Blatant Propaganda CD:

1. EYE ... "Logo Identity (kill koka kola, annihilate muckdonalds)" (2:45) ... propaganda-laden-industrial-acid-grind
2. Testube ... "Condenser" (4:49) ... trance-electronic-body-music
3. Sterile ... "Control" (4:50) ... industrial-synth-metal
4. Zeitgeist ... "Death by Porn" (3:56) ... progressive-gothic-metal-female-vox
5. Keystone ... "Mmm Mmm" (5:20) ... jungle drum N' bass
6. in-FUSED ... "Digitized" (3:30) ... aggro-electro-industrial
7. Frankie Death & the Photon Belt ... "Lovekult" (2:30) ... techno-pop
8. Faterazor (formerly Crimson Boy) ... "Blackguard Wolfpack - Tetaz dub" (3:28) ... dub
9. Dark Violence of Beauty ... "Catherine pt. 1" (5:50) ... gothabilly
10. Bride of the Atom ... "Sciomancy" (4:48) ... industrial-electro-rock
11. NOVAkILL ... "skreamFLESH" (5:15) ... electronic-darkwave
12. Troll ... "Sits and Sews" (4:18) ... gothic-metal-female-vox
13. Centrifugue ... "Triangular Seas" (5:59) ... psyched-out-cabaret-elektro
14. Dogmachine ... "Fetish" (3:40) ... cyber-electronica
15. T.O.P. (The Oppenheimer Project)... "Perpetuity (buzz mix)" (3:28) ... jungle-electronica
16. Ray Cathode ... "Sex Model" (3:35) ... techno-trance
17. ELF ... "oi-ya! (dirt mix)" (5:30) ... crunchy-acid-drum N' bass

REVIEWS:

From "BMA (Bands Music Action)" monthly street magazine, Canberra, Nov. 98:

"... Some really freaked out tracks are on offer here, ranging from album opener, EYE's "Logo Identity (k.k.k.)", with it's cold, clinical beats and almost retro-like vox, through to ELF's acid-tinged trip "oi-ya!" Other highlights include Zeitgeist's awesome gothic-metal contribution "Death by Porn", the deep darkwave sounds of NovaKILL's "skreamFLESH" and Dogmachine's cyber-electronica piece "Fetish". Other sub-genres covered include cabaret-elektro, dub, trance, jungle and drum & bass, so there is a really large variety here that can come under the scope of electronica/industrial/darkwave. It is selling for only $5 so if any of those styles interest you, then with this compilation you can't really go wrong.

John Purnell-Webb, host of "Necropalypse" radio show on 4ZZZ 102.1fm, Brisbane:

"Thankyou so much! That cd is great! Just in time for APRA week as well so I'm giving it a flogging."

This excerpt is from a lengthy review on the "Ledland" web-site. The full review can be found "here":

"... I really like a lot of these tracks... I'm very impressed with this CD, none of the bands on it are crap. Certainly there is music I'm not into, but that's just personal preference. All the music is good quality, and I'll definately be investigating a few of these bands more closely..."

Review by Siobhan McCarthy in the AKASHA Inc. zine "Transient/Deviant" Dec. 98 (99 Van Dyke ST. Toxteth Liverpool L8 ORS UK):

CD of the Issue: Blatant Propaganda Vol. 1

Sent on by those nice EYE guys from Australia, I've been looking forward to reviewing this. The CD starts off with EYE and "Logo Identity (k.k.k.)" which I have already said is utterly addictive cyber stuff; they'll soon have a large following in Liverpool/M.I.R.A.G.E. if I have anything to do with it!

Next is "Condenser" by TESTUBE, a cool CABARET VOLTAIRE/ early OMD type of thing; lo-fi and almost trancy in places. I utterly approve.

"Control" by STERILE follows; I anticipated something good from what I've heard and oh yes it is - KMFDM meets DIE KRUPPS... oooo.

Now ZEITGEIST too I'd come across and this is more of the same (very good but not quite my thing) PARADISE LOST style thrash with CREATURES vox. Strange, as I dig both bands.

Subsequently, we have KEYSTONE with "Mmm Mmm", sort of cyberjazz and frankly bewildering.

Next is "Digitised" by in-FUSED; a little too derivative-industrial for me but a competent song with bridges that hold the attention.

"Lovekult" follows, by FRANKIE DEATH & THE PHOTON BELT- indie punk with a saving bridge to chorus percussion section.

FATERAZOR is next, with "Blackguard Wolfpack - Tetaz Dub"; think of MARIONETTES/WHORES OF BABYLON's dubs and you'll rightly surmise that this one's pretty cool.

Halfway through and we encounter the DARK VIOLENCE OF BEAUTY with "Catherine Pt. 1" - self-described as "gothabilly"; it reminds me of SEX GANG CHILDREN & the ADDAMS FAMILY, with the Lurch-ian Sideshow Bob guttural interludes. Rather quirky, I kinda like it.

Wolve's introduce us to "Sciomancy" by BRIDE OF THE ATOM; with a MIDNIGHT CONFIGURATION underbeat (never a bad thing) OMD vox, not bad at all.

Cool, NOVAKILL are next; they're normally pretty good. Here we have the track "skreamFLESH", a s..l..o..w.. cybergoth thing, something I'd imagine would make excellent party background music, especially where it picks up tempo. Another good one.

Next is TROLL with "Sits & Sews" (haven't heard from you in a while, guys!) True to form, it's another cool stompy Goth rock track whose beat just gets into your head - I hope they find the success they deserve.

CENTRIFUGUE with "Triangular Seas" follows, an up-tempo hybrid of RAW SEX cabaret, NICK DRAKE and incredibly early DEPECHE MODE. Um. Yes, I think I like this.

Then comes "Fetish" by DOGMACHINE, a cyber NIN/late DEPECHE MODE mix. As I'm hopelessly out of fashion and think that anything that has Reznor�s stamp on it is just plain sexy, this is great and sounds as if it were mixed by ULTRAVIOLENCE, but with strange female vox. Nice one. I think this is another Catacombs must (j.citizen's note: 'Catacombs' is Siobhan's Liverpool nightclub).

Next is "Perpetuity (buzz mix)" by T.O.P., which sounds exactly as they describe themselves - jungle electronica. And it's bloody good.

RAY CATHODE's "Sex Model" follows; a little reminiscent of lo-fi EYE so I'm bound to like it.

And finally... the weird and wonderful ELF with "oi-ya! (dirt mix)"... If you can imagine cyber new world music with bouncy SASH/industrial bridges, then that comes pretty close. Mad, but totally recommended. This goes for the whole CD. Go buy.

Rating: 3 & a 1/2 out of 5. Track-Ratings above 3 & 1/2: Testube and ON (4); EYE, STERILE & DOGMACHINE (5)."

Review from "Revelations" (now called "Flesh & Wire") magazine, Adelaide, Australia., February 1999.

"Blatant Propaganda Volume 1 has been keeping itself busy in my CD player for many moons :) I've been really surprised by the high standard of both the bands and quality of sound on the CD. Personally, I'm more into the EBM/TECHNO side of industrial so there were certain tracks that i enjoyed more then others, but I was able to appreciate all the bands involved in the project...

The CD begins with EYE's track "Logo Identity". Why is this band first? Because the CD is their idea! But hey, that's okay because it's a bloody catchy piece of electro-industrial with enough "blip" and "bleep" sounds to keep any cyborg in a state of rapture. The lyrics are anti-capitalist for all you left-wingers out there. Eye give a big nod to SNOG without trying to copy Thrussell. Strangely enough, if I could pick one word to describe the track it would be "bouncy".

Testube give us "Condenser" which is a much more relaxed, ambient piece than the opener. It is a beautifully crafted, high quality instrumental that impresses me greatly.

Sterile throws another shrimp onto the barbed wire with their razor-sharp, sample filled, offering of "Control". They remind me a bit of Fear Factory due to their crossover metal/electronic style. If anything they manage to out-intensify Fear Factory: their metal heavier and darker and their electronica more electronic!

Zeitgeist, the first gothic-sounding band on the album, contribute and enjoyable track "Death By Porn". The lead the singer has a beautiful voice and as the track continues a distinct metal edge enters into the equation. A most unusual sounding band.

The next song I enjoyed is the extremely cheesy "Lovekult" by Frankie Death & the Photon Belt. It reminds me a bit of "Very Groovy boots" by the Electric Hellfire Club. Not particularly industrial or gothic but I don't think it is meant to be. Enjoyable as a tongue-in-cheek novelty song.

"Sciomancy", which can be found on Bride of the Atom's CD "Web of Spider" is an eclectic piece showing many genre-hopping influences. A pounding tribal beat and soft, almost crooned vocals.

NovaKILL are new to me but certainly beg to be considered for closer attention. A very dark gothic-electro song, "skreamFLESH" is, like a Siren, beautiful and threatening at the same time. Filled with samples and punctuated by a keyboard this song will be enjoyed by industrial and gothic fans alike.

I was very surprised by Dogmachine's contribution to this compilation. "Fetish" is more techno-orientated than other stuff of theirs I have heard. Kinda like Ministry goes techno with a female vocalist. Or maybe not. Anyway, this is a fantastic song which really has some "guts" (whatever that means).

ELF (EYE's techno/ambient side-project) close the show with "Oi-ya (dirt mix). Too much of this type of electronic is dull due to repetitive loops and lack of innovation, but luckily this is not the case with this song. ELF mix things up changing the beat and tempo constantly to make this an interesting and very danceable tune.

So..why should you buy this CD? You get 17 songs (74 minutes) from some of Australia's best electronica, industrial and darkwave acts for $5 ( a couple of the acts are from America). I was really amazed by the high quality of both the artists and the recording. I was also surprised by the diversity. Electro, metal, gothic rock, techno, drum 'n bass, ambient, swing, experimental. It's all here, but with the roots firmly in the gothic and industrial genres."

Review by Ben Didier in "Grinding Into Emptiness" Web-zine, USA 1999:

This compilation CD-R is a spin off from the Australian industrial/electro 'zine "Blatant Propaganda". It showcases a wide variety of acts spanning a number of different genres -- the best of the down under underground.

EYE open the disk with the hyper, electro-punk "Logo Identity (k.k.k.)". Brazenly anti-corporate -- "Kill Koca Kola / annihilate MacDonalds" -- this is an energetic track to start things off with. Testube, one of only two US bands on the comp, contribute "Condenser" from their "Post-Apocalypse" LP. This is a solid, fairly simple mix of light percussion and repetitive synth melodies in the vein of some older XMTP. The other US act is New Mexico's in-FUSED who contribute a solid electro-industrial track of the style DSBP Records is known for. Sterile take up yet another new direction with the metallic, guitar-heavy "Control". The harsh vocals contrast Zeitgeist's harmonious female lead singer that follows, though the crunchy power chords are similar in both tracks. Frankie Death and the Photon Belt are one of the more poppy contributors, who play an infectious form of electronic infested rock. Dark Violence of Beauty play a darker style of rock with high pitched guitar, straightforward drum kit and growly Swansish vocals. Fate Razor throw down some of the only drum'n'bass, which is administered over a laid back bed of digitally warped vocals and interesting synthesizer effects. NOVAkILL have a dark, brooding style of electro, while Troll contribute another guitar-based demo song with strong female vocals. Centrifuge are one of the more unique groups included, with a smooth blend of piano, relaxed vocals and wind instruments sewn together with electronic production. This could almost pass off as some sort of futuristic lounge. Dogmachine on the other hand, dish out a frenetic song that seems to be heavily influenced by the digital hardcore camp. T.O.P. fuse emotive piano with break beats for another interesting crossover, while Ray Cathode focuses more heavily on the percussive element with an upbeat dance track. ELF, the all electro Eye alter-ego, wrap things up with "oi-ya". The guitars and vocals are shed in favour of a dance-friendly, sample heavy electro stew.

This is a surprising amount of talent considering I hadn't heard much of anything from Australia in the way of electronics before this disk. "Blatant Propaganda" doesn't offer a lot of frilly packaging or high quality cover art, but the result is an agreeable low price of only five bucks."