Church of Industrial Music: 16volt - Skin

This is another band that I first heard on the excellent Coldwave Breaks compilation, with a remix of this album's title track. 16volt was one the bands that helped define the 90's coldwave thing, and this album is one of the classics for sure. This is their second album, and while the first one, Wisdom, is also a classic, and honestly just as good in my opinion, Skin was the first one I had, and I think it provides a nice snapshot of the project before they went in a more rock-leaning direction. While the following album, LetDownCrush, is also fantastic (and again, just as good), I think Skin is the one that established 16volt as one of THE industrial acts.

If I'm not mistaken, the only constant member of 16volt has been Eric Powell, which may help explain the changes in sound over time. Personally, my interest peaked with this album and LetDownCrush, but there is still some really good stuff on the later albums as well. While I think LetDownCrush has some elements I prefer (some truly killer guitar riffage, for example), I think Skin is a bit darker, and has a more "industrial" sound, for lack of a better way to put it. I suppose a big part of that is that synthesizers are more prominent here.

This album, and all of 16volt's major releases, are available on bandcamp: https://16volt.bandcamp.com/

The title track gets things started off right, with a dark synth line and a driving beat, and a fantastic, heavy chorus. This is a perfect example of the darker sound that I mentioned. Up next is "Perfectly Fake", which is just a really well-constructed track. Some of the album's best crunchy electronic rhythms and a perfectly-fitting riff in the chorus don't hurt it, either. The following track, "Uplift" is simpler, but has an aggressive, driving feel that makes it stand out for me nonetheless. "Slow Wreck" goes for more of a straightforward rocker, but includes some nice background stuff to keep things interesting. "Stitched" and "Built To Last" are also standout tracks for me, with the former carrying on the interplay between electronic parts and cool guitar riffage of several of my other favorites here, and the latter being another more up-front rock-type thing.

If you're a fan of the 90's coldwave thing, I would guess that this album is one of the reasons why. If you haven't heard it, well, what are you waiting for?