PAL needs no introduction. It is one of the best known acts in the field of (rhythmic) industrial / noise music. The tracks on this cd are mostly released on earlier records, but in different versions of are hard to find. Retro is thus a document but also a nice record to have for the true fan.
It might be clear that there is lots of Ant-Zen material on this cd, as it is the home of PAL. Next to that there are tracks that have been released by Hands and Steinklang on Retro.
The record opens with the excellent ‘Terrible Hangdown’. The instrumental version that is featured here is a great industrial techno track with a harsh rhythm and lots of noise. A classic track like ‘All systems collapsed’ (in its original version) is of course present on Retro. Also the huge clubhit ‘Gelöbnis’ can be found on this compilation in a great remix version.
Most of the tracks are in the rhythmic industrial vein, where PAL is most famous for. At the end of the cd there are a few somewhat more quiet pieces with a melodic touch to them, some tranquil sounds and samples. But most of the time the noise is not far away, only but to the background for a while. This is a good thing because it is in the harsh danceable industrial tracks that PAL is at its best.
