Velvet Acid Christ – Calling Ov The Dead

There's little doubt VAC in the 90's were figureheads of the electro-industrial crossover that was flooding the clubs with projects mostly more short-living than this. Heavy use of samples from movies and radio features wasn't unfamiliar so the album reflects zeitgeist in a certain way. Hence, after 18 years you don't need to just review this album under historical aspects and get rid of fun since there's a bunch of fantastic tracks with pure hopelessness on it. Timeless Visions and The Dead (Death Wish Mix) now seem pretty traditional in their sampling and sequencing but mark the state-of-the-art of 199x, natural programming talent. Others, especially Decay and Zix... are well-crafted electro after all and stand the test of time easily. The treatment of the vocals is outstanding throughout the record and sures fellows like wumpscut, leaether strip and others with this dark, subtle and scary multi-level filtering. Best heard on Malfunction, a top-ten of all time song to me. Pure pleasure to drive on at 200 km/h in the night. Beautiful artwork by the way

This album has its moments, but the sampling is so overdone and excessive, it makes me want to stick knitting needles in my ears. Sampling has no point at all, and most music gets along fine without it, but what VAC did here is probably the worst decision he's ever made.