Kannibalen‘s Princess of Darkness and Queen of the Dark Electro Underworld, HVDES, releases her latest EP, Stand Alone Complex.
Stand Alone Complex pays homage to one of anime’s more famous stories in the west, Ghost in the Shell. The first song on the EP, ‘Human,’ has an eerie vocal clip that loops throughout describing the contradicting experience of being an android: a biologically human mind driving a manufactured vessel. This tense existence plays out thematically through the track as HVDES mixes industrial synths, fluttering high notes, and pulsating bass.
HVDES partners up with Crimson Child and performs the lyrics herself on the second track of this EP, ‘Ghost.exe.’ It begins with booming bass announcing the arrival of this heavy dubstep banger. As the tempo crescendos, she croons “Peel the skin off my face so that everyone can see, what’s hiding under me/ There’s a ghost in my head, and she’s trying to kill me.” ‘Ghost.exe’ keeps the energy fierce through out with vibrating wubs and nasty slapping snares. A few surprises are tucked here and there, like the meaty first drop, swirling synths of the later, and the lustrous and emotional outro.
‘Akuma’ the last track’s opening is whipped up by a tight, military like snare and quickening tempo. Building tension is driven by the high pitched Japanese vocal sample. This steady banger plays up heavy industrial futuristic elements with dreamy breaks that sync with the soft melody in the background. That’s all bashed against the wall with each heavy drop that crumbles into crunchy bits of bass.
Check out the whole EP below.
