21st Century Slave

Last updated
21st Century Slave
21st Century Slave.jpg
Studio album by
ReleasedJuly 14, 2009
Recorded2008–2009
Subsound Recording Studios, Rome, Italy
Genre Industrial metal, industrial rock
Length52:35
Label Trisol Music Group
Metropolis Records
Producer Victor Love
Dope Stars Inc. chronology
Criminal Intents/Morning Star
(2009)
21st Century Slave
(2009)
Ultrawired
(2011)
Singles from 21st Century Slave
  1. "Criminal Intents"
    Released: April 20, 2009
  2. "Digital Warriors"
    Released: April 20, 2009
  3. "It's Today"
    Released: February 10, 2010

21st Century Slave is the third studio album by Italian industrial rock band Dope Stars Inc. and has been considered a big step in the industrial metal and electronica genre. Lyrically it focuses on traditional cyberpunk beliefs and themes. Similar to many of their previous albums and EPs, 21st Century Slave was produced by Victor Love.

Contents

Upon release, 21st Century Slave garnered more media attention than Dope Stars previous albums, receiving some positive reviews with several critics complementing the album's loud guitars and use of instruments, although opinions on the singing of lead vocalist Victor Love were mixed. The technological revolution themes and lyrics inspired by a dystopian future were also praised as being deeper than many other bands of the genre.

The album was released on July 14, 2009 in Europe, with other countries including North America and Australia being released in the following week on July 21. The album was recorded on the Trisol record label, being distributed by them in most of Europe and by Metropolis Records in the United States, Canada and much of the rest of the world. Various companies have handled distribution in other counties.

Background

Dope Stars' third album and a third EP were both in production for over two years, the longest gap to date for the band to release music. The band officially announced plans for their third album in May 2009. [1] For their third album, the band once again chose to record in Subsound Studios in Italy and use Trisol Music Group for their European label. In addition, they chose Metropolis Records as their North American and Canadian label, Deathwatch Asia as their Asian label, and a few other labels to distribute the album worldwide. Following extensive touring all over Europe and Asia since 2006, Dope Stars began recording the album in early 2008 and it was released on July 14, 2009. 21st Century Slave was the band's full breakthrough album and has earned mention in the industrial music industry, with much attention being spread online. Two of the tracks for the album, "Criminal Intents" and "Digital Warriors", were available previously on the band's EP Criminal Intents/Morning Star . The EP, which was released exactly three months before 21st Century Slave on April 20, 2009, also included tracks from previous albums. [2]

Following the release of 21st Century Slave, Dope Stars Inc. has released a compilation album titled Subversive Industrial Assault through Subsound Records that features them as well as other artists including: Epochate, Deflore, Aquefrigide, Mithra, Richard Christ, Nonlinear System Theory, Neon Synthesis, and Kardia. [3] Concerning future projects exclusive to the band, no one has commented yet on a fourth album or EP, but they are expected to begin working on future projects sometime in 2010. Rather than continuing to use a drum machine for albums and live performances, the band is planning to hire a real drummer for their future projects. [4]

Versions

The album was first released in Europe and North American and Australian releases followed, along with other minor releases. The European and Italian versions of the album included artwork and lyric booklets. The North American and Japanese versions also included booklets, but with varying content. In addition, the North American version got a special edition jewel case with an exclusive 16-page booklet. All versions were released in July 2009, with the first edition being July 21. [5]

Themes and composition

21st Century Slave continues the cyberpunk style of its immediate predecessor, Criminal Intents/Morning Star. The album includes eleven tracks, two of which were included on their previous EP. It is a concept album that follows the narrative of a dystopian future in which the world population are subject to large-scale brainwashing by corporate leaders. The seventh track, "Megacorps", is titled after the dictatorship which afflicts the impressionable people and exposes them to propaganda. Later tracks detail the uprising of an "underground network of cyber-rebels" who attempt to stop Megacorps from taking over the minds of the "sheeple" of the world. This concept story is heavily influenced by the cyberpunk writings of William Gibson and his series of novels based on similar technological dependence. [6] [7]

The album's attempt to tell a tale and keep the mood constant has led it to be described as "the band’s most ambitious project to date" by Fearnet. They also noted the dark tale of the album being influenced by science fiction films such as Blade Runner . Dope Stars describes their album as "A new manifesto for Digital Warriors, Outlaw Technologists and Console Riders of the 21st Century." [6]

The tracks themselves continue with the blend of electronic, industrial, and rock music that carry over from Dope Stars previous albums. Also, the band has continued their influence from 80's Glam Rock and However, the album has shifted farther from electronica and more over to metal with emphasis on guitar sounds.

Intermixed within the album are occasional rock ballads that are a considerably lighter tone than the rest of the tracks. FEARnet coined the name "Cyberpunk ballads" for tracks of this type. These tracks however, still maintain the synth and beats from other songs. For the first time on any album or EP, Dope Stars Inc. has included a track composed of nothing but acoustic instruments. The track, "It's For You", was considered as an experiment by the band members and did not note it as a shift in their genre. Commenting on the track and the effect it may have on their fans, Victor Love stated,

"I don’t think one song in a set of 11 can be such a scare for the fans, especially considering all the very heavy passages the album got already. The album was originally planned to be a 10-tracks album but then we decided that we wanted to give a try with an acoustic track that could leave space for a totally new experiment. Of course, an acoustic track can be something that deals with an hard sound and leaves an impact anyway so when I was writing it I just tried to imagine an acoustic experiment that could include both the usual vocal style of our more melodic passages and be influenced by both the rock and electronic elements that always characterized our sound. I think that people that like the music as a whole and are not so narrow-minded to give too much importance to clichés or a defender attitude would like this experiment. It is not a song for the hardcore souls but since we already had a lot of tracks in the past with a very pop feeling I think it would not be such a big thing to accept for a large part of our romantic fans." [4]

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
SphereStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [8]
ReGen magazineStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg [9]
Moving Hands MusicStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg [10]

Following the release of their last studio album, Gigahearts, the band was established as the head of the Cyberpunk genre and the Italian industrial scene. [8] This led to the band spending two years for the production and recording of 21st Century Slave, the longest time the band has spent between album releases. After release of 21st Century Slave, the album received much attention from critics. Dom Smith of Sphere magazine praised every track as new ground for the band and compared them as better than industrial metal band Deathstars. Smith also wrote that "While ’21st Century Slave’ doesn’t make any major adjustments to DSI’s tried and tested formula of monstrous cyberpunk, it’s certainly their most vibrant and accessible record to date." [8] Cyberpunk reviewer Mr. Roboto also left a similarly positive review for the album. Roboto felt that the band "pulled out all the stops" for the album and went as far to call it a soundtrack for the Cyberpunk genre and a big influence for it as well. He went on to praise the lyrical meaning of the tracks as well as their relevance to a possible dystopian future. Creating a comparison from Dope Stars to Billy Idol and The Cassandra Complex, Roboto stated that "this is one CD you need to have in your collection, especially if you prefer harder music." [11]

Other reviewers shared many of the same points when reviewing the album. ReGen magazine gave the album a three out of a possible five citing their attempt to appeal to many genres of music as a strength. The reviewer, Andreas Torneberg, felt that Dope Stars was using a blend of guitars and electric beats to gather fans of metal and rock music while still catering to fans of industrial metal and electronica. Torneberg felt the album was ambitious and promising but noted that the tracks were louder than they were unique, resulting in the mediocre score. [9] Reviewer Johannes van der Meer admitted that while he was unfamiliar with the Cyberpunk genre and did not have high expectations, he felt the album was strong and part of an evolving genre in music. Similarly the reviewer for ReGen, Van der Meer felt the mix of rock and electronic elements was a positive and that the overall album was good and "for you open minded people out there who enjoy music to go nuts to. Another plus is if you like both rock/metal and electronic music of course." The resulting score from the review was a six out of a possible ten. [10]

However, not all reviews for the album were as positive. A review from Heathen Harvest did not indicate an overall score for the album but expressed dislike for the commercial feel of the tracks and noted that the album had "no dark ambient passages, no obscure production, no guitar noise experimentation nor deep throbbing bass. There are no profound occult/fascist/poetic references, no medieval folk interludes, and not even swooping majestic orchestrations.", which was found to be a weakness. The reviewer went on to scold upon the apparent lightness of the songs' mood but felt it is better than other bands of similar genres. Another criticism from this reviewer was the below-par singing of Victor Love and the unnecessary ballad breaks within the album. While the review was generally negative, the reviewer praised 21st Century Slave for the deep undertones of the lyrics and the concise instruments and effects. [12]

Track listing

All lyrics are written by Victor Love; all music is composed by Victor Love

No.TitleLength
1."Omegadrones"6:49
2."21st Century Slave"5:36
3."It's Today"3:27
4."When I See You Smile"6:00
5."Digital Warriors"5:25
6."Megacorps"3:35
7."Criminal Intents"3:32
8."Neuromantics"4:43
9."Outlaw Thrones"5:14
10."The World Machine"4:34
11."It's For You"3:40

Personnel

Release history

RegionDateLabelFormat
WorldJuly 21, 2009 Metropolis Digital download
United States CD, Digipack
Canada
EuropeJuly 14, 2009 Trisol Music Group
Japan Deathwatch Asia
Italy Subsound Records

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Monster Magnet</span> American rock band

Monster Magnet is an American rock band, founded in Red Bank, New Jersey in 1989 by Dave Wyndorf, John McBain (guitar) and Tim Cronin. The band has since gone through several lineup changes, leaving Wyndorf as the only constant member. Monster Magnet has released ten studio albums to date, and they are best known for their 1990s hits "Negasonic Teenage Warhead" and "Space Lord". The band has also been credited for developing and popularizing the stoner rock genre, along with Masters of Reality, Kyuss, Fu Manchu and Sleep.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mortiis</span> Norwegian musician

Mortiis is an electronic band from Notodden, Norway fronted by Håvard Ellefsen, who is also known as the namesake of the band. The name is a misspelling of the word "mortis", which is the pronunciation used by the band. Mortiis started as the solo project of Ellefsen as a means to convey a story. This aspect was lost over time and Mortiis slowly formed into a band. Ellefsen previously played bass in the black metal band Emperor (1991–1992), prior to forming this project in 1993. The time he spent in his previous band laid the groundworks for mixing black metal elements with various electronic genres, with these being touched upon across each "era" of the band.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rap metal</span> Music genre that combines hip hop and metal

Rap metal is a fusion genre which combines hip hop with heavy metal. It usually consists of heavy metal guitar riffs, funk metal elements, rapped vocals and sometimes turntables.

Industrial metal is the fusion of heavy metal and industrial music, typically employing repeating metal guitar riffs, sampling, synthesizer or sequencer lines, and distorted vocals. Prominent industrial metal acts include Ministry, Nine Inch Nails, KMFDM, and Godflesh.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dope (band)</span> American metal band

Dope is an American nu metal band from New York City, formed in 1997. The band has released seven full-length studio albums with their most recent studio album, Blood Money Part Zer0, being released in February 2023. The lineup currently consists of founding member and lead singer and keyboardist Edsel Dope, lead guitarist, Virus, rhythm guitarist Acey Slade, bassist Daniel Fox and drummer Chris Warner.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Acey Slade</span> American musician

Emil John Schmidt IV, known professionally as Acey Slade, is an American musician. He is the bassist and one of the guitarists in the nu metal/industrial band Dope and a former guitarist of the horror punk and glam metal act Murderdolls. He is also the lead singer and guitarist of Acey Slade & the Dark Party and a touring guitarist of The Misfits. Previous to this, he served as the bassist in Joan Jett & the Blackhearts and as the lead vocalist and guitarist in the punk rock band Trashlight Vision, which broke up in 2007.

Slaves on Dope is a Canadian metal band based in Montreal, Quebec.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alex Vega</span> Musical artist

Alessandro Pace, better known by his stage name Alex Vega, is an Italian musician and part-time DJ. Founder of the musical project The Foreshadowing, he was previously associated with the bands Dope Stars Inc. and Klimt 1918. Pace assumed the name Alex Vega in 2005 when he joined Dope Stars Inc. as a replacement guitarist for Brian Wolfram. Pace left Dope Stars in 2007 and left an earlier project, Klimt 1918, a year earlier in 2006. Currently, Pace is only involved in his own band The Foreshadowing.

The LoveCrave is an Italian gothic metal band from Milan. The LoveCrave means "Hundredth Rave of Love". This name was taken from a story about a rave of vampires written by Francesca Chiara in 2003.

Jesus on Extasy is an electronic rock band from Essen, Germany, formed in 2005 by Dorian Deveraux and Chai Deveraux. The band's musical style can be described as a hybrid of rock and metal elements and electronic music. After breaking up in 2014, the band announced their reunion on their Facebook page in October 2020.

Dope Stars Inc. is an Italian alternative and industrial rock band from Rome, formed in 2003. The band was founded by Victor Love, Darin Yevonde, Grace Khold and Brian Wolfram. They have five albums and three EPs released, with the latest being released on February 27, 2015. The band has signed with multiple labels since their inception, with Trisol Music Group being their first. Currently, their albums are distributed by Trisol in Europe, Subsound in Italy, Metropolis Records in North America, and other small labels including Deathwatch Asia in Japan and other countries.

<i>Blackjazz</i> 2010 studio album by Shining

Blackjazz is the fifth studio album by the Norwegian band Shining, released through Indie Recordings on 18 January 2010. It marks a shift into the avant-garde metal genre, with extreme metal, industrial and progressive influences.

<i>Gigahearts</i> 2006 studio album by Dope Stars Inc.

Gigahearts is the second studio album by Italian industrial rock band Dope Stars Inc. Lyrically it focuses on traditional cyberpunk beliefs and themes. The album was released in 2006 first in Europe and in other countries including North America and Australia in the following weeks. Like Dope Stars' previous album and EPs, Gigahearts was recorded on the Trisol record label and distributed by them in most of Europe, while Metropolis Records was the distributor in the United States, Canada and much of the rest of the world. Other companies have handled distribution in some counties.

<i>Criminal Intents/Morning Star</i> 2009 EP by Dope Stars Inc.

Criminal Intents/Morning Star is the third EP album by Italian industrial rock band Dope Stars Inc. It was released on April 21, 2009 as an immediate precursor to their third album, 21st Century Slave, which was released exactly three months later on July 21, 2009. Lyrically it focuses on traditional cyberpunk beliefs and themes. Like their previous album and EPs, Criminal Intents/Morning Star was recorded on the Trisol record label, being distributed by them in most of Europe and by Metropolis Records in the United States, Canada and much of the rest of the world. Various other companies have handled distribution in other counties.

<i>10.000 Watts of Artificial Pleasures</i> 2003 EP by Dope Stars Inc.

10,000 Watts of Artificial Pleasures is the debut EP, as well as the very first project by Italian industrial rock band Dope Stars Inc. It was released periodically throughout 2003. Being self-produced and distributed, the band created a street team to sell copies of the album in order to get the attention of labels for future projects. Copies of the EP sold out quickly and boosted the band's reputation into gaining a record deal with Trisol Music Group.

<i>Make a Star</i> 2006 EP by Dope Stars Inc.

Make a Star is the second EP album by Italian industrial rock band Dope Stars Inc. It was released on August 4, 2006. Following suit of their previous albums, the EP was released under the Trisol Music Group label as well as being distributed by Metropolis Records in North America and Canada, with other labels distributing in other countries. Thomas Rainer, who produced their last album, returned to produce along with Bernd Mazzagg and Markus Jäger.

<i>Neuromance</i> 2005 studio album by Dope Stars Inc.

Neuromance is the debut studio album by Italian industrial rock band Dope Stars Inc. and is also the first project by the band released under the Trisol Music Group label. Lyrically it focuses on traditional cyberpunk beliefs and themes, the album title itself a play on the Cyberpunk classic Neuromancer. Unlike their previous EP, 10,000 Watts of Artificial Pleasures, which was published by Victor Love, Neuromance was produced by Thomas Rainer and John Fryer. The album was released on August 22, 2005, as a Digipak to coincide with the release of the digital download.

<i>Aseptic White</i> 2008 studio album by Digitalis Purpurea

Aseptic White released with "Dreamcell_11/Aural Music" is the first full-length album of the Italian industrial metal band Digitalis Purpurea. Recorded in winter 2007/2008, was released on October 2, 2008 with a worldwide distribution.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Metaltech (band)</span> Scottish band

Metaltech are a three piece Scottish metal/techno/rock/industrial dance music band from Edinburgh. They consist of Erik Tricity performing vocals, rhythm guitar, programming and production, Lord Thrapston Flagellator, pronounced fla-jella-tor playing bass guitar and the Insidious Doktor Mayhem providing lead guitar and pyrotechnics.

<i>21st Century Love Songs</i> 2021 studio album by The Wildhearts

21st Century Love Songs is the tenth studio album by British rock band The Wildhearts. Recorded at the Old Cider Press in Pershore, Worcestershire, it was produced by Dave Draper and released on 3 September 2021 by Graphite Records. The album was the band's first release since P.H.U.Q. in 1995 to reach the top ten of the UK Albums Chart, peaking at number 9. Three songs were released as singles: "Remember These Days", "Sort Your Fucking Shit Out" and "Sleepaway".

References

  1. Nightraven (May 8, 2009). "Dope Stars Inc. announce 3rd studio album". darktwincities.com. Dark Twin Cities. Archived from the original on July 8, 2011. Retrieved February 15, 2010.
  2. deathbringer (2009-02-27). "Dope Stars Inc. Plans Double Feature EP, "Criminal Intents/Morning Star"". Metal Underground. Retrieved 2010-01-25.
  3. xFiruath (2009-08-02). "Subsound Records Offers Free Compilation Download Titled "Subversive Industrial Assault"". Metal Underground. Retrieved 2010-01-25.
  4. 1 2 Patrashov, Roman; Kulikov, Dmitry; Khorina, Natalia (2009-07-15). "Dope Stars Inc. Digital Warriors". HeadBanger. Retrieved 2010-01-17.
  5. 1 2 Gregory Burkart (2009-05-13). "Dope Stars Inc. Prepare to Unleash Full-Length Album!". FEARnet . Retrieved 2010-02-03.
  6. RSJ (2006). "Dope Stars Inc". Rock Star Journalism. Retrieved 2010-02-09.
  7. 1 2 3 Dom Smith (2009-07-05). "CD Review: Dope Stars Inc. 21st Century Slave". Sphere. Archived from the original on 2010-08-27. Retrieved 2010-01-25.
  8. 1 2 Andreas Torneberg (2009-07-21). "Review: Dope Stars Inc. 21st Century Slave". ReGen magazine. Retrieved 2010-01-25.
  9. 1 2 Johannes van der Meer (3 September 2009). "Dope Stars Inc. "21st Century Slave"". Moving Hands Music. Archived from the original on 13 January 2010. Retrieved 25 January 2010.
  10. Mr. Roboto (2009-11-02). "21st Century Slave: Dope Stars Inc". Cyberpunk. Archived from the original on 9 February 2010. Retrieved 2010-01-25.
  11. Loki Helvete (2009-12-15). "Heathen Harvest Reviews: Dope Stars Inc. 21st Century Slave". Heathen Harvest. Archived from the original on 21 December 2009. Retrieved 2010-01-25.