Chain DLK

They're right- Murder The World is going to push some new boundaries.

'Egowhore' is Hoodooengine's debut album and Hoodooengine is self-described as being spawned by the twisted masterminds of Marz233, James Curcio and Johan Ess, also featuring the creative work of Scott Landes, (Mankind is Obsolete & Collide), Jeff Hartman and William Clark. What we have here is an industrial metal outfit that reminded me somewhat of early Electric Hellfire Club, and a bout a half-dozen other bands, including one I recently reviewed called Everything Goes Cold. Still, it is competently produced, especially for a D-I-Y project done mostly on a Macbook Pro. 

On the musical side, a lot of work has been put into the production to keep it inventive, energetic and engaging. Guitar is very good, drum (programming I assume) is powerful, elaborate and effective, and the electronics are varied and well-used. Dialogue samples are kept to a minimum, which is a big plus in my book. The songwriting is okay (you're [sic] typical dystopian themes), although there weren't any obvious standout 'hits,' but that's not a major drawback for this kind of music. On the vocal side, things are a bit bland. The lead vocal sounds monotonous over time, and I found myself looking forward to the odd vocal interjections (that comes from other voices, I presume) that surfaced sporadically. One the plus side, the lyrics are intelligible (and generally intelligent), and although some processing is used on the vocals (including the occasional vocoder), it's not the usual overused distorted mess that so many bands in the electro-industrial metal genre seem to dote on. (If I had my druthers, I'd take intelligible over stark-raving raspy-distoro. [sic])

Still, there is so much going on in 'Egowhore' you may not be paying a whole lot of attention to the vocals. The sheer power of some of the 9 tracks on this under 38 minute album is apt to blow you away, at least instrumentally. If you like bands like Die Krupps, Orgy, KMFDM, Electric Hellfire Club, etc., you might enjoy this. I do think Hoodooengine needs to step up their vocal game though. A vocalist with more power and presence would prove helpful; maybe even a female vocalist to add some contrast. They've got another release slated for early 2011. I'd be interested in checking out the band's progress on that one. (Chain DLK review.)