Comprised of Fredrik Croona (Necroleptic, Snuff Engel, and formerly of Menschdefekt) on vocals and Kettil Sundberg (Syndrome X/209) on keys/programming, Project Rotten is a relatively young dark electro band started in 2009. The duo has an interesting sound often reminiscent of South American dark electro than its European counterparts, thanks largely to the elements in Sundberg’s writing and the harshness and cadence of Croona’s vocals. After a handful of demo EPs, a full-length, and several compilation appearances, they are set to release their sophomore full-length ‘Cinema Bizarre’ on Advoxya Records September 25th. 2010’s ‘The Freakshow’ was one of my favorite releases that year (it’s since sold out its 150 copy run), so I was very much looking forward to ‘Cinema Bizarre.’

This is easily Project Rotten’s most aggressive work to date- ‘Soul Stripped (No Future)’ kicks this twisted “freak show” off with plenty of insidious trance-infused saw leads and snot-nosed punk-cum-metal vocals. Right away, this song announces a minor change in direction: up until this point, one of the criticisms of past releases was the vocals were very low in the mix and practically inaudible, due to a multitude of vocal effects. For all intents and purposes ‘Cinema Bizarre’ sees PR ditching the heavily distorted “whisper-scream” technique of past releases, bringing Croona’s voice up front and center- it’s still powerful, and tinged with a metallic robotic feel (which is closer to their live sound).While a few bands in the Aggrotech movement have tried this to varying degrees of success (Grendel,Aesthetic Perfection, etc…) - Croona’s shift to more clean, “live” voice instantly gives ‘Cinema Bizarre’ a step up, gaining audibility without sacrificing the aggressive elements.

Along with this newfound pulmonary terror is a more polished approach production-wise. ‘Borrowed Time’, ‘Through the Chaos’, and ‘Fuel My Hatred’ retain the grittiness of past releases while sounding absolutely shimmering; Sanders Kapper's (Stahlnebel & Black Selket) mastering gives the soundscapes an added, violent punch- unifying all these elements together (vocals, production, mastering), Project Rotten create a hellish, psychopathic vision of which the listener addictively partakes.

‘Cinema Bizarre’ hosts a plethora of collaborators from around the world- PreEmptive Strike v.1 from Greece (Visions of Death), Javi Ssagitt from Spain’s Terrolokaust, and Johan Van Roy of Suicide Commando; these tracks are among the major highlights of the album. The best track on the album is the frenzied, barbed-wired storm of ‘The Hunger’ (featuring Javi from Terrolokaust). “We are cursed eternally!”-the interplay between the mechanical voice and Javi’s unmistakable, heavy-duty pipes gives it “instant classic” status. On ‘Club Dead, a certain Suicide Commando joins Croona on the twisted chorus: “We are dead stars- the revolution of a whole new generation – and we are here to rock the show!”

The album also includes some re-worked tracks from previous demos and albums to fit the band’s current sound. ‘Crucified (Club Rework)’ gets a fresh overhaul, sounding less terror EBM and more “industrial club night”-friendly, and bringing Croona’s vocals closer in the mix. Similary, ‘Nightmares’ and ‘Out for Blood’ get new skin for the phantasmagorical rollercoaster ride.

‘Cinema Bizarre’ is an album that stakes Project Rotten’s claim on the industrial battlefield- it will appeal simultaneously to the cult of fans surrounding up-and-coming dark electro projects (Souless Affection, Sin D.N.A., Sleetgrout, vProjekt, Terrolokaust) and the established favorites as well (Suicide Commando, Hocico, C-Lekktor). Fredrik Croona’s work (both here, his myriad of vocal contributions to projects as varied as Anamadim, Scream Machine, and with the recently-departed ‘Menschdefekt’) is something I’ve always felt had potential to stand toe-to-toe with the top of the industrial heap; Project Rotten have a great live work ethic and is always toiling hard to improve its sound, here’s hoping ‘Cinema Bizarre’ is the breakthrough to the upper echelon they deserve.