Angel I Could Clip Your Wings, But You'd Bleed To Death
TastyBabySyndrome | "Daddy Dagon's Daycare" - Proud Sponsor of the Lit | 01/21/2004
(4 out of 5 stars)
""Sometimes in an intimate face, I cannot recognize anything more than the marks that death will leave behind."That line has stayed with me throughout the years, attaching itself to even the most precious things I've seen while introspectively reflecting, and perhaps its comments like this that best capture the things that :wumpscut: is most renown for. No matter what is seen by those eyes and what is produced, the byproducts are always turn into dark and tortured sounds mingling with comments on many a speckled landscape of thought. They always seem capable of grabbing you and holding you as they gravitate toward whatever focal point they seek. Be it love, hate, war, or the veritable barrage or other weakness that surface in the human condition, :wumpscut: looks into them all.Many of the things that the band is known for resurface here, and many of these tracks are well worth ingesting. I've personally always had a soft spot when it comes to "Is It You" because its so strained by the voxing and the torment resounding within that voice. It's a dark and horrible thought, to reach out and feel the hand of someone you care about and to find them lying motionless, only to watch as the devil jeers at you and drags that corpse across barbed hooks to take it away. There are also two mixes of "Womb," one better that the other, and the song itself is actually a dark piece of humor that is, in many right, well worth a listen. It's the voice of a child speaking in the womb, saying it is there and telling its mother that "I do exist and you have to care about that for the rest of your miserable days." Its done in an almost horrifically resounding voice, too, not quite voxing but making it sound young and - evil. "Angel" is also another song I've liked a lot, albeit in other remixes more than this, because it's a love song and one that works really well. It has that twist to it, of course, but what would you really expect for a mastering voice like :wumpscut:? There are also two mixes of "Embryodead," one again better than the other, and it's a pretty good song. I'm not partial to one of the remixes here at all, mind you, but one of the others is not that bad. There is also the anti-religious remix of "Golgotha," one of the hits I sometimes inflict upon the minds of people that haven't yet heard the band, "War," and tasty treat that denounces war but that left me wanting when compared to the original, a delightfully redone remix of "Thorns," and a couple of other old treats retouched.Also on this album are two previously unreleased tracks; "Wumpsex" and "man's Complete Idiot." Man's Complete Idiot is heavy endowed with an electronic build, doesn't really have much in the way of lyrics, but is likable because it is mastered pretty well. And Wumpsex is a heavy electronic barrage that's also a good piece to listen to when you feel like taking in something without lyrics but that's new. All that said, this isn't perhaps a disc I'd recommend to anyone that's never tried :wumpscut: out yet, and that's mostly because a lot of this is reworked material. One of the aims of R. Ratzinger has always been to retouch his material and retool it to fit the time, and that's always been a good thing. Still, for the newly-acquainted, this isn't a good starting point because it doesn't acquaint you with the electronics and the beats normal flow (its hard to flow with so many remixes) or the voxing and the utter dreariness in the band. For older fans that like remixes, this is something you may enjoy. A lot of the crafts here are constructed pretty thoroughly, and :wumpscut: takes on life are always a flavor that's good to listen to on an experimentally-rainy day."
Their finest moments
Kent D. Kelly | Denver, CO USA | 05/05/2000
(4 out of 5 stars)
"Although on the cutting edge of gothic industrial, :Wumpscut: is an inconsistent act. Their creative enthusiasm sometimes hurtles in too many directions at once, leaving the basics of melody and classic sonic structure somewhere lost in the dust (Eevil Young Flesh, anyone?). But here, given the time to remix and re-consider their finest works, we can discern a true vision of their mastery. Thorns, one of the best dance instrumental tracks of the 90s, is unfortunately laced with lyrics - you may want the original as well (not on this disc) to compare the two, and decide which you prefer. Either way, this song is immortal. Other highlights include Is It You? and Angel. Although sometimes grating, :Wumpscut: is never boring. In a word, excellent!"
Great tecno-industrial mix
Bryan (middielax@aol.com) | New Jersey | 10/19/1999
(4 out of 5 stars)
"One of the first :W: CDs that i bought. From song1 to the very end I wasn't displeased. Out of all my friends i am the only one that listenes to sinth-pop/industrial. Expecially import industrial, and all the friends want to borrow the CD. They all love it. Found more fans for :wumpscut:. If people who never heard of this type of music loves it you can as well."
Better then the original?
Kent D. Kelly | 09/10/1999
(5 out of 5 stars)
"I must say, the first :W: song i ever heard was Soilent Green and i absolutely fell in love with them. However, after purchasing MFAST i was slightly dissappointed, it's a great album, but lacking. This album restored my faith in :W:, i like it better then MFAST, Mesner tracks, and Eevil Young Flesh. I feel this album best exemplifies the dichotomy of beauty and death that Rudy loves so much. Angel is great, the Born Again remix of Womb is just frightening, and the addition of vocals to Thorns made it one of my favorite songs. Period."
Not to shabby
Cortez Frederick | brownsville, TX USA | 04/28/1999
(4 out of 5 stars)
"When my wife picked this one up at the music store, I thought "oh boy anouther wana be industrial band." But when I gave it a listen, my mind did a 360. This CD todaly lived up to my expectations of gothic industrial. Wumpscut, I would say sounds some thing like Velvet Acid Christ on heroin. Any way, it's a pretty good CD. If you like stuff like VAC, leather strip, and christan death try it out."