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Artist: LEECH WOMAN
Album: Uncertainty Device # 26573
Year: 2004
Leech Woman is a UK-based electro punk formation, having already released quite a bunch of releases into the underground world. This duo released their debut album '33°' back then in 1997, followed by the 2000 EP release of 'Shit, Piss And Industrial Waste' and one year later the 'Three3Zero' album. After these releases the band felt like it was time for the release of a remix album, resulting in the 2004 release of 'Uncertainty Device # 26573'. It includes remixes from acts that are totally unknown to me - only the name Hydra is familiar to me because of an earlier review, and the name Ambassador 21 rings a tiny little bell.
The first track on the release is the Noize Punishment remix of the track named 'Tool'. Just as the name of the remixer implies, it's a very noisy piece including heavy industrial sounds and slightly added though very distorted riffing. I really liked Ambassador 21's remix of the track 'Breaker'. It includes of recogniseable and repetitive riffing, outbursting vocal lines and electronic works laying inbetween noise and ambient. The remix switches from parts including bashing programming to parts with no programming at all. Needleye's remix of 'Section 13' is a really wicked one as well. It's build on kickass programming and a noisy attitude, while added cold and surprisingly welfitting keylines and desperate vocals. 'Knucklehate', remixed by Schizoid, comes up next. It mixes dark ambient tunes with a recogniseable beat, subtile added keylines and raw punk vocal lines, resulting in a more accessable but very dark track. Next up comes another remix for 'Breaker', this time done by Aphasic. It's a bit of a strange mix, that I'd like to compare to the waking up of a sleeping giant. It opens with ambient tunes and a very slow beat, and slowly developes into a more clumsy state. Overall the remix is mostly ambient based, with small touches of noise. Matt Green's remix of 'Cardinal' is haunting you straight from the beginning and doesn't stop until it ends. Although it never really gets uptempo, it has a certain amount of chaos, and spooky and atmospheric keylines. It as well includes a noisy rhytm with even small touches of breakbeat deeply hidden within. The lovely band (or project?) named Tarantella Serpentine did a very wicked remix of 'Tool'. It includes touches from drum'n'bass and dubstep, mixed with noisy samples and sometimes nearly whispering vocal lines. Tom Mills' remix of 'Fedrill' follows. It's a very short remix, with a noisy attitude and ambient touches, which bored me a little. 'Cardinal', remixed by Exitboy, turns out to be of a better kind. It goes from noisy attitudes to newskool EBM likely keylines and wicked electronic sampling. It also includes surprisingly heavy riffing, that despite the pitching sounds quite accessable to me. Another remix for 'Breaker' comes up next. Uniform managed to turn it into a chaotic ambient based track, with tough programming and noisy samples. Noise Creator did some kind of double mix for 'Solid State' and 'Fedrill'. It consists of a hyperactively bouncing beat, noisy elements and an overall industrial attitude. Hydra's remix of 'Kincaid' has repetitive electronic samples, a heavy bass and recogniseable sampling, turning it into a rather machinery sounding track without getting too noisy or too ambient. The Dark Half did a totally different remix of 'Cardinal'. It includes orchestral piano work, cold atmospheric keylines and subtile added basspicks. The desperate raw punk vocals give the track a certain dimension without losing accessibility. Another remix for 'Tool' (done by Mental Output) comes up next. It's a totally destructive remix, captured in total noise without any remorse for rhytm or melody. Hidious Wheel Invention (what a name !) did a pretty harsh sounding remix for 'Breaker'. It includes a massive dose of distortion, well mixed in vocal lines and wicked programming works. Overall the track has a noisy attitude as well. Next to the Mental Output remix, we as well have a Total Output remix - this time for the track 'Solid State'. It delivers a quite cool mix of noise and dubstep, with surprisingly wellfitting vocal lines and a some kind of secret fetish for robots. Advanced Idea Mechanics made a bit of a strange remix of 'Cardinal'. It includes a repetitive sound that sounds like someone is ticking on a frying pan, a heavy bassline and experimental passages. The release ends with Germseed's remix of 'Kincaid'. It's again an extremely noisy one, including small touches of ambient and industrial, which sounds more like an intro or an outro than like a real remix in my ears.
Remix albums are always tricky. Often, they include both excellent remixes and terrible ones, and even more often it's a strong matter of personal taste. Still I feel that this remix album can be seen as an invaluable part of the CD collection of everybody who has the nerve to call himself or herself 'alternative'. It has a bit of everything for every different person - just like the track by track described ; much noise, wicked keylines, ambient passages, small touches of drum'n'bass and related genres and most of all - industrial. Don't expect any melody (with an exception of the described orchestral remix) or any danceable efforts - just enjoy listening this one and get impressed as well. Be sure to skip the two remixes that bored me though !
Vote: 90 / 100
Review by: Gerardo
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1. Tool (Remixed by Noize Punishment)
2. Breaker (Remixed by Ambassador 21)
3. Section 13 (Remixed by Needleye)
4. Knucklehate (Remixed by Schizoid)
5. Breaker (Remixed by Aphasic)
6. Cardinal (Remixed by Matt Green)
7. Tool (Remixed by Tarantella Serpentine)
8. Fedrill (Remixed by Tom Mills)
9. Cardinal (Remixed by Exitboy)
10. Breaker (Remixed by Uniform)
11. Solid State / Fedrill (Remixed by Noise Creator)
12. Kincaid (Remixed by Hydra)
13. Cardinal (Remixed by The Dark Half)
14. Tool (Remixed by Mental Output)
15. Breaker (Remixed by Hideous Wheel Invention)
16. Solid State (Remixed by Total Output)
17. Cardinal (Remixed by Advanced Idea Mechanics)
18. Kincaid (Remixed by Germseed)
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