even with many remixes I give it ‘HYSTERIA’ - translated to decimal system: 9/10. It really is that good. I will leave you now to the words of Interlace, to their manifesto. It helps to grasp the idea of their creativity, which can be found in each of their songs:

"Different artistic expressions must be allowed to converge and cross-fertilize, music is merely one. Parallel to the outer world, signs, symbols and ciphers build fine threads in our own web. Analyzing them leads to new discoveries, and new leads emerge along the way. We promote progress on all levels of human consciousness."