Metroland return with a new album and concept, the follow-up to the excellent "Men In A Frame" album, released in 2018. The new album is called "0", the concept being ‘The Fourth Industrial Revolution’, a term first coined by ‘Klaus Schwab’ on a World Economic Forum during mid last decade.
The album is released on double blue vinyl and on CD, which have different track listings and their is also a Digital Download edition, which has the same track listing as the CD.
This review is for the wonderful blue vinyl edition.
The album artwork is fantastic, very nice presentation, attention to detail is something Metroland have always been very good at.
So we get underway with Side A, the opening track is called "Industrie 4.0", which features some brilliant rhythm work, musically it is has darker sound palette, the bass-line is really excellent, this is a track that has really grown on me, has a bit of an industrial feel to it, a good opener.
Following that we have the 3rd single that was released off the album "Davos", this has trademark sequencers, beautifully programmed and a dusseldorf rhythm, I do like that Zap sound, according to the Karl Bartos autobiography (which is a fantastic read by the way), first created by Ralph Hutter on the "Computer World" album. Some excellent vocoder work and I like the melodies that cut through the dark sound, what strikes me even at this stage, is the production of the album is truly outstanding, in a club or live setting this would sound awesome. One of my favourite tracks on the album.
"Bigger Data" has an 80s style brass pad opening, which then combines with a superb bass-line, once again and then we have the sequencers, that are on fire on this track, quite an upbeat song this one, I enjoyed the different layers to the track, how Passenger S combines so many sequencers and make them work together is a mystery to me. Nice to hear the Speak and Spell voice samples on this, a very impressive sounding track.
Side A closes with In/Out with a brilliant sequenced opening, which is the bedrock of the track, I like the bass synths again, the lead sound is just too busy and overpowers the song, it is more of an incidental track, weakest track so far.
On to Side B, which starts with "Machine 2 Machine" which definitely has a Depeche Mode vibe to it, it's dark and laden with bass sounds and a brass pad lead, definitely reminds me of Depeche "Music For The Masses" era. Great rhythm programming again, the drum sounds are amazing, a promising start to this side of the LP.
Next we have the latest single "4ir Intelligence", my favourite single from the album, this has more of a pop feel to it, glistening sequencers, excellent voice samples, really upbeat, nice synth sounds used for lead parts, so far best track off the album!
"The 2nd Machine Age" is a well rounded song, excellent bass and rhythm and I do like the melodic parts and the use of the pad sounds, another observation at this point, the album is very much bass driven, well crafted bass-lines throughout the album, this is another one of my favourite tracks.
Side C opens with another track that was released as a single "Modulation", a powerful sounding track that again hints of a Depeche Mode influence, dark sounds make it lean towards an industrial track, the sequenced parts reign it in a bit from the industrial genre, which helps the track. Can't make my mind up about this track, elements I like but not keen on the heavier sound but overall it was ok.
"Smart Factory" has a nice intro that builds with a strong rhythm and dreamy sequencers, a throwback to their "Mind The Gap" period, really nice sound palette across this track, it has a nice pace to it also, another enjoyable track that maybe outstays its welcome at the end.
"Mimo" has some awesome sequenced sections, strong bass-line and I like the sequencer bass-line that runs alongside the main bass part, good use of voice samples, this is a track on which the sequencer programming really shines, I love the lead synth, reminded me of The Human League this track, really excellent and my 2nd favourite track off the album.
On to Side D, we kick off with "Klaus Schwab", I just love that melody line and sequencer, another throwback perhaps to the "Mind The Gap" period, the voice sample sounds amazing, long time Metroland fans will love this track
The album ends with a 16 minute masterpiece in the shape of "7 Principles", this has everything you want in a Metroland track, punchy bass-line, strong beats, beautifully crafted sequencers, fantastic use of voice samples, melodies it has elements of sounds that remind you of there previous impressive albums, complete brilliance that holds your attention throughout the 16 minutes.
This is probably the heaviest sounding and darkest Metroland album to date but in the context of the concept it works, I do miss those floaty melodic Metroland sounds and melodies (Enjoying The View, Quo Vadis, Utopia, Zeppelin etc), a very solid album overall.
The sound on vinyl is outstanding
8/10
The Double Blue Vinyl edition of the album is available from the Alfa Matrix store:
https://store.alfa-matrix-store.com/product/metroland-0-solid-blue-vinyl-2lp/
The CD edition is available from the Alfa Matrix store here:
https://store.alfa-matrix-store.com/product/metroland-0-cd/
The Digital Download edition is available from Bandcamp:
https://alfamatrix.bandcamp.com/album/0
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