When Angels Die

by Various Artists

It is extremely hard to know even how to approach this album because of the somewhat personal nature and circumstances this was released under. As a tribute and benefit compilation, it's not exactly what I expected, but I think it's a great idea and hopefully enough money can be raised to help not only cover the cost for the angel gravestone (the dying wish of Steffi, the main goal of this compilation) but also to raise awareness of breast cancer. Read more about this compilation here: www.whenangelsdie.org. Based on the content of this disc, it's apparent that Steffi was an ebm, industrial and noise music fan, otherwise I would have expected something a little more reverent as a tribute album and titled When Angels Die. However, with that in mind, the music on this disc is a real treat for die-hard fans of these genres. When I first put it on and heard Soil and Eclipse with their beautiful piece She Flies With Angels which starts off slow and builds up to something of a dance-friendly trance piece, I figured this was what the album would be full of. But when Suicide Commando and Nurzery [Rhymes] takes over, you realize that this isn't the case. Though these first few tracks do carry forward the theme of angels and the slight melancholy mood throughout the tracks even through the harshness. [:SITD:] continues on with their excellent track Ascension which also fits nicely into this compilation. As the CD moves on, the mood gets darker and the music harsher as we are greeted with The Retrosic, E-Craft, Dive, XOTOX, Terrorfact and many others along the same lines. Each sporting a harsh, driving industrial beat and layers of synths and electronics, some in the EBM dance-friendly genres while others delve into the heavy, distorted power noise and industrial music. As we get through all of the harsh, driving music we are left with the dark ambient textures of PAL to wrap up the album with Requiem for an Angel. This dark, moody piece seems to be the perfect finale for this album and fans should really enjoy it. While I would have expected something a little less evasive, as a fan of these genres of music I can understand how DJ Sascha would know Steffi the best and understand what she would have liked and enjoyed. So with that said, I can only lend by best-wishes to all involved and hope that others enjoy this disc at least as much as I have.