Download Albums (5)
What The Critics Say
Despite a three-year gap since the last album, cEvin Key doesn't stray too far from the Download formula here: electronic dance music with a lot of atmospherics. The album straddles the line of requiring active interest quite nicely -- if you're interested in the soundscapes, there's a lot going on in the mix to hold you, but if you'd rather use it as a soundtrack to your workday or reading, it's unobtrusive enough to provide the perfect complement. ~ Sean Carruthers, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
Download's second ablum for Nettwerk, Download III, finds cEvin Key toning down his industrial roots in favor of longer stretches of experimental electronica. That's not to say that he has completely abandoned industrial -- after all, this is one the founding fathers of the genre -- but there's simply more texture and interesting detours than before, making it of interest to listeners who usually find industrial noisy and impenetrable. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
As the official soundtrack of Jim van Bebber's movie of the same name, Charlie's Family sees Download in an interesting place. The chaotic, provocative, and experimental flavor of electronica that Download engineer now supports another picture, rather than building its own. The results are solid. Download's aggressive knob-tweaking and cut-up flavor capture a dark threat throughout Charlie's Family, overlaid at times with a collection of movie samples that are sheared, molded, and distorted through any number of effects. Download's disjointed technique is obvious throughout, but there is only enough of it happening to build a mood. "Fill Her" paints a fractured picture with distant analog tweaks and reverberated percussions that double until they form a constant rumble in the background. "Catblower"'s removed bleeps, snares, and twisted vocal samples plant the seeds of delicate imbalance as the track slowly degenerates. The theme throughout is of disquiet and how loud this disquiet is -- murmuring uncomfortable darkness through to the manic collections of noises competing to be heard. There is no doubt that Download have expertly captured a clutch of moods in Charlie's Family. There hasn't been the scope for the act to flex the full range of their talents, but this release is a good example of what Download would sound like as an ambient act. Fans of the overt Download chaos may be disappointed by the diminished nature of this in Charlie's Family, but that is not the point of this release. Better to sit in a still room and let this darkness wash over you. ~ Theo Kavadias, All Music Guide
'The Eyes of Stanley Pain'
Release Date 5/10/1996
Tracks 14
Label Off Beat
See Album Tracklist and Review
What The Critics Say
Released prior to the split between cEvin Key (of Skinny Puppy fame) and Mark Spybey (from Zoviet France and Dead Voices On Air) due to artistic differences, The Eyes of Stanley Pain is perhaps more accessible than their previous releases. Although Key's Skinny Puppy roots permeate the sound, The Eyes of Stanley Pain (along with the simultaneously released remixes, Sidewinder) marks a remarkable progression from them, making it perhaps the most cohesive Download material at the time of its release. Some of the material moves from something remarkably more coherent compared to earlier releases, featuring danceable tracks such as "Possession" and "Outafter," without sacrificing the intense electronic experimental sound usually associated with the band. Other tracks provide the surreal contrast of soft melody and the methodically haphazard use of sharp sound ("Base Metal"), while yet others provide an unexpected mix of both (such as "Collision"). As for musical structures and ideas as to what music should actually sound like, Download continues to throw it all out and invent their own as they go. Added to all this is the haunting presence of guest vocalist Genesis P. Orridge, hailing from one of the earliest industrial acts, Throbbing Gristle, and more recently, Psychic TV. This range and diversity of elements creates a depth not present on earlier releases. At once accessible and musically very challenging, The Eyes of Stanley Pain has definitely become one of the benchmarks of the industrial style, and is probably the first album any listener, new or old, should investigate when exploring Download's experimentation with electro sound. ~ Theo Kavadias, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
Following the collapse of Skinny Puppy, cEvin Key and Dwayne Goettel turned toward a more ambient, electronic style. That Goettel didn't live to see Download hit their stride is quite sad, because Furnace is, for the most part, an excellent mix of exotic, disturbing sounds. The first three songs set such a dark, fierce pace that the remainder of the album struggles in comparison. "Mallade" creates a stunningly bleak atmosphere. "Seel hole" is an experimental industrial creation that sounds like a collaboration where Aphex Twin and Goblin score a remake of Blade Runner as directed by horror maestro Dario Argento. "Omniman" should have been a club hit; its accessible demented beats and Genesis P. Orridge's creepy, humorous babbling are endlessly entertaining. After the somewhat murky and bland middle section of the album, the band strikes inspiration again with the My Bloody Valentine meets Skinny Puppy hodgepodge of "Beehatch" and the spooky Orridge love poem that is "Marred." On the latter song, Orridge sings masochistically that his lover can hurt him and emasculate him, but his love will remain. While Furnace isn't as consistently bleak or political as any album from Skinny Puppy, it signaled that Goettel and Key weren't satisfied to rest on their considerable laurels. The album is dedicated to and in memory of Goettel, and it's fitting that Furnace is at once so listenable and challenging like the output of Skinny Puppy. Though it contains some tracks that aren't entirely interesting, its moments of genius are potent indeed. ~ Tim DiGravina, All Music Guide
