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After becoming infatuated with Winterkalte because of their spectacular album Drum 'n Noise, I recently saw this goodie for sale and I paid a lot for it. Was it worth it? Definitely. Their first LP is mainly the original versions of tracks that appear elsewhere, and is wonderfully packaged in a large papier mache sleeve strung together with natural cord, with artwork by Nicola Bork.

The first three songs are some of the more generic-sounding Winterkalte, which don't really stand out much or sound different than material on Structures of Destruction. Global Warming is definitely the best out of the first few songs, with its weird samples and varying beat structure. (I also mistakenly noted on my review of Drum 'n Noise that the original version of Global Warming was on Progressive - sorry - it's here.) NOx is where the album starts to pick up, featuring thumping beats and trademark Winterkalte sounds.

The second side is much better than the first, and starts off with Nowata Semlja (Prohibited Area). The cool synths keep this one going, and the percussion is more varied here. CH4 is quite good, starting off with something I'm surprised isn't used more often - jackhammers. The percussion here is really cool, with big clashes and some uptempo stuff. The Fate of The Forest finishes up the album, and while it's not as good as The Fate of The Sea, it's still a great track. Thumping percussion abounds.

A very cool record from our friends at Hands, definitely worth picking up if you have a lot of cash. Now all I have to do are find copies of their cassettes (both ltd. to 21!) and the 7". Sigh...

RVWR: Chris
December 1999