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Artist: CODE NAME
Album: Bizarre Action Figures
Year: 2006
Imagine, you are in a random CD store in Spain,
searching at the metal department for some local acts.
Suddenly in the corner, your eyes catch a CD with a
quite uncommon cover and name: “Bizarre Action Figures”.
You decide to have a quick look at the tracklist, and
you find out that they are named quite weird too (Killer
Klowns, Lost Boys, Turbo Zombies, Candyman...). The band
happens to be “Code Name”, a seven-piece from Valencia,
Spain, which logo looks a little bit like the one from
Hot Wheels (the toy car brand). Your brains are moving
very fast. ‘Does this CD belong in the metal department,
or more at the Bob the Builder department? Should I give
it a listen, because it made me quite curious in a way
too?’ Well, the people who’ve read this review will know
what to do in this situation. Others will probably be
standing over there for two hours, thinking what to do.
The album starts with the song called ‘La Muerte Viaja
en Vídeo’. This is a strong cyber metal track, with some
HC influences on the chorus. The powerful double bass
drumming gets you bouncing from the beginning until the
end of this song. ‘Killer Klowns’ contains more or less
fifty-fifty male/female vocals. This first surprised me
quite well, but I must admit that this step is a decent
one. The female vocals fit the theme of it quite well
and etalages it even more. The song happens to be a
modern industrial metal track, slightly influenced by
some touches of the cyber death corner. ‘Critters’ is in
my opinion the best track of this album. Easy listening
stuff with a catchy touch, and the sampling that reminds
me to some of the EBM stuff I have here and there in my
CD collection. Specially the female vocal parts keep
stuck in your mind. ‘Brain Damage’ is a song with a more
atmospheric and darker touch. The sampling is filled
with sorrow, while the vocals sound quite desperate here
and here. The pre-chorus and the chorus remind me
strongly to Type O Negative, and although I am not a big
fan of this band, I must admit that I like this song.
‘Lost Boys’ opens with a heavy metal likely guitarsolo,
but afterwards there is some easy listening track
waiting for you. This track is more rock and less metal,
which is a nice variation on this record. ‘Scanners’ is
a track that lays on the opposite. Fast and hysteric
instrumental work, with heavy metal vocals and some
weird sampling are to be found in this short, but good
and powerful track. ‘Candyman’ follows. This track can
best be described as a gothic rock track, with a touch
of the dark industrial world. It’s a very atmospheric
and dark track, which is very decently build and shows a
different side of this band.
The next six are remixes, done by Spanish bands like
Blood and Rave Party Animals, and by some bands that are
unknown to me. Every remix varies from the other one.
The remix done by Quico 13 is very atmospheric and
sounds like it is missing a real stunning beat. The Bad
F-Line remix is very harsh, with chaotic beats and a
fast, danceable rhytm. The remix done by Blood is very
electronized (or electrocuted if you wish), which turned
this track into a crazy and sick EBM one. Rave Party
Animals made a real powerful remix for this CD, which is
very danceable and moving from the start until the end.
The remix done by Kemao happens to be my favourite one,
due to the very catchy beat and the remixed guitars in
it. 3A2 DJ made a very cool remix of ‘Critters’, but
somehow I am missing the crazy attitude of the original
track.
Code name happens to be more than just cool and crazy
music, they also appear under a certain image. Sceptic
people will probably call them a Marilyn Manson clone
when they see their promo pictures, but I can assure you
the opposite. The ‘B-Movie Attitude’ shown on different
songs is the first evidence, and the fact that they mix
absurde humor in their lyrics (like Notre Dame and
Pungent Stench, but less extreme and sick) should be
proof enough already. I dare to state that this band is
an original act already, and I will definitely keep an
eye on these new talents. So boys and girls, dudes and
dudettes: when you are in that particular CD store in
Spain with this particular CD in your hands, you know
what to do with it. Buy it blindly, buy a CD player in
the store on the other side of the street and listen to
this CD immidiately, you will not be dissapointed!
Vote: 96 / 100
Review by: Gerardo |
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01. La muerte viaja en
vídeo
02. Killer Klowns
03. Critters
04. Brain Damage
05. Lost Boys
06. Scanners
07. Candyman
08. Hellraiser (13er
Proof Remix) - Quico 13
09. Return of the Living
Dead (Gore Rave Remix) -
Bad F-Line
10. Nekromantik (Voodoo
Remix) - Blood
11. 2000 Maniacs (Raving
Maniacs Remix) - Rave
Party Animals
12. Turbo-Zombies
(Ultramasturbator Remix)
- Kemao
13. Critters (Extermind
Remix) - 3A2 DJ
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