Fixmer / McCarthy - Between The Devil...

This is a bit of a disappointing release, in my opinion, particularly considering the pedigree of both involved artists.
While Nitzer Ebb was never a band lauded for their lyrical output ("fast beat the feat/fast fall the hands"...eh?), Douglas McCarthy's lyrics here are worse than my high school poetry. "Free fall through the holes in my mind/Role call for the freaks of nature"?? Yeah, that's pretty bad. But bits like "..and the sun drips down like oozing pus from a hot black sore....and all at once, a hideous bell tolls!....an endless exorcism of grief and pain, whimpering, salivating with despair!" are just unforgivable. The production, while not bad, isn't quite up to Fixmer's standards. Something doesn't seem quite as booming and imposing about the sonics, here.
There are a few tracks worthy of note, to be sure. 'Freefall' is a solid rockin', wave-your-hands-in-the-air technopop smash. 'You Want It' is classic, stompy, Fixmer ebm-core. 'Come Inside' is a sort of an industrial-schaffel hybrid. So it's not all bad, but not nearly as crucial as it could have been. Only really recommended for die-hard fans of Nitzer Ebb or Terence Fixmer. Here's to looking forward to future, better collaborations between the artists.