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aengst

Ängst

Industrial

Discography

1994 Strain 137 Records
1995 Black And 137 Records
1995 The Null Hypothesis 137 Records
1999 Anger, Lust, Frustration, Fear, and Fun Flaming Fish Music

Strain

1994 137 Records

Matthew M. Nordan - All songs, vocals, and instruments except track 2 written by Trent Reznor
Alexander Bockman - Lead Guitar on track 1
Kaj M. Gartz - Lead guitar on track 8
Colby Keith - saxophone on track 5

  1. Cursed (4:07)
  2. Sin (3:50)
  3. Waste of a Good Man (3:24)
  4. Angry So Angry (0:50)
  5. A Kiss (3:45)
  6. Removed (5:35)
  7. Here as One (3:44)
  8. Prozac (4:18)
  9. Streets of New Heaven (6:15)
  10. Midnight (1:06)

Black And

1995 137 Records

“Rough demos, unfinished songs, experiments, remixes, and live performances”

Warning: This is not a new Ängst album, please do not review, duplicate, distribute, or discuss it as such. This is just a bunch of demos with a tape cover. Black And contains every even somewhat serious piece of Ängst output since the release of The Null Hypothesis in February 1995. With the exception of the Electro-Shock Therapy version of “Nihil Est,” all songs are to be considered rough demo recordings, produced and recorded in a sloppy, quick-and-dirty fashion under annoying time constraints with accompanying low performance expectations, and subject to musical and lyrical revision before reaching their final incarnations.

All songs written, produced, performed, recorded, and/or remixed by Matthew M. Nordan except where otherwise noted.
All synth solos in real time.
Low bass on some tracks may damage speakers at enormous volumes.
Not for use with mono devices.

  1. Nihil Est (electro-Shock) (4:19)
  2. Lying in Chalk (1:06)
  3. I Want a Capricious God (2:43) music co-written with Shep Kendall
  4. Bacteriophage (Investment Banker) (4:00)
  5. Sex Song (4:40) gang vocals by Shep Kendall and Mike Pilato
  6. Cursed (ocular mix) (4:04) remixed with Shep Kendall, rhythm guitar #2 by Shep Kendall, lead guitar by Mike Pilato
  7. Like Water Through a Sleve (3:57)
  8. East Rock (4:59)
  9. Beautiful Girl Song (3:40) music co-written with Wyatt McConnell, nearly all guitars by Wyatt McConnell, backing vocals by Meredith Lee, Shep Kendall, and Mike Pilato
  10. Boiling Point (madpaht superpaht mix) (3:36) guitar by MIke Jacobs
  11. Popular Breakfast Drink (3:02) “ned flanders” lyrics by Royal Hansen, lead guitar by Kaj M. Gartz
  12. Decomposition (3:55) music co-written with Shep Kendall, lead guitar by Kaj M. Gartz
  13. Boomin in Ya Jeep (0:47)
  14. Five in the Chamber (One in the Hole) (2:47) music co-written with Shep Kendall, rhythm and lead guitars by Wyatt McConnell, background vocals by Jennifer Brown, Meredith Lee, and Shep Kendall
  15. Bacteriophage (Management Consultant) (2:54) rhythm and lead guitars by Wyatt McConnell, backing vocals by Meredith Lee
  16. Nothing Else (Joy and Pain) (2:59) rhythm and lead guitars by Wyatt McConnell, backing vocals by Jennifer Brown
  17. Nihil Est (demo) (4:15) Lead guitar by Kaj M. Gartz
  18. To Enter the Machines (0:39)

The Null Hypothesis

1995 137 Records

All songs written, produced, performed, and recorded by Matthew M. Nordan except where noted.

  1. Descent (0:54) interjections by Brian Bateman
  2. Who Am I To Question God (2:30) lead guitar by Wyatt McConnell
  3. Warm Dry Cell (4:06) lyrics adapted from “Details at 2:38” by Corey Lafferty
  4. Exactly Precisely (4:23)
  5. Godshaped Void (3:52)
  6. Shades Of Light (4:40) lead guitar by Kaj. M. Gartz
  7. Positive (1:16) backing vocals by Meredith Lee
  8. Lollapalooza (4:39) backing vocals by Kate Marsh, lead guitar by Alex Bockman
  9. Boiling Point (2:03)
  10. Effexor (Venlafaxine HCl) (2:38) shaping, molding, guitar by Mike Pilato
  11. Persistence (3:01)
  12. Five In The Chamber (3:59) backing vocals by Jennifer Brown, written by Shep Kendall
  13. Nothing Else (3:52) acoustic guitar by Mike Pilato, lead guitar by Mike Jacobs, outro guitar by Wyatt McConnell

“No, Angst is not another teenage three-chord punk rock band, but rather a unique offering of acoustic alterna-pop and hardcore industrial. Usually the two very different styles are relegated to separate songs on The Null Hypothesis, but the band does blend them together in a few instances to confuse and amuse you. The result is an indie album that could either put a smile on your face because of the band's creativity or a frown because of a lack of genre consistency.

The alterna-pop material features acoustic guitars, simple percussion, and friendly melodic vocals in such songs as “Who Am I to Question God?”, “Warm Dry Cell”, and “Effexor”. This is an unorthodox approach when you consider the subject matter being sung. In “Exactly Precisely”, Matthew Nordan conveys the events of a date rape including a short but chilling sample of a female scream. Then later on in “Five in the Chamber”, the graphic actions and thoughts of someone involved in a gun shootout are expressed in a similar manner. It took me a while before I myself realized what the band was actually singing about in some of these songs. I now wonder if anyone will take these songs seriously or simply brush them off as unimportant?

The highlight of this tape are the excellent industrial songs that will please fans of Under Midnight. From the speed techno-metal of “Boiling Point” to the industrial metal of “Nothing Else” complete with hardcore yells, Angst is quite capable of unleashing raw power and aggression. Then in songs like “Shades of Light” and “Godshaped Void”, the band combines and blends the alterna-pop stuff with industrial to create some more enjoyable compositions. Be sure to watch for a few samples scattered throughout the album from such movies as Aliens and Pulp Fiction.

Not all of the songs are about bad things happening. In fact, there is a fair amount of songs that point to Christ as Lord, Saviour and Provider. In “Godshaped Void” the reality that personal pride can prevent us from receiving spiritual fulfillment is emphasized. Then “Who Am I to Question God?” holds reverence for the omnipotence of God and encourages the listener to check out Romans 9 for themself.

Angst's The Null Hypothesis has been a popular indie release for its creativity ever since it was first released. The band even caused a stir with their appearance on the Electro-Shock Therapy and Full Frontal Lobotomy compilations. On the other hand, those looking for a pure industrial may be disappointed with about half the album. Like it or not though, The Null Hypothesis has made its mark in the underground music scene.”

– Richard Maaranen (http://ballistictest.flamingfish.com/btz_old_reviews/ang-tnh.html)


Anger, Lust, Frustration, Fear, and Fun

1999 Flaming Fish Music

  1. East Rock (5:01)
  2. Godshaped Void (3:52)
  3. Decomposition (3:58)
  4. Here As One (3:41)
  5. Effexor (Venlafaxine HCl) (2:39)
  6. Bacteriophage (Investment Banker) (4:02)
  7. Prozac (4:18)
  8. Five In The Chamber (One In The Hole - Live) (2:56)
  9. Popular Breakfast Drink (3:06)
  10. A Kiss (3:45)
  11. Warm Dry Cell (4:07)
  12. I Want A Capricious God (2:48)
  13. Boiling Point (2:04)
  14. Like Water Through A Sieve (4:05)
  15. Beautiful Girl Song (3:49)
  16. Removed (5:35)
  17. Lollapalooza (4:38)
  18. Cursed (Ocular Mix) (4:06)
  19. Nothing Else (3:47)

“Back in the mid-90's, former Yale student and devout Christian Matthew Norton took the Christian industrial underground by storm with his one-man band Angst. With its unique, if schizophrenic, blending of guitar-driven industrial-metal, acoustic rock, and techno-dance, Norton recorded three albums and made several compilation appearances under the Angst moniker.

Sadly, it has been a while since Norton recorded any new material and most of his recordings are now hard to come by. This situation is now rectified, though, with this new CD-R released by the good folks at Flaming Fish.

Entitled Anger, Lust, Frustration, Fear, and Fun, this release includes many of the best songs from the band's three albums: Strain, The Null Hypothesis, and Black &. In all there are nineteen songs, including the popular hits “Boiling Point”, “Godshaped Void”, “Effexor(Venlafaxine HCL)”, and “Five In The Chamber”. The only disappointments are the exclusion of the hits “Sex Song” and “Nihil Est”, which are from the Full Frontal Lobotomy and Electro-Shock Therapy compilations, respectively, as is the gripping, anti-rape number “Exactly Precisely”.

As an unabashed fan of club music, my personal favorites are the Klank-meets-2-Unlimited sounding “Here As One”, the industrial synth-pop number “Godshaped Void”, and the house piece “A Kiss”, which features some cool saxophone as well as some Prodigal Sons samples. I also enjoy the sarcastically dark acoustic pop of “Effexor(Venlafaxine HCL)”, “Popular Breakfast Drink”, with its reference to Simpsons character Ned Flanders, and “Warm Dry Cell”, which alternates between punk and hip-hop influences.

By including the best songs from all three of the band's full-length releases, “Anger, Lust, Frustration, Fear, and Fun” is the closest thing there is to a greatest hits release for Angst. I especially recommend it to those people who missed out on this amazing band the first time around. By combining so many different genres with smart, satirical lyrics about some serious issues, Matthew Norton is a musical genius.”

– James McGinnis (http://ballistictest.flamingfish.com/btz_old_reviews/ang-alf.html)


aengst.txt · Last modified: 2019/10/16 02:23 by admin