Review: Projekt F - 'Skins'

PROJEKT F

'Skins'

SELF-RELEASED

Channelling the best of the 1990s' industrial rock output, Projekt F have made a few waves in their north American stomping ground. And with good reason. The bands hard, thrashy style recalls the heyday of Nothing Records talent like Nine Inch Nails, Marilyn Manson, 2wo, Prick and Pig. It's a sound that still fills dance floors around the world and the Canadian band demonstrate on their début full-length album, 'Skins', that they definitely have the tools to repackage it for the 2013 crowd.

The album mixes the bass heavy, dissonant rock of 'The Downward Spiral' and 'Antichrist Superstar' saturating electronics of 2wo's underrated 'Voyeurs' and gODHEAD's '2,000 Years Of Human Error'. The end result is somewhat nostalgic, but the band's grit and attention to detail make this an utterly compelling album.

Songs like 'Evolved', 'The Wall', 'Lymph', 'Room 13' and 'Perfect Enclosure' give the album a sheer driving force that makes good use of memorable hooks and sing-a-long choruses. The band do like to slow things down though as tracks like 'Rust', 'Disease', and 'Book Of The Flies' can attest to with their use of dominant piano melodies to counterpoint the angst of the majority of the album. However, the over-reliance of this trick does tend to bog down the second half of the album and somewhat stall the momentum of the first few songs.

Production-wise the band have managed to get the balance between the harsh rock and industrial electronics spot-on so that neither is too dominant, effectively evoking that classic “Nothing” sound. The only real fault to be found is that there are one or two songs where the vocals don't quite sit right in the mix, which can be a little distracting.

Projekt F have crafted a very strong début in 'Skins'. It will no doubt be equally praised and criticised for it's nostalgic edge. But that is missing the point. This is a solid first album, from a band with a lot of potential, that displays a level of song-writing and execution that can comfortably hold its own with some classic albums.  

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