X-Propagation is the new project/band of Brent Stackhouse, formerly of Deitiphobia, and Byron Payne, who provides sampling. This little gem of cyber/industrial has been waiting to be released on the public for quite a while. Well worth the wait, Conflict is true cybercore -- maybe better described as heavy electronic music. No real guitars here boys and girls. It's just synthesized, distorted-guitar programming mixed with crazy keyboard sounds and heavy, grOOOvy beats.
This is some of the heaviest strictly synth-oriented industrial I've ever heard. It kind of resembles Ministry's Flashback type stuff. Some of the bass sounds remind me of Cyberaktif. A lot heavier than Deitiphobia -- I believe this is where Brent really wants to be.
The album starts out with a noisy little intro and a sample talking of the powers of Satan on the home and the family. Then, "Heads Up" crashes in. A very heavy and intense song indeed. It is also very fast paced. I really like the use of the synthesized distorted-guitar. It gives the music a more original sound than if they would have used a real guitar.
"Conflict," the title song, has a nice steady beat that breaks into a nice heavy frenzy when the above mentioned guitar sound kicks in. Brent's vocal effects are done well on this album. He uses a very original effect at one point on "Forgive Us." Listen for it folks. "Cybernation" ends the album with a bang -- nice, speedy beats with hardcore programming. These are just some of the highlights of the 10 songs on this great album.
The only complaint I have at all is the sampling. Some of it sounds made in the studio. A few sound too clean and clear. A couple of them are preaching samples and overtly Christian, which I feel might turn off the non-Christian listeners. Other than this, I love it.
I would suggest this to anyone in the world who enjoys industrial. It's good stuff. Definite quality music and production. Hey, it comes from Brent. Buy it!