In the course of a decade Ant-Zen has evolved into the most influential industrial label, with dozens of classic releases. Now they have spread a new compilation to celebrate, ‘a present for all ants: writer ants, spinner ants, and of course listener ants – ‘ant-colony’ is not for sale’. Many review copies have been spread, and “Ant.colony” can also be obtained with Ant-Zen orders or at Ant-Zen related events. About five years ago I really followed this label, when the first releases of acts like P.A.L., Noisex and Imminent Starvation came out. I also visted the first Maschinenfest festival in Aachen back then. But recently I have been listening a bit less to (rhythmic) industrial music, and also missed quite some new Ant-Zen acts and releases. So, this compilation is a good way to catch up, and it’s a decent introduction to the Ant-Zen oeuvre.
The music on “Ant.colony” ranges from atmospheric soundscapes to harsh industrial beats. There are some great dancefloor hits present, like ‘Kiss the whip’ from Asche or ‘One eyed man’ from This Morn’ Omina. But also some lesser known tracks are present, some of which have not been available on cd before. The first track of P.A.L. is a nice introduction, a tension-building soundscape in the background and constantly repeated funny spoken word lines about a ‘Marlboro man’, who always smokes when he works. Other nice tracks are those from Vromb and Ars Moriendi. Personally I have never been so fond of fast and hard rhythmic acts like Synapscape, Hypnoskull and Converter. The acts which I consider as the biggest personal discoveries on this cd are Azure Skies (related to Sanctum), Telerotor and L’Ombre, a wonderful subtle atmospheric composition, of which I would like to hear some more..