Assemblage 23: Meta (Metropolis)
release: April 24, 2007
styles: EBM, dark synth, post industrial dance
similar: And One, VNV Nation, Apoptygma Berzerk
rating: ***
On Meta, Tom Shear seems to have moved on a little bit (relatively) from his own personal pain and emotional suffering. He still reflects on when he was down in a hole or sometimes still in one ("I can reach for the surface and try to pull myself free/but the last thing I want is to drag you down with me" in "Damaged"). On "Sorry," one of the best tracks that should be yet another dark dance club anthem, the lyrics are directed towards someone else down in a hole with whom he can't share the misery ("I'm sorry I cant grovel in emotions I outgrew"). He also worries about forgetting everything years from now ("Old"), which is one of the most sincere tracks on the album. "Madman's Dream" is oddly uncharacteristic, as it's apparently a reaction to the devastation in New Orleans, though musically the song stays true to the A23 dark synth dance form. And that's just fine because we need more depressing music for an already depressing world. -Kenyon