Thee Maldoror Kollective highly UNDERRATED?

[Kashchej R.]

Hi!
H:K/Riccardo, new guitar player+noisemaker for Thee Maldoror Kollective. Just registered. Thanx for the nice words, we are having great times working on the new songs. Prepare, 'cuz it's gonna be evil.

r.

 

[Emi]

some previews?

 

[Michele/Xyphias]

Hi Riccardo, what's up? it's a long time since I heard from you or the other guys... please keep in touch ok?

 

[Gionata]

I Think TMK is a great work... I'm displeased about the selling side. :Smug:

 

[Kashchej R.]

Previews? It's gonna be heavy as freakin' hell

r.

 

[Christopher]

I've found that the less hype about something means that its going to be pretty good and last longer. when Dodheimsgard's 666 international was released in'99, it was met with only a few really good reviews, but mostly with puzzled shrugs. So I purchased that not really knowing what to expect from it, and I found myself blown away. Even to this day I feel remaining excitement for it. But to get back to my intended subject... today I recieved New Era Viral order in the mail, finally relenting and purchasing it more out of lasting curiousity than enthusiasm. I went through it once already and I already know that I'll have to sit through it a few more times. It vaguley reminded me of the group Void, and not DHG at all. There were many moments with the industrialized electronic atmosphere that I really liked, that dark and distant Cold Meat vibe that works quite well under those conditions. The metal parts fell a bit short for me largely because I thought they were underproduced and felt a bit pedestrian next to the programming. But overall I think it's a pretty good record in itself, and will appeal to many, but I think the real issue is that is falls short of my ideals of what music like that should like. But of course I could recant this post in a few days time after more spins in the cd player. We'll have to see I then.

 

[Christopher]

After several listening attempts, I find that I cannot get into what TMK did with N.E.V.O. Some of the stuff is alright, but as a whole I find it to be a bit underdeveloped in scope compared to what the idea of its final result might have been. However, this is not a loss for Code666, for I purchased aborym's last record, "With No Human Intervention" the other day, and i find highly remarkable. I go bakc and use my Dodheimsgard reference again for this release, but in the context that it has that same primitve kind of evil dementia permeating throughout the record. Very violent and nearly uncontrolled, it just has everything that I am looking for in this sort of black metal/industrial crossover. Now, if Dodheims comes out with another ripping record and blasts this one, that would be something. But currently I find Aborym to stand atop this genre of extreme metal. Pretty good stuff. My only complaint is the lame photos of the masturbating nuns inside the digipack. I find them very needless and unsupporitve of the album's themes and atmosphere.

 

[Emi]

"My only complaint is the lame photos of the masturbating nuns inside the digipack. I find them very needless and unsupporitve of the album's themes and atmosphere"

I agree with you Christopher.

 

[DarksomePoet]

I don't like the "new" TMK very much.

I think it's because I liked too much the previous release (i mean, when their monicker was still "Maldoror").

Anyway, de gustibus non diputandum est.

Hailings from Vicetia caput mundi ^_^

 

[NAD]

This album is great, I'm sorry I sat on the promo for so long now.

 

[Emi]

better late than never

 

[Michele/Xyphias]

the royal carnage

I may catch some flak for enjoying techno music, but my appeal is toward the creepy Michael Myers / Halloween type more than the local dance club's repertoire. Thankfully some metal groups enjoy this stuff too, like THEE MALDOROR KOLLECTIVE, who incorporates lots of dance and trance influences into their metal, making a sound that you can't decide whether you should headbang while moshing or don neon clothing while dropping some X as the music plays.

New Era Viral Order is a nightmarish sound to say the least. The riffs are speedy and repetitive, landing somewhere between SLAYER and MESHUGGAH, driving the point home in excellent fashion. The drums focus mostly on double bass runs following the guitar rhythms, and the bass adds some interesting fills that don't stray from the guitars too much but never quite blend into the background either. The sound effects are harsh, minor-keyed, and overt. Mostly consisting of dance-type electronic wails (if that makes sense), but some fancy keyboard runs pepper a lot of the material, and some tracks sound like a post apocalyptic refinery plant gone haywire. These particular tracks owe more to drone and doom than industrial metal, and they break up the metal pace rather nicely. A vocalist with a primarily quiet black metal rasp combined with a myriad of effects and matching creativity spawns multiple moods per tracks all across the album. The voice samples are bizarre, and once you figure out what most of them say you take a step back and make sure no serial killers are hiding in your closet.

New Era Viral Order will probably not strike many right away. At first it doesn't sound like many interesting things are happening but further inspection reveals a lot of the nuances contributing to the band's overall frightening sound. Even given that feel, I cannot stop moving around to this album. Whether it is the pounding double bass, high speed riffing, or freaky sound effects I just keep bouncing away while this spins. Equally at home in a rave or a death metal show, THEE MALDOROR KOLLECTIVE is not the easiest beast to tackle, but those with a slant toward digitized groups like ABORYM or even MANES will find solace here.

Rating 8/10
Reviewer NAD

 

[BenMech]

I'd be sure to get a copy if I had a fricken dollar to be able to spend. I really liked all the MK I heard from mp3.com and the Better Undead Than Alive comp.

 

[NAD]

*gasp* My review has been immortalized in this thread!

I will be seeking out their other releases when I have some cash as well.

 

[Sam Chronic]

I generally never write a review on an album if one has already been taken care of for the magazine unless I totally disagree....so by the time I got my hands on the N.E.V.O. the review was done so I never had a chance to write anything...but I very much agree with the one on the magazine which is below.

As it were...I enjoy Thee Maldoror Kollective...it is a band with a fresh sound that seems to have an arsenal of ideas up their sleeve when it comes to songwriting. Will be looking forward to hearing new material when it becomes available.

Is a shame that sales were not that high but sales do not reflect the quality of the album....the music reflects the quality of the album....

Here is the review if you are interested in reading:

Tartarean Desire Magazine
Writer: Vincent

Thee Maldoror Kollective - New Era Viral Order
Code666, 2002 8/10

Code666 have yet again presented the world with a new musical entity that has developed a completely unique sound. Thee Maldoror Kollective was formed as early as 1991 and have previously gone under the names Inquisitor, Funeral Fog and simply Maldoror. This is something out out the ordinary and one of the most interesting releases that have come out of the Italian metal scene so far this year. I am unfamiliar with the earlier material from Maldoror (pardon me for shortening their name...) but "New Era Viral Order" is a wonderful album that fuses together elements from modern black / death metal with ambient and ritual sounds from the Cold Meat Industry bands. The result is a dark industrial techno version of Satyricon. Occult, harsh metal at its best with aggressive vocals, effective sampling, crushing riffs and a very powerful drum machine which has been programmed with skill for once. Thee Maldoror Kollective is now one of the leading bands on the Italian extreme metal scene and if you are out there looking for something avantgarde and unique you should definitely check this out. Innovative, outstanding, futuristic, postmodern black metal composed by some very talented minds.]