Review:

		9/10
		Artist: In Strict Confidence Title: La Parade Monstrueuse Format: CD Label: Minuswelt Genre: Electronic Release date: February 26, 2010

2010 sees the much delighted return of In Strict Confidence with their highly anticipated new studio album “La Parade Monstrueuse” – one year after the originally planned release date. The album took three years to complete and Dennis Ostermann and his crew have really make sure that they took care of this time to complete and work on all important details. “La Parade Monstrueuse” is once again presented with stunning artwork and available in both a regular and limited edition sets. The main album features 11 new tracks including both singles “My Despair” and “Silver Bullets” and if you want to go for the Limited Edition you’ll get a bonus disc packed with 12 tracks including several remixes from bands such as X-Fusion and ASP together with a couple of different versions and two videoclips.

It starts out with an intro before we get to “My Despair” and I just love the track. It only gets better and better. This version sounds pretty much like the single version from the EP only it has been extended to five minutes in lenght. It’s followed by another amazing track. “Silver Bullets” is energetic full of powerful beats and heavy guitar sounds. The parade continues with “One Drop” that offers punchy rhythms and melodic synth arrangements together with amazing background soundscapes blended with the poignant voice of Dennis Ostermann. “Set Me Free” must be one of the best tracks I’ve ever heard from ISC. It starts out with some heavy guitars before it turns over to a more melancholic duet song with both Dennis and Antje Schultz on vocals, to present a very powerful refrain, but yet very beautiful at the same time. The guitar riffs on the following track “This Is All” kind of reminds me of a certain Depeche Mode song and maybe you can guess which one I’m thinking of. Like previous song, this has male and female vocals.

Halfway through we comes to “Ewige Nacht”. A video to this song was recently released and this is the second video of three to be released. The song shows a different side of In Strict Confidence and the first half of the song contains only a piano and the voice from Dennis before the guitars are blended in beautifully into the song to create an emotional depth. The video match perfectly to the song and I recommend to check it out if you haven’t already. The following “Snow White” starts out smooth with a very harmonic feeling and then just in time for the chorus turns over to a heavy and dark exploration and offers classical lines like “Mirror mirror on the wall, who is the fairiest of them all?” but also the cliché-like “I adore the bloody snowflakes melting on your marble skin”. “I Surrender” is a very melodic track with female vocals from Antje on the refrain and Dennis’ in between. Their voices match perfectly together. The tempo is lowered on the two last tracks “Schwarzes Licht” and “Golden Gate” but the atmosphere on both is incredible with harmonic soundscapes which creates a melodic feeling.

“La Parade Monstrueuse” is an outstanding album with strong tracks like “My Despair”, “Silver Bullets” and “Set Me Free” to name a few and the band have strengthen their position as one of the best electronic acts out there. With an amazing production the band clearly took this extra year of polishing the album to its most farthest and the output is this; an album with catchy melodies, strong lyrics and powerful electronics with perfectly matched guitars that’s very addictive to make it their best work to date and will for sure be among the best albums released in 2010.

Tracklist:

01. La Parade Monstrueuse (Intro)
02. My Despair
03. Silver Bullets
04. One Drop
05. Set Me Free
06. This is All
07. Ewige Nacht
08. Snow White
09. I Surrender
10. Schwarzes Licht
11. Golden Gate

Limited Edition Bonus Disc:

01. Am Abgrund
02. Set Me Free (ASP Remix)
03. I Surrender (Extended Version)
04. My Despair (Whisper Version)
05. Silver Bullet (X-Fusion Remix)
06. Set Me Free (Rhys Fulber Remix)
07. Von Hier Bis Zur Unendlichkeit
08. I’m A God (Extended Version)
09. Feeling (Inner Senses)
10. I Surrender (Controlled Fusion Remix)
11. Videoclip – My Despair
12. Videoclip – Ewige Nacht