Various Artists

Item: Machines in the Garden
Author: Doug Van Pelt

Machines in the Garden

(1998)

Reviewed by Doug Van Pelt

Discogs Apple Music Spotify YouTube Music

Label Blacklight RecordsHM Magazine #76March 1999

ambient darkwave industrial techno

Remember back in the 80's, when some well-meaning person would label a band like Petra "metal?!" To the purist, the same can be said when someone labels Nine Inch Nails or Circle of Dust "industrial." The guitar-based hybrid music of NIN and Klank certainly borrow from industrial, but the ambient noise art that translates smoother to various movie soundtrack settings are closer to the mark. That said, Blacklight Records is to be thanked for gathering a myriad of industrial and/or darkwave artists on an ambitious trilogy that will culminate in a box set later this year called The Cataclysm Singles. (The third part of this series is called Terra Firma Vs. The Atmosphere, and was just releasing at press time) Those that want rock, move on to the popular hybrid music of the guitar- dominated bunch. For those that want a mood or, better yet, for those that want to dramatically take over the vibe of a room, crank either of these two compilations up in a dark room. The great and often-overlooked Blackhouse makes an appearance on each album, which is a great way to pay homage to the forefathers of this music within the Christian realm of thought. What these artists do very well is weave a pulsating and ambient soundscape within which to trip out on, basically. Close your eyes and you can imagine yourself traveling at the speeds of the atomic particles in the sound waves. Movie soundtrack? Yes. Mind soundtrack, oh yes!