Iambia – Provocateur

Progress is one of those small labels that has earned a reputation for quality, and consequently a cadre of admiring listeners. In recent years however, it seems the brand has been somewhat diluted. Carrying the number nineteen is a new album by the Greek project Iambia who present a rather stereotypical blend of melody and pumping beats that flank some growling vocals of a supposedly provocative nature. At its best moments it sounds a bit like Decoded Feedback but the refrains lack that certain catch and the sound in general feels a bit more repetitive.

And then there is the thing with the samples. The band upholds the tired genre cliché of adding samples for sampling's own sake. And why is it that they have chosen to start with one of the most recognizable ones? Case in point: We are a mere ten seconds into the first track when you can hear a classic used on Skinny Puppy's old album "Rabies" (don't try to tell me Iambia have never listened to Skinny Puppy...). Seriously, the recycling of one-liners in the EBM genre is appalling and instantly devalues the music; before long you sit completely oblivious to whatever they are screaming about and try to remember where first you heard a particular quote. Revisit the music if you must but at least have the decency to skip those overused effects.

Overall good production values and the bonus disc contains some mixes that are fine and on par with the album content, though neither disc really warrants any questing to find it. Unless you are a discography completist this one can safely be given a pass, it is about 15 years too late to be taken seriously anyway.