Review – Cruciform Injection – “Critical” www.cruciforminjection.com *I received a promotional copy that might differ from the actual release. Cut me some slack. Having recently installed a fantastic Kenwood CD/MP3 player in the Doilie-mobile, I’ve realized that industrial music needs to be played at top volume while doing a buck three to get the full effect…must be something about the full utilization of technology available. Speaking of full utilization of technology, the new album “Critical” from Cruciform Injection is a rather pleasant surprise. Having never really been familiar with other releases from Cruciform Injection, I’m unsure of how much influence the current EBM trend has affected their style. The songs on this release are high energy and well mastered, mostly dancefloor with a slow jam or two thrown in for depth. There’s also an impressive group of remixes, from Massiv in Mench, Icon of Coil and Funker Vogt, save the album from being typical of today’s (it’s not like I haven’t heard EBM before). What would have been the weakest songs on the album have fantastic remixes, so while I’m not fond of the original versions of either Defiance or Breaking Skies, the remixes breathe a second life into them. The Massive in Mench version of Definance is heavy and intricate, and the Icon of Coil mix of Breaking Skies is so pop-friendly it makes me want to get all jiggy ‘n shit. Punketta Doilie’s math lesson: 1 pinch synthpop + 2 scoops EBM + a dash of stompy-stomp dance = Cruciform Injection