re:mote induction. www.remoteinduction.com
firebloom is the second 12" from converter, following coma , to appear on hymen. as coma complimented the cd shock front, firebloom fulfils the similar role for blast furnace. each side of the 12" opening with a track from the album, being joined by three new tracks and rounded off by a synapscape remix of one of the other album tracks. resolution starts with thudding strikes, backed by a mix of tightly pulsing bass and skittering mechanics. extra percussion elements are added - solid, echoing - rolling across the sound surface. the pace is consistently steady, on the slow side of mid - relying on the build of the layers. ignition strikes glitch becoming a crackling beat within the increasingly atmospheric structure. there is an oriental feel, particularly in the melody from a mock-string sound. past 4 minutes the ever increasing sound starts to expand - gaining pace and density, the oriental theme returning in force. continuing with drain we have a mildly reverberating loop, with beats working on two levels. thick bass beats and lighter strokes, bringing a bass and sliding slice of melody. the core of drain is smooth, bass with tight beats - around that edges crackle suggesting harsher possibilities. sections slow down, layering into the core to fade out in conclusion. metallic clashes echo, cycling into devil on, before falling into a clanking rhythm. hard ridges of sound breakdown, the familiar vocal sample is heard and this version gathers a feeling of dense bass. the sound is thick, giving impression of solidness. though we go through more hesitant sections before layering back up again - "they use blood in their rituals". the piece sounds as though it has parts of material from shock front mixed in and those come through in the background here, though the feel of the piece is retained. the second side of the 12" starts with error, which blips in short tones - building to a solid stream. a stream that becomes increasingly noisy - filled with grinding edges and solid tapping beats. error creates a dynamic density, offering a palpable feeling of sound. in some ways this is what people will expect from converter - hard rhythms with technoid sensibility. after about 5 minutes the first hints of melody creep in, light chimes - glimmers of light within the dark mass of error like resolution on the first side this ends up being one of the longest tracks on firebloom. a mid paced spiral of sound rotates round in the cycle of firebloom. scrapes and strikes add as growing detail, stray elements to the consistency of the core. a washing wave of light, metal tinged percussion laps on the edges - caught between rotation and detail. past 3 minutes electronic tones come in - drawn tones of bass. backed by edgy static, and the see-saw motions of other sounds - the whole piece changing. sheet sounds act like the movement of a solid, backed by the twitches of tech beats. from there fading off. a grinding, mechanical loop acts on a blippy melody - leading to a vocal sample - this version of death time is the mallorca macho mix by synapscape, leads to a solid rhythmic state - burbling and acid techno beats mixing. see-saw pulses work through a pause, introducing a slight screech to the peak motions, before building up the pace again. solid and more dance floor orientated than any of the other material here

recycleyourears. www.recycleyourears.com
"firebloom" is the lp companion of "blast furnace", the second converter album. released, of course, by hymen, it contains three new songs, a remix by synapscape and two tracks from the cd. the first of the two tracks taken from "blast furnace" is "error", an excellent track that evolves around a mid-tempo rhythm, getting more and more intense as more distortion, noises and samples are slowly added to the loop. the other one is "resolution", a majestic piece that has introduced in converter's music the use of soft, almot oriental melodies. its beats are very slow, and this is more a extremely heavy "ambient" track than really rhythmic noise. "firebloom", the main track of this lp, has a complex structure, full of breaks and changes. starting as a "normal" converter track, it then has a calmer moment, with the almost accoustic drums that can be heard in "blast furnace". finally, some extra layers of percussion are added to this very nice track. "drain" is more or less a sequel to "resolution". shorter and containing a simpler loops, it also has strange, almost melodic soundscape. "devil on" is another good track based on a "god is dead" samples. it's rather noisier than the latest converter production, and reminds a bit of "shock front". the synapscape remix of "death time", whose original version is probably one of my favorites converter track, change the structure of the main rhythm and add a bit of synapscapian complexity to the whole. the result is a nice track that is not as efficient as the original, but is still a complete dancefloor-hit. even though the ant zen / hymen habit of releasing extra material on lp may get a little annoying, "firebloom" is an excellent lp that will bring happiness to all of you who liked the excellent "blast furnace". converter is one of the very best rhythmic noise act around and this lp is another proof of this fact.

new empire. www.newempire.com
after taking the power noise world by storm with his debut cd ´shock front´, seattle-based scott sturgis returns with an equally brilliant follow up, suitably titled ´blast furnace´. this limited edition box set of 777 copies is packaged in dark gray, heavy cardboard and not only includes converter´s new album, but the bonus 3" ´broken meat´ cd with two new tracks, including a remix by label mates synapscape, as well as two live outtakes. ´blast furnace´ kicks off with ´error´, a heavily distorted rhythmic wall of noise. the sound is full and driving, as we´ve come to expect from this project, giving the listener a universe of plundering patterns to monitor. the title track is next, bellowing down on the listener with dirty spits of noise and crunching percussion. this piece reminds me of winterkalte´s recent efforts as it constantly morphs and changes as the track progresses. next up is ´be broken´, an atmospheric piece of epic distorted synth workings and dark, ear-piercing sounds. the album really kicks in with ´flower´; a thumping void of hard beats and delicious rhythms. a tsunami of crisp percussion and twisted distortion compliment the clean claps and succulent build-ups. if this track wasn´t enough, the appropriately titled ´death time´ attacks the listener with rapid-fire bass kicks and ghostly sirens. twisting and pounding, ´death time´ assaults the senses with an unrelenting fortress of gabber-styled percussion, destined for a vile dancefloor. ´blast furnace´ contains a few dark ambient pieces, which adds to the stability and diversity of the release. ´resolution´ is a cold, atmospheric track, with japanese elements and sneaky bass jolts. the track picks up some momentum at around the five-minute mark, with a smearing pattern of crisp noise and bone-cutting industrial kicks before fading away into the shadows. ´red crystal´ evolves into a rampart of cringing distortion and headache-inducing screeches of noise. warning: this may be dangerous on headphones. the militant beats of ´unreal´ push the album forward; stomping and stalking with cat-like agility as warped tones feed the creaking interludes nicely. pounding beats eventually take over with metallic clamor and brooding sound saturation. ´dust´ gives way to a cleaner sound, peculiar loop tinkering, and an underlining tribal element throughout the length of the track. ´itami (two)´ punts the album back into power noise mode with several panning noise effects and a disjointed knocking bass kick. twisted vocals weave between the breaks of chaos as stuttering signals slice through an uncertain boost of distortion. last but not least, ´down here´ concludes the release; pillaging the mind with a steady illustration of screeching noise and inhuman vocals akin to ars morandi´s ´endlich´ track. the bonus cd ´broken meat´ begins with ´no more meat´, consisting of a low-tempo marriage of distorted bass kicks, and high octave drones. synapscape gives ´be broken´ the ´illdub remix´, incorporating sparse elements of the original with low-bass movements and a timely pattern of crackling noise patterns. lastly, we are bestowed two live tracks, ´conquerer´ and ´denogginizer´, both of which give the listener a good idea of the awesome live performance of converter. while not a far cry from ´shock front´, this release does exhibit a motion forward for scott by strengthening the aptitude and diversity of the converter sound. ´blast furnace´ is a testament to present day industrial and a must for voyeurs of modern industrialism and power noise.

seven. www.nezzwerk.com/seven
without a doubt, this is one of the most anticipated releases of the year. i was almost afraid to listen to it for the first time (however downloading some tracks from converter website before the official release date spoiled the surprise), knowing that it would be impossible to repeat the success that "shock front" was. and i was right, "blast furnace" is definitely not equally as unique, unexpected and unforgettable as "shock front" was. having said that, and hopefully calmed down some of the hype, i will state that "blast furnace" is a damn good album and definitely gets into my top 10 for this year (and that is no surprise). on "blast furnace" scott's fascination with pure rhythmic side of the genre is quite obvious. having recently played concerts with synapscape and imminent, and worked on hypnoskull/converter mixes, converter presents his version of rhythm'n'noise on "blast furnace." majority of the tracks on the disk are powered by driving rhythms still retaining complexity and controlled chaos of converter as we know it. tracks throughout the disk acquired distinct boundaries and analogous structure, making the whole release more radio/concert friendly - one of the changes that made it possible to compare converter to its peers, as opposed to "shock front" that existed in the genre of its own. my favorites on cd include "flower" that is full of merciless dominating percussion that lashes, crushes, advances and explodes into the audience with saturated abrasive pulses. it goes from almost reset-like persistence overlaid with corroded sweeps and crunchy beats, to sonar-sounding viciousness, where monotonous drive is twisted and transformed with layers of static, compressed percussion and almost technoid passages. "death time" picks up the pace with incredible mix of pulsating technoid madness, disturbed techno-beats, broken, dislocated, deformed and overcharged sounds, haunted by distorted voice of nightmare from "soul calibur". this track would undeniably work great live, especially with the closing heavy-punching barrage of compressed beats. a few other saturated rhythmic assaults include opening "error" that steadily plows through the mass of twisted splinters; following "blast furnace" adds corroded synths and myriads of cut-up distorted noises that add incredible variety and richness to the track; "itami (two)" is a wonderful combination of monstrous broken beats and heavy crunchy percussion mixed with nicely processed vocal samples. a nice departure from the established pattern is "be broken" - menacing atmospheric track with sparse explosions on top of slowly moving corroded mass. caustic strings, echoing atonal noises, fading modulated frequencies add to the building mystery. one of the most impressive moments were last few minutes of "resolution," the track that at first didn't seem to go anywhere, but towards the end developed an incredible mix of distant cut-up japanese instrument backed by abrasive beats and rich strings. unexpectedly dramatic, organic and mysterious, these few minutes took me by surprise, presenting a side of converter i never expected. mysterious monumental nature of the track immerses you in its depths; the combination of technoid elements, dark atmosphere, exotic touches result in a rich, solid mix, that reminded me of recently reviewed "delta files." "red crystal" deserves mentioning as converter's venture into the world of japanoise and power electronics. waves of corroded static, beatless feedback attacks, clashing layers of saturated analog chaos - the track has a struture and certain direction that is absent from majority of the bands in the genre. crushing explosions escalate towards the end, abruptly disappearing. "blast furnace" is a great work, full of wonderfully unique and fresh sonic treats; its sounds are contagious and filled with energy and impulse that surpasses any of the peers in the genre. converter once again amazes me with his ability to create clean (no matter how strange it sounds speaking of rhythm'n'noise) soundscapes, where all elements and layers are carefully controlled. at this time converter manages to incorporate and transform a large number of outside influences into one explosive mix that once again sets converter aside from similar artists, proving his ability to create truly unique, standard-setting music

im rhythmus bleiben. www.blackuniverse.com/rhythmus
true industrial soundscapes: converter is probably some of the best noise around! this second release by the seattle based group begins with what really sounds like something is horribly wrong with your cd player. however, the listener is soon drawn into a very dark, metallic and harsh atmosphere of tribal, industrial-mechanics, sonic rhythm and grinding effects. altogether this creates a very highly charged fusion environment where anything can happen. converter sounds like the engine room on an alien battle station. i am admittedly one of the first to have a problem grasping the point of an entirely noise oriented album or project as my earliest exposure was only specific tracks produced by the most well known names in 1980's industrial music such as ministry and meat beat manifesto. however, converter are helping to lead a new genre of music based solely on this form of audio structure and components alongside artists like noisex. herein you will find harshly sonic textures used in every manner from ambient to drum-n-bass formats. not for the feint of heart but structured well enough as to pump you with adrenalized hydrolic fuel and get you moving to an incessant and hypnotic rhythm. i love the heavy pound of "death time" and the ambience of "be broken". "resolution" makes me think of an future industrial china. "unreal" has some incredible percussion and rhythm work which i've only seen the likes of on early download albums.

final man @ electroage. http://electroage.lowlife.com
(electroage's favorite - november/december 2000) if only one album has been highly awaited this year, it's certainly the second installment from scott sturgis' project converter. following the powerful rhythmic noise instant classic shock front, blast furnace comes off as another excellent mind blowing incorporation in the powernoise genre. while maintaining the same level of intensity from its predecessor, blast furnace is moving in some different territories adding subtlety to the apocalyptic assault. as the first attempt of converter was a straightforward noise destruction, blast furnace often manage to be a sweeping mechanical atmosphere that can explode at any moment like it is shown in the isolated mix of dark chilling noise and eastern roots musical elements of resolution. the complex bombastic environment of crushing structures, abusive beats and grinding noise bursts found in error, flower or red crystal only demonstrate the malign genius of scott sturgis. but, as shown with his pain station project, sturgis excels with brilliance when it's time to create frightening ambiences of smooth violence and the superb unreal offers it with a memorable inferno of scratched melodies, broken technoid and hypnotic tension. blast furnace is ending in a chaotic way with brutal complexity of down here. here, sturgis is closing its second converter's chapter with distorted percussion, harsh noisy beats and corroding electronic supported by overdubbed screaming vocals for a surreal mechanic intensity. bombastic, explosive, dark and frightening, blast furnace is a remarkable work of intense and complex powernoise easily surpassing its predecessor and certainly most of its compares. here, converter has created an excellent and utterly addictive toxic meal of fuel-injected adrenaline rhythmic noise for oft-repeated joy of listening. excellent.

kaiju @ electronic surveillance webzine new reviews. http://elektronicsurveillance.homestead.com
finally!! after hearing all the underground hype building around this release, i finally get to hear it. well to put it bluntly this cd takes power noise to new levels and is by far one of the best discs out there in the genre. i enjoy converters first album "shock front", although at first i wasn't crazy about it. at first listen "shock front" was fairly harsh and for the most part repetitive, though after many a listen i have grown to love it. "blast furnace" though doesn't follow a very repetitious pattern at all, the tracks change frequently and many more musical elements are added. right from the start, "error" begins with a jackhammer like sound and propells into a rhythmic beast with very catchy arrangements. tribalistic percussion mixed with metal percussion, whispered vocal snippets with an array of noisy sounds that change very frequently while still tying together the song strongly. "blast furnace", the title track, does somewhat go back to the sound of the first album but is not quite as harsh. fairly loopy and repetitive with some punchy changes toward the end. "be broken" begins with an almost pain station like ambience, swirling with dark high end synth sounds that die back to ambience and re-assemble with panning crashes. "flower" starts on a light drone until a sample opens a door to a pounding track with much distortion and screechies sounds interrupted by random break-beat like sounds. this track also has a lot of change as there is almost a percussion breakdown that takes the track in a different direction based more on the rhythm. "death time" begins with a shrill pulse then throws in a hard 4/4 beat with noisy roars that develops in a thumping factory of sound and rhythm with a token sample thrown in for good measure. i know most clubs are against it but damn this would be a fun track to stomp the boots to (although the song is a little long for the floor). "resolution" calms things down with dark subtle sounds with a drum hit infrequently that take on a tribal feel. the sounds accompanying help add to the feel that you are amongst a ceremony for the damned. a loop of noisy percussion and various ethnic sounds break into the track for an interesting touch while taking the track into an even more interesting direction. this by far is one of the best songs on here, very well thought out. "red crystal" again takes up close to the first album, sounding an atomic war with marching soldiers, then turning into power electronic chaos. not for the weak eared kiddies! "unreal" gives the ears an ambient break....for a moment, as a sirenesque sound amplifies into a fairly mellow, almost funky with random samples and what may be even a voice hidden in there somewhere. "dust" begins mainly from different layers of percussion with a screech or sound added into the pattern. chants and a hint of drum & bass fluctuate into tribal and back into some noisy sequences. "itami (two)" starts with some bass heavy kick drums and gradually builds with layers of panning tearing sounds and the most prevelant vocals on the whole album which are a great touch and i don't know why scott didn't use as many vocals as there was said to be on this album. another one of my favorite tracks though. "down here" wraps up the album with a space saucer like sound that moves in loops of metal percussion with strange oscillations and distorted screaming like sounds. i can't stress the fact enough that the majority of these songs have a lot of change not found in most rhythmic noise. converter delivers a fresh sound to the genre and shows much growth in the project and has made me an even bigger fan, eagerly awaiting the next material... and the next pain station album!

wreck this mess on radio 100 o amsterdam o 99.3 fm
"blast furnace" on ant zen is one of their typical releases and yet it, like the label, continues to surprise. punk noise filtered through the dying industries in some forlorn rust belt. the ambience of a highway cloverleaf and overpass. the darker skies over ballard's "crash." futurism now - retro avant. this grows on you like some rash made of rust. cumulative hypnotic noise.

recycleyourears. www.recycleyourears.com
converter's "shock front" has probably one of the most talked-about rhythmic noise cds. its sequel, the new "blast furnace", is scott sturgis's latest creation, and it's even stronger, catchier and better. it all starts with "error", a track that couldn't have a worse name. slow and menacing, it evolves little by little around a corrosive and repetitive sounds to which is added a deep beat and some melodic parts. the atmosphere gets more and more intense, till it explodes with the pounding "blast furnace", a mid-tempo inferno of rusty soundscapes and flaming beats. the mood then calms down with "be broken", which has a slightly more ambient feel, except that ear piercing noises are added to a slow background loop. this is, in a way, quite different from "shock front", and reminds me of the converter track on the "anthology of noise" sampler. then comes something you are not prepared to. "flower" and "death time" are two furiously violent and noisy rhythmic hells that crush you while forcing you to move your body. these two tracks are among the very best things i've heard in rhythmic noise. efficient, not too repetitive, suffocating, intense and yet intelligently done, they should be taken as examples by all the young bands of this scene. congratulations, scott! you need a bit of rest after having walked (or rather "dance"?) your way through hell with these two tracks? well, the long and calm "resolution" is what you need. this 8 minute long track is a majestic, not really saturated and very slow track that shows a huge innovation in converter sound: the use of what seems to be accoustic beats and, most of all, a real melody. through the heavy beats and the atmosphere of this extremely cinematic song appear an oriental-minded string tune that seduces you deeper into this field of percussions. imagine a flower blooming in the middle of hiroshima seconds after the bomb. "red crystal" is a faster and more distorted track. it's, in my opinion, one of the closest to "shock front": repetitive violent rhythms over soundscapes of statics and metal noise. but don't forget it's done by a master of the genre. "unreal dust" adds to the contrast aspect of the cd, with beats that are not distorted and once again an accoustic feel. this time, some noisy stuff in the background is used as a melody, adding to the texture of the track. not as good as "resolution", but still a very nice evoluting and hypnotic track. "itami (two)" goes more or less in the same direction and introduces "down here", a mix of undistorted and saturated beats combined in a slighlty aphex twin-like weird rhythm. the 3" cd that comes in the limited edition (along with two sticker, a very nice boxset and a splendid black and white heavy booklet) contains another new song, "no more meat", a mixture of repetitive statics and short distorted tunes. the synapscape's "illdub" version of "be broken" is more rhythmic that the original song, and contains these deep and slightly dub beats that you can find in synapscape's "so what". this is quite different from converter's sound, and adds a nice dimension to it, however fragile these percussions may seem in the midst of these ruins. finally come on the 3" cd the live versions of "conqueror" and "denogginizer", two songs from "shock front". very powerful but club-friendly, these remixes are closer to techno hardcore that the original versions, and focus on the catchy beats. once again, it's very hard to resist. "blast furnace" is one of these vey rare rhythmic noise cds that go beyond this genre and make a real, emotional, music out of it. the sound on this cd is so well crafted, so much mastered that it's very clear that scott sturgis hasn't just put noises together. instead, this is a real album, coherent and standing a whole. it's better composed, better recorded and more diverse than "shock front", even introducing elements that are not common in this trend. this cd manage to rival with winterkälte in quality and efficiency and is in my opinion the best rhythmic noise cd that ant-zen has released. a beautiful thing, taking you away.

squid. www.yip.org/squid
this is the cd. the best cd of 2000. shock front was absolutely amazing,and this just confirms my opinion of scott sturgis' musical brilliance. converter is at the very top of power electro. there is something in this music that can appeal to others, while at the same time, pushing the music envelope. i don't really want to go song by song and describe the sounds. words can not really express what its like. this is something that must be heard. if you aren't sure what power electro is like, but are interested in the future of real industrial music, then purchase this cd. i knew i just had to own this cd, and when i found out about a box set, i knew that i had to own that as well. i don't usually order cds, since i have no credit card (mark of the beast), but this one i had to get one of my doomed to the pits of hell friend to order for me. i figured that converter wouldn't be ordered by any store in the toronto area, so this was the only way i would get it. four days before the box set arrived, i stopped in on penguin records (2 mccaul st., toronto) and to my amazement, blast furnace was there, in all its beauty. there was no way i was leaving the store without it, so i bought it. is this cd worth spending the $100 canadian i spent on it? fuck yes. (i also plan to sell off the standard cd, thus knocking my price down to a mere steal of $70. i also get the extra broken meat mini cd which had four tracks: two remixes and two live tracks. in listening to broken meat i thought, "wow, this is pretty amazing shit" and then denogginizer (live) came on, and blew me away. it just can't get better than this.

taken from rec.music.industrial. by 'downfall'
with the opening assault, "error" it's fairly obvious where scott sturgis is coming from with blast furnace, his second offering under the converter moniker. he wants to show that the massive grinding force that was shock front was no fluke. that he's the real deal, and within moments he's proven it with neck snapping force. "error" sounds like two massive machine gods decided to throw down in a drunken orgy of distorted violence. the track switches and swirls through various gears never remaining still and over staying its welcome in any given part. it's, as they say, bad ass. while an album full of similar tracks would have been quite keen sturgis is not content with playing the same macho, ass-kicker hand over and over again. he slips away from the over-pumped, over-muscled stuff quite often and right into some very dark and oppressive places that make you feel uncomfortable in your own skin. "red crystal" is one such behemoth. it sounds like a recording of one of h.p. lovecraft's unnamable, und indescribable nightmare beasties arising from some black abyss. at other moments sturgis realizes that he has a firm grasp on the language of power noise and decides to expand it, a bit. most notably he starts incorporating samples of non-distorted, non-noise oriented instruments. "resolution" bears witness to eastern flavored melodies being dragged, by the throat into the rough and tough little world and then promptly pummeled. blast furnace easily shames the apes who insist that power noise remain in a fuzzed out, drum loop ghetto. with its massive, ever shifting song structures, intricately woven layers of dissonance and grand scale it's really a step up from the back beat status quo. it manages to find the monstrous beauty that the genre is capable of and gives it a voice. in teaching a beast to speak, sturgis has really upped the ante for his future efforts and i'm anxious to hear what he makes the genre say next.

purist online magazine. http://members.nbci.com/puristzine
after taking the power noise world by storm with his debut cd 'shock front', seattle-based scott sturgis returns with an equally brilliant follow up, suitably titled 'blast furnace'. this limited edition box set of 777 copies is packaged in dark gray, heavy cardboard and not only includes converter's new album, but the bonus 3" 'broken meat' cd with two new tracks, including a remix by label mates synapscape, as well as two live outtakes. 'blast furnace' kicks off with 'error', a heavily distorted rhythmic wall of noise. the sound is full and driving, as we've come to expect from this project, giving the listener a universe of plundering patterns to monitor. the title track is next, bellowing down on the listener with dirty spits of noise and crunching percussion. this piece reminds me of winterkalte's recent efforts as it constantly morphs and changes as the track progresses. next up is 'be broken', an atmospheric piece of epic distorted synth workings and dark, ear-piercing sounds. the album really kicks in with 'flower'; a thumping void of hard beats and delicious rhythms. a tsunami of crisp percussion and twisted distortion compliment the clean claps and succulent build-ups. if this track wasn't enough, the appropriately titled 'death time' attacks the listener with rapid-fire bass kicks and ghostly sirens. twisting and pounding, 'death time' assaults the senses with an unrelenting fortress of gabber-styled percussion, destined for a vile dancefloor. 'blast furnace' contains a few dark ambient pieces, which adds to the stability and diversity of the release. 'resolution' is a cold, atmospheric track, with japanese elements and sneaky bass jolts. the track picks up some momentum at around the five-minute mark, with a smearing pattern of crisp noise and bone-cutting industrial kicks before fading away into the shadows. 'red crystal' evolves into a rampart of cringing distortion and headache-inducing screeches of noise. warning: this may be dangerous on headphones. the militant beats of 'unreal' push the album forward; stomping and stalking with cat-like agility as warped tones feed the creaking interludes nicely. pounding beats eventually take over with metallic clamor and brooding sound saturation. 'dust' gives way to a cleaner sound, peculiar loop tinkering, and an underlining tribal element throughout the length of the track. 'itami (two)' punts the album back into power noise mode with several panning noise effects and a disjointed knocking bass kick. twisted vocals weave between the breaks of chaos as stuttering signals slice through an uncertain boost of distortion. last but not least, 'down here' concludes the release; pillaging the mind with a steady illustration of screeching noise and inhuman vocals akin to ars morandi's 'endlich' track. the bonus cd 'broken meat' begins with 'no more meat', consisting of a low-tempo marriage of distorted bass kicks, and high octave drones. synapscape gives 'be broken' the 'illdub remix', incorporating sparse elements of the original with low-bass movements and a timely pattern of crackling noise patterns. lastly, we are bestowed two live tracks, 'conquerer' and 'denogginizer', both of which give the listener a good idea of the awesome live performance of converter. while not a far cry from 'shock front', this release does exhibit a motion forward for scott by strengthening the aptitude and diversity of the converter sound. 'blast furnace' is a testament to present day industrial and a must for voyeurs of modern industrialism and power noise.

wet-works electrozine. http://wetworks.cjb.net/
it seems that i never grow completely accustomed to converter releases, which is a wonderful thing since i'm always noticing something different with each listen. my overall opinion of blast furnace is very difficult to piece together, as it cannot be pinned under one holistic description. the opening track, "error," sounds as if the mainframe of a factory suddenly shorts itself on during the middle of the night, triggering all of its component machines into a rolling industrial rhythm. "flower" is full of rhythms that build up and climax at brief interludes, after which a new, but similar rhythm will commence...this being a pattern that we've come to expect from converter and many power noise artists. the ever-so appropriately titled "death time" begins with a piercing alarm clock-like sound and hurdles off of an angry japanese sample into a pounding abrasive rhythm. i really like the more atmospheric work on this disc, such as "be broken" and "red crystal," the latter feeling more like a power noise nightmare, and the former more of a suspense trip. "unreal" is an interesting track, with very clean percussive samples and ominous, yet mellow, ambient sounds. eventually, scott sturgis drops the bass and the rhythm gets a little more abrasive, but this is probably the cleanest track on the album. "dust" has similar characteristics, only mixing in a tribal influence with industrial banging and squealing. a far-eastern influence is most evident in "itami" and "resolution." broken meat, the 3" bonus disc, kicks off with "no more meat," a droaning rhythm accompanied by fairly minimal piercing synths. synapscape's "ill dub" mix of "be broken" is absolutely awesome. they drop a slow distorted breakbeat and keep the mix fairly simple and suprisingly clean. the last two tracks on the 3" are live recordings of "conquerer" and "denogginizer," both of which are totally ill. after hearing these cuts, i really would have loved to have been there for the performance. so this 3" isn't just a gimmick to sell a limited edition version, it's most definitely a wonderful bonus. the limited edition comes with a nice little book and two stickers, as well.

modulazioni industriali. http://dune.fionline.it/modulazioni/recensioni.htm
dopo il successo ottenuto dall'ottimo album di esordio "shock front", recensito in anteprima da modulazioni industriali quando scott non aveva ancora trovato una casa discografica [vedi recensioni pain station ], la ant-zen licenzia il secondo capitolo della saga intitolato "blast furnace". l'aggressività tribal-noise percussiva dell'esordio non si è affievolita e le varie sequenze illustrano coerentemente l'atmosfera allucinante e devastante che può causare all'apparato uditivo l'uso creativo di un campionatore . atmosfere claustrofobiche sorrette da ritmiche distorte e impazzite che proiettano un immagine da treno in corsa lanciato verso il nulla senza nessuna speranza di salvezza e come unica compagnia il battito macchina della motrice sferragliante , voci distorte che declamano in varie lingue più il rumore di lamiere evocante il futuro strazio della debole carne . fissate questo momento in un preciso spazio-temporale e avrete l'esatta idea di quello che può comportare l'ascolto di "blast furnace". movimento tellurico e stasi inquietante possono portare a balli sfrenati sull'orlo del precipizio , ascoltate con cautela , non richiede prescrizione medica acsoltare attentamente le istruzioni.... alla prossima.

re:mote induction. www.remoteinduction.com
converter takes his cue from imminent starvation in this very-long ep (about 42+ minutes) and releases more "danceable" tracks than on his excellent album, shock front. known for his previous work as pain station, scott sturgis popped out of nowhere with his noisy, harsh debut as converter and showed the world what he is about. denogginizer (kill the brain) is probably my favorite track on the disk. lengthy enough for it to settle in, harsh enough to disturb, and fast enough to kick ass to. a thumping beat sets the stage for squiggles of noise, and a goddamned weird sample - "only you can kill the brain!" the next track, coma, is quite cool. to me, this song sounds like what you'd hear if you stuck your ear up to a power line - noisy, harsh, and chaotic. when listening to this on headphones, one particularly noisy clang made me feel sort of dizzy for a moment. quality track. impure starts off quietly, and erupts into a wall of noise: freaked me out on headphones. beats swizzle in, and eventually get more complex. bang-bang there, kzzzh-kzzzh there.. a semblance of a breakbeat finds its way into the mix, complicating things even more. material follows, and while being a good song, doesn't do enough different for me to have it really stand out. one note, though: this *is* the only headphoned-song that has been able to freak me out and make me jump in my chair. dream converter starts out the second side, and for the first part, features a repetitive churn accompanied by several oscillations. beats began to show their naughty face.. at first, sounding like machine guns... then bursting out into full dance-floor splendor. the churning noise doesn't leave, which adds a very cool atmosphere to the song - like it's recorded in a factory, or something... nix is quite boring and repetitive. the breakbeat drum thing pretty much sucks. i like the noise stuff he throws around, but this is the weakest track on the disk. deadman (perdition) (one of the tracks on shock front) is quite cool. quite slow, aggressive, and harsh. hooray! quite long for a hymen ep, and offering a nice counterpart to the album, coma is a necessary item if you're a converter fan. little loud, though.. be warned if listening on headphones

seven. www.nezzwerk.com/seven
i finally got a chance to review this vinyl release that came out the same time full-length "shock front" did. "coma" is a more club-floor oriented version of "shock front" - each composition maintains structure and constant pulverizing beat throughout the length of the track, making it quite suitable for club play. after some recent appearances by converter ("cold" by pain station, exoskeleton2) that were not as impressive as the first release, it is nice to go back and listen to the tracks that determined the success of "shock front". the best club hit on the disk is obviously "denoggenizer (kill the brain)" - instense and club-friendly, a perfect dancefloor-slaughtering composition with constant punishing beats and dense underlying noise pattern. he fun continues with "dream convertor" that shows all that converter is famous for - unexpected sound manipulations and unique song structure. it starts out as dense, inhuman atmospheric track filled with multiple layers of subtle mechanized noises, caustic sounds, random frequences, distant echoes; in the middle of the track the machine wakes up, and the track develops a steady dancefloor beat disturbed by sudden noise eruptions with the atmospheric setting still present but pushed to the background. track "material" is saturated with feedback and creates a disorganized and overloaded atmosphere that is a great setting for a collage of bass, killing breakbeats and white noise. unexpected turns and sudden noise attacks will catch you off-guard. album version of "deadman (perdition)" presents trademark converter sound - cold dissonant frequences, tweaked analog sounds and slow, insanely heavy percussion exploding in your ears. "nix" is based on dislocated techno-beat contrasted with pulsing noise waves and controlled feedback - an interesting exploration of other genres. "reflex" is yet another heavy track filled with heavy saturated noise and pulsating metallic percussion ripping through its layers; slowly twisting and truning the mechanized beast is advancing surrounded by the clouds of subtle electric charges and pulsing explosions. it is gradualy pushed to the background to be replaced by amazing variety of percussion experiments. the atmospheric noises are slowly replaced with heavy beat. this is a great companion for "shock front"; on this vinyl converter played with sound structures that did not necessarily fit on the debut cd which makes it even more appealing to any fan

wet-works electrozine. http://wetworks.cjb.net/
rhythmic noise never sounded so lovely. "shock front" is pure ear candy and towers above most other releases in the power noise genre. scott sturgis of pain station is behind the sonic attacks and grinding mechanics of converter. pushing his machines to create fantastic voyages of dark, isolated soundscapes, "shock front" is relentless in it's presentation and utterly fascinating. the opening track, "conqueror," sets things off right with brain crushing percussion and various machine noises. another absolutely frightening track is "spirit shield," which instead of crushing your senses, relaxes them with some dark ambience and later surprises you with a burst of aggression that will have you gasping for air. converter is drastically different from what scott is doing with pain station, as it should be since this is a separate project. "shock front" comes encased in two metal plates and is heavy as hell, not something you would want to drop on your foot! fans of winterkalte and imminent will dig "shock front" immediately, while others that aren't so fond of the power-noise genre will have a hard time listening to it. "shock front" is filled with pure industrial rhythms mixed with some surprisingly ambient undertones that have you listening over and over again trying to find new things. "shock front" is one of the strongest, if not, the strongest releases to date on the ant-zen label. bring on "blast furnace"!

spectrum, issue 3
converter is the noisy, rhythmically annihilating half-brother to the doused in darkness industrial disarrey of pain station, both fathered by scott sturgis. opening with the seething rumble and squeal of angry machines, "conqueror" is then stomped under the heavy percussive footsteps of giants; once the percussion kicks in, an exercise in slingshot rhythms dynamics overlaid with a coat of fuzzy distortion, the relentless assault is on and there is no mercy to be had. "cannibals" devours the speakers via a rabid steel-brush scouring of an unknown machine upon which raw metallic rhythms continue to chomp and grund, chewing, digesting and excreting in cannibalistic glee. "sacrifice" gnaws in a subtly abrasive mode, rhythms multiplying as the track progresses, joined by hacking static and an exhalation loop, as if the machines are alive-so much of this incorporates the machines as a sentient entity, as if they really are alive! (and then there is the humming beehive towards the end of the track, an image of bees the size of dogs, adorned in a metallic armor, fervently buzzing, attack impending...) "memory trace" resides in a vacant alley, the ambience of acid rain corroding iron fire escapes and steel garbage dumpsters. "deadman (perdition)" scalds the senses with catastrophic eruptions of noise lubricated with machine oil and sweat, fuelinjected adrenaline and blood pulsing through the metal pipe tunnels of the post-apocalyptic wasteland. ther percussive typhoon presented here fits perfectly into the harsh ant-zen sonic mindset, seeping into power electronics, but with purpose and a rhythmic foundation. comes in a metal "booklet" (two slabs o` metal, my friends) encased in a standard jewel-case, most appealing; the weight feels good in my hands, and perfectly compliments the enclosed music.

black 16.
als ich diese cd aus dem großen ant zen-packet in die hand nahm, erlitt ich fast wirklich einen schock, denn das teil war trotz jewelcase sauschwer – kein wunder bei zwei dicken verzinkten blechplatten statt booklet und backcover! auch musikalisch überrollt einem die „shock front“ und man steht plötzlich mitten in der schlacht des rhythmischen electro-noise-industrial. im gegensatz zu vielen anderen protagonisten dieses genres ist converter aber dichter und vielschichtiger, der trackaufbau erinnert sogar an songwrithing und die struktur baut sich immer mehr auf bzw. wechselt oft die richtung. bei vielen anderen künstlern besteht ja meist die arbeit in einem loop, der dann einfach auf 5 minuten monoton aufgeblasen wird. aus oben genannten gründen werden deshalb die recht langen tracks von converter nie langweilig, sind aber dadurch für die tanzflure meist zu lang und deshalb gibt es parallel die lp auf hymen. auf dem vinyl kommt converter nämlich etwas schneller und zügiger zur sache, wobei die lp nur zwei tracks und einen remix von der cd übernimmt, der rest ist neu bzw. unveröffentlicht. ich jedenfalls finde converter als das beste aus dieser richtung in der letzten zeit und wage zu behaupten, das imminent starvation ernsthafte konkurrenz bekommen hat! ps: übrigens ist converter ein seitenprojekt von pain station, deren zweites album „disjointed“ mich schon im letzten heft zu begeistern wußte und ein interview mit scott sturgis findet ihr im heft. (m.f.)

seven http://www.nezzwerk.com/seven
meet converter - the creation of scott sturgis from ohio, also famous for his project "pain station". "shock front" is a symphony. a symphony of the world of the machines. there is nothing human about this disk. it doesn't mean that "shock front" lacks emotions - this album catches you and won't let go till the end leaving you drained and overwhelmed with feelings. it creates images of incredible complexity and power that sweep you off your feet. this is a lot of what i have been searching for in the noise movement - the density of sound that matches the sound density of metal guitar-driven bands but surpases them in complexity and even aggressiveness. a lot of noise acts of today become annoying and repetitive when artists get carried away with pure technique. they become too experimental and their tracks become just studies of sound, not music. shock front never becomes annoying and you never know what to expect next. this is not beautiful chaos of autechre and not menacing ambience of gridlock; this is not abrasiveness of sonar or violence of imminnent starvation. converter is all that those bands lack. converter is definitely influenced by all of them, but not by what they have, rather by what they've missed. everything that you thought those bands left out of their compositions, scott added and created his own unique mix. every track on the album is unpredictable. there is no way to describe a single song as "aggressive" or "ambient" or "danceable". every single track will change from white noise to chaotic machine ambient, from almost danceable machine beat to ripping sound of crashing structures. there is everything here, but nothing you have heard before. there is nothing human on those tracks. every single moment is the life of the machine told by the machine. these are not human emotions that are being described. the music itself is completely unique. distorted percussion, cracking torn synths, harsh noisy beats that sound like overprocessed guitar, harsh white noise, pulsating dark beats, ripping breakbeats, torn drilling noises. the unique constantly changing mixture. from machine ambience filled with white noise to crushing exploding barbaric rhythms. the track might start with dark chilling emptiness and stay like that for 5-6 minutes before it explodes into 2-minute chaos. some beats are unexpectedly torn and broken, reversed and smashed against your face; some stay with you throughout the track, others appear once for a second and leave you wondering if you really heard them. every track is a journey in itself and you never know how and where it will end. "shock front" is one of the most futuristic releases in its vision of the future and the technoid culture. this is converter, and you have been warned.

spectrum magazine (australia)
converter is the noisy, rhythmically annihilating half-brother to the doused in darkness industrial disarray of pain station, both fathered by scott sturgis. opening with the seething rumble and squeal of angry machines, "conqueror" is then stomped under the heavy percussive footsteps of giants; once the percussion kicks in, an exercise in slingshot rhythm dynamics overlaid with a coat of fuzzy distortion, the relentless assault is on and there is no mercy to be had. "cannibals" devours the speakers via a rabid steel-brush scouring of an unknown machine upon which raw metallic rhythms continue to chomp and grind, chewing, digesting and excreting in cannibalistic glee. "sacrifice" gnaws in a subtly abrasive mode, rhythms multiplying as the track progresses, joined by hacking static and an exhalation loop, as if the machines are alive-so much of this incorporates the machines as a sentient entity, as if they really are alive! (and then there is the humming beehive towards the end of the track, an image of bees the size of dogs, adorned in metallic armor, fervently buzzing, attack impending…) "memory trace" resides in a vacant alley, the ambience of acid rain corroding iron fire escapes and steel garbage dumpsters. "deadman (perdition)" scalds the senses with catastrophic eruptions of noise, lubricated with machine oil and sweat, fuel-injected adrenaline and blood pulsing through the metal pipe tunnels of the post-apocalyptic wasteland. the percussive typhoon presented here fits perfectly into the harsh ant-zen sonic mindset, seeping into power electronics, but with purpose and a rhythmic foundation. comes in a metal 'booklet' (two slabs o' metal, my friends) encased in a standard jewel-case, most appealing; the weight feels good in my hands, and perfectly compliments the enclosed music. -jc smith

ultime atome www.zone51.com/ultime-atome.
la division blindée du label de regensburg comptait quelques solides éléments tout-terrains dans sa colonne : p.a.l., synapscape, noisex, hypnoskull ou imminent starvation pour ne citer que ceux-là. mais ant zen est bien décidé à fonder l'international relou, dût –il employer les grands moyens. comme par exemple l'appel en renfort du mastoc converter, en provenance d'outre atlantique qui signe ici son premier cd, " shockfront " dont le design se résume à deux grosses plaques de vrai métal, histoire de concrétiser le contenu sonore, tout en sobriété mais avec efficacité ! est – ce parce qu'il a grandi , perdu comme un con dans le trou du cul de l'ohio que scott sturgis, le gaillard derrière converter, se montre à ce point en colère ? bon, c'est vrai qu'il y a de quoi. du coup, maintenant qu'on lui donne l'occasion de s'exprimer, ce sont pas moins de 70 minutes d'un electro indus quasi torrentiel qui nous sont vomies à la face, engloutissant tout ce qui c'était fait dans le genre auparavant. ce sont nos saxons préférés qui doivent l'avoir mauvaise ! car seul imminent starvation semble pouvoir à priori s'en tirer, usant de son mythique " lost highway " comme planche de salut pour glisser sur cette vague de ferrailles à peine dégluties. vous l'aurez compris : garantie sans une once de finesse, jusque dans les titres vraiment craignos (" cannibals ", " sacrifice ", " sadist "), la musique ( ! ? !) de converter est à écouter très fort, le nez dans du béton frais et les doigts de pieds dans la prise. a noter que les meilleurs trax, sentant bon le groove technoïde (si, là, derrière les effluves de mazout et de zinc…), comme " coma " et " deadman " se retrouvent sur support vinyle avec 6 inédits : c'est " coma e.p. " et ça tourne sur hymen, exprès pour les dj set les plus timbrés. et puisqu'on parle de harshbeat, rappelons l'existence d'une désormais copieuse collection de sillons labourés à la démineuse avec ruelgo (" vorace e.p. "), silk saw (" this time it's war "), tunnel / hypnoskull (" dark beat planet / react amno ") ou encore sonar (" cosmic rays ") : tout ça chez hymen, donc, label pour lequel il n'y a plus qu'à imaginer le dancefloor. a vos platines !

sonic seducer, juli, august 1999
langsam aber sicher schaffen es auch acts aus dem rhythm noise sektor, sich in den musikalisch sehr konservativen elektro-club des ruhrgebietes zu etablieren, also an jenen orten, an denen der musikalische horizont selten weiter als von f242 bis prodigy reicht. daß dies weniger das ergebnis geschickt eingefädelter label-promotionen, denn der verdienst einiger weniger djs ist, läßt hoffen, daß sich hieraus mehr als nur ein kurzlebiger trend entwickelt, von dem auch converter profitieren könnten. eingepackt in schweres metall finden sich auf „shockfront“ zehn distortion-gewitter, die mancher schwachbrüstigen pa ernsthafte probleme bereiten könnte, aber dennoch ein differenziertes klangbild liefern. daß dabei zudem auf lyrische plattheiten in form von vocals oder sprach-samples verzichtet wurde, rechne ich converter zudem als großes plus an. anspieltips: das gängige technosounds ins lärmige überführende „coma“ und das bruitistische „sadist“.

bodystyler, juni 1999
"converter? nie gehört!" - kein wunder, ist ja auch neu. nicht mit perwoll gewaschen, sondern durch den sampler gedreht. rhythmischer industrial im stil von noisex, imminent starvation, p.a.l oder dive (gab‘s sowas nicht schon zu oft? nein, so nicht!), und in diesem bereich schon jetzt auf jeden fall eine meiner persönlichen „cds des jahres“, die hier seit tagen in einer dauer-schleife der heimischen anlage rotiert. „the master of the universe“, scott sturgis, dem ein oder anderen eventuell schon von seinem projekt „pain station“ bekannt, macht hier genialen krach, verwendet „dezent“ samples, bringt rhythmus im vordergrund, klangflächen im hintergrund. techno-anleihen im nebenschauplatz und erzeugt außerdem ein unwillkürliches rhythmisches zucken im „tanzbein“ des hörers, sobald man auch nur in irgendeinen der songs kurz reinhört. hier wird nicht einfach nur ein stück über 5 minuten durchgezogen und dann abgebrochen, hier hört man variationen, auch innerhalb eines songs. das ganze album ist dermaßen abwechslungsreich, wie man es in diesem bereich wirklich selten erlebt, und ebenso selten habe ich bei einer debut-cd so gestaut wie bei dieser hier. achtung, nicht von den ersten drei minuten enttäuschen lassen, die post geht so richtig erst danach ab. schlicht und einfach „geil“. ganz, ganz ehrlich. oder, um mal einen „kollegen“ zu zitieren: „selten war mir ein kaufbefehl zu ernst“. [lachi]

black, sommer 1999
als ich diese cd aus dem großen ant-zen-paket in die hand nahm, erlitt ich fast wirklich einen schock, denn das teil war trotz jewelcase sauschwer - kein wunder bei zwei dicken verzinkten blechplatten statt booklet und backcover! auch musikalisch überrollt einem die „shock front“ und man steht plötzlich mitten in der schlacht des rhythmischen electro-noise-industrial. im gegensatz zu vielen anderen protagonisten dieses genres ist converter aber dichter und vielschichtiger, der trackaufbau erinnert sogar an songwriting und die struktur baut sich immer mehr auf bzw. wechselt oft die richtung. bei vielen anderen künstlern besteht ja meist die arbeit in einem loop, der dann einfach auf 5 minuten monoton aufgeblasen wird. aus oben genannten gründen werden deshalb die recht langen tracks von converter nie langweilig, sind aber dadurch für die tanzfloure meist zu lang und deshalb gibt es parallel die lp auf hymen. auf dem vinyl kommt converter nämlich etwas schneller und zügiger zur sache, wobei die lp nur zwei tracks und einen remix von der cd übernimmt, der rest ist neu bzw. unveröffentlicht. ich jedenfalls finde converter als das beste aus dieser richtung in der letzten zeit und wage zu behaupten, das imminent starvation ersthafte konkurrenz bekommen hat! ps: übrigens ist converter ein seitenprojekt von pain station, deren zweites album „disjointed“ mich schon im letzten heft zu begeistern wußte und ein interview mit scott sturgis findet ihr im heft. ant-zen schickt ein neues projekt ins rennen, da heißt es erstmal ohren auf! diesmal am start scott sturgis aus cincinnati/ohio, der schon durch pain station von sich hören ließ. „shock front“ - das sind 70 minuten pure energie verteilt auf 10 einheiten. knallige rhythmen, fette bässe, ordentlich distortion, analoger charme und eine beängstigende atmosphäre - alles was der moderne industrielle so mag. sowohl zum rumspringen auf der tanzfläche als auch zum zuhausehören geeignet! das ganze album ist sehr abwechslungsreich und gespickt mit zahlreichen stimmungs- & rhythmusänderungen. noch dazu verleiht das extra schwere metallcover dem tonträger einen besonderen optischen reiz und machen ihn somit zum pflichtkauf für alle freunde des technoiden industrial.

flesh & wire, issue 3
power noise. is this a phrase you´ve heard before? if so it will, invariably be linked with the label ant-zen. shock front, converter‘s debut release, displays the awesome talents of scott sturgis, also known for his project pain station. in a similar vein to label-mates imminent starvation, converter are the cure for even the most apathetic industrial connoisseur jaded by the litany of sound-the-same e.b.m. bands. this is not to say that shock front cannot be enjoyed by anyone who doesn‘t own the entire merzbow back-catalogue and a thesis on experimental music. sure there are experimental elements to this release but these are combined with infectious, danceable rhythms ans hints of e.b.m. styling. songs like coma have a noise element to them, but this is combined with smooth, punding techno beats making it extremely danceable. if not for the noise samples instead of drum beats it would be techno in its purest form. however, what makes it a masterpiece, rather than a nice danceable number, is sturgis‘s ability to mutate the sounds many times during a song, catching the listener constantly off-guard and taking them on a wild ride to god knows where. other higly danceable tracks include comqueror, denogginizer and sadist. there are also many slower tensionladen, atmospheric and dark tracks such as memory-trace. not a second of shock front‘s 70 minutes is waisted! with the use of intelligent samples (not overused which is a common mistake), sturgis has created a fascinatingly diverse release. for those of you who have already descovered and revel in the industrial subgenre of „power noise“ this release is a must. and for people who have a love of bands such as front 242, funker vogt and front line assembly but are searching for something a little different i 100% recommended this cd.

side-line, august/september 1999
scott sturgis - aka converter presents with „shock front“ his debut 10-track album. the ohio based sound manipulator cannot deny his evident influences from the european industrial rhythmic noise family. within the first moment you are submerged under a avalanche of terrorising noise rhythm flows repetitive at wishes. a wall of battered distortions recovers you in no time and seduces you immediately or forces your way to the closer safety exit. an uncompromising album lacking the depth and complexity band like p.a.l or imminent starvation can be proud of. converter found his way, up to him now to work in deeper detailsn to achieve the pain conductor he‘s been searching for on this debut. rough and straight power noise for die hardcore fans only... risk of lobotomy.

base asylum. issue 2
more often than not, when an artist releases an album of peerless sophistication early in his career, it's temporary. it's the flame of a star burning its reserves raw before collapsing, spent. so when i realized that scott sturgis of pain station had released disjointed as well as his side project converter's debut album shock front within the span of a year, my jaw dropped in awe. shock front is an excellent example of the best - yes, the best - which power noise has to offer. completely instrumental, its dark nature comes through in the form of explosive, barbed tints of muffled noise, chaotic bursts of static, and pounding, distorted percussion. sturgis pauses to take breaks throughout, using subdued, suspenseful ambient churning - sometimes concocted out of just manipulated static - for his momentary lulls amidst the barrage. everything from sonar-esque hypnotic grinding in "cannibals" to dancy violence in "coma" to a mesmerizing, grinding melee in "spirit shield" comes into play throughout shock front. sturgis' new war machine converter lays the smackdown not only on perhaps any 1999 album thus far, but also possibly on the entire ant-zen backcatalog. here's hoping the man has it in him for more. [mihir tendulkar]

the new empire
this is the latest release from ant zen (act 83) and presents us a project of scott sturgis, who is well known as the mastermind of pain station also. but converter is not dark-electronics with some noise and ebm-elements like pain station. it is pure, technoid rhythm noise. the album shock front is one of the best maybe even the best ever made for this style of music. the cd itself is heavy several hundred grams and comes with two steel-plates instead of the normal paper-cover. a very cool idea and the first reason why you should own this record. heavy like the cd is the music on it also. 10 powerful noise-tracks await the listener with rhythms that go directly into the brain. they unleash a power unknown before and make your body shake and tremble with the strong demand to start dancing wherever you are. everything begins with the first tunes of "conqueror“, the first real dancefloor-smasher on this record. the song begins brutal and noisy, develops into a brachial rhythm, transforms into a tensional loop and erupts after 2:53 with the speech-sample "become master of the universe“ into a violent rhythm-inferno. i love it. the title-track "shock front“ is dominated by a complex, developing rhythm-structure that slowly goes through a metamorphosis from painful to hellish beatz. one of the later samples used sounds a little bit like the distorted version of a sonar-ping we all are familiar with from the various submarine-movies. my favorite track is for sure "cannibals“ (not only because of it's title...). the song starts with some looped white noise and scratching sounds, creating an immense tension that is slowly smashed by hammering noises. it reminds me of a steal-bulk under heavy tension that is about to burst into two parts. it is only interrupted by a speach-sample "all obsessed with the taste of flesh“. not a song for the dancefloor bur the most intense on the whole album. "spirit shield“ is next. it reminds me a little bit of "the war against the machines“ in the terminator-movies. strange atmospheric sounds like the voices of a ghost in a abandoned factory are covered by weird and metallish rhythms. the sounds seem to be created randomly sometimes, but you can still follow the overall-structure. all in all a real quiet track. if there wouldn't be minute 5...the track explodes into an sound-inferno of heavy beatz, the desperate cries of tortured souls and then collapses into the again quiet end. number 5 is called "coma“ and is almost a techno-track. listen to this rhythm! if he had used the normal drum-samples and not his unique noises, we would have pure techno. but it wouldn't be "converter“ if it would be as simple like that. additional parts make the song interesting as usual. "sacrifices“ follows and brings us deep, bassy rhythms and sounds like from an assembly line. track 7, "memory-trace“ sounds somehow like the noises made in the machine-room of a star-ship. the monotone beating of the engine, the scratching of the metal, the rocket-fuel pumping through the pipes. an atmospheric and relatively quiet track ... all 9 minutes long. "deadman (perdition)“ is dominated by a strange "pipe“, playing an awful inhuman melody over a slow and painful rhythm like a march of the dead. industrial zombie tunes! the 9th track is "denogginizer“ and another great dance-floor-hit. the funny speech-samples make the song with it's fast and technoid beat to one of the most remarkable tracks on this record. brachial dance-industrial in it's best form! the final track is "sadist“ and begins with a scream and it would be sadistic to keep someone from dancing who listens to this track! a fast and brain-crushing rhythm forces you to shake your body! you just have to dance! you have no choice! this is the final argument of scott sturgis to convince every listener of the pure energy of his album and it is an powerful argument. i think with this track he wins the battle for sure. finally i'd say, converter is one of the most revolutionary releases of this year, an important masterpiece of rhythm noise and dark technoid music and as special bonus a cd with a very interesting packaging, so even people who don't like the music can buy it for their collection. scott sturgis shows us what he has in store and what the music can bring to us in the new millenium. coolness: 10 / 10. album of the month june 1999. [toxin]

just to make it clear at the beginning: the lp "coma " of the project converter is the album of the month to me. after checking a dictionary (sorry, guys!) and reading the meaning of the word "converter" what means something like "to change", "to transform" it became clear to me for what the creators of this masterpiece are striving. they offer a very deep structured rhythm noise - tec noise album, that is in my opinion easily able to deal with bands like "immiment starvation" while a lot of current releases show a trend to stagnation, "coma" presents from the beginning to the end pure joy of listening and and excitement. already the intro-track creates a hypnotic tension that later flows into great, driving rhythms like it was seldom to be heard before. it is hard and would be unfair to the musician to name some listening-tips, because every single track is a "pearl of noise". you can find everything from classical noise-structures to modern technoid elements. the slogan of the label "technoid noises for collapsing people " is transformed into music. great that something like converter exists! i just would have changed the title of the lp into "buy me!". [shizomi]

rec.music.industrial
music has swiftly become a rather disposable thing in my day to day routine. an album is purchased, listened to a few times while writing, reading or gaming. sometimes it might even become the soundtrack to some obscure itallian horror flick whose acting is so wooden and dialogue so atrocious the only possible salvation for the stunning visuals would be life as a music video for music the director probably doesn't even know. after an album's initial use, it normally finds its way into the dusty confines of my cd rack to someday, maybe, but doubtfully, be listened to again. the latest release from ohio based scott sturgis, the man behind pain station, just won't let that happen. its monstrous beats, thick atmospheres, grinding white noise just won't allow it to fade into obscurity. it demands to be listened to. it absolutely warrants the utmost attention a listener could possibly grant an album. take for instance the beast that is "cannibals." the track begins with a haze of noise, from under which a smooth and stylish beat slips. slowly the track begins to throb and hum, grinding with a flare that few noise-rhythm artists manage to obtain. its not a dance floor number, by any means, but that's not really important. its hypnotic and stunning, and can not be denied ones undivided attention. sonar, eat your heart out. "spirit shield" is like an audio representation of a good horror film. the tension slowly, but surely, builds with dark, and disturbing atmospheres, that fill one with an unnamable dread and then, at just the right moment, it unleashes a barrage of violent and shattering sounds. the violence fades back into a silky world of frightening ambiance and then, once one feels safe it surges again, in its final moments leaving the listener shakened, but anxious to repeat the experience again. i count it as one of my favorite moments on the album. not one facet of post-industrial is safe from this noise monster. not even the dance floor. "coma" surges forth with a few jolts of noise and then settles into a nearly techno slant. pounding, danceable beats ease this track through its five minute duration. over top the beat a distorted, alien sound floats. the track goes through several transformations, adding layer after layer of sound, and shifting gears and keeping the listener completely off guard, never certain where the track will lead you next. if ever unleashed on an unexpected dance floor, it could conceivably leave behind a trail of broken and shattered bodies begging for another dose. one of the most intense and aggressive moments comes in the form of "deadman (perdition)." it starts out nasty with an extreme wash of noise, and only gets nastier. the noise takes shape and forms a very firm and well defined pulse like rhythm, around which distortion, weird noises, electrical shocks and floating, eerie keys surround. at moments the track nearly collapses into a wall of undecipherable noise, but it quickly strives forward and maintains a recognizable shape and form. it's an amazing track. this is, quite frankly, a great release and a must have for anyone into the power noise scene, and could easily serve as a gateway into the greater, underground noise rhythm movement. it's easily right up there with the finest releases put out this, or any other year. that would be considered quite an accomplishment, for any artist, but it's even more amazing considering that, under his pain station moniker, sturgis has already put out the best of the year contender "disjointed." with this release, scott sturgis proves that he's one of the most important artists working in the post-industrial field and deserves every single word of praise lavished upon him . hopefully, with this record, scott will not only achieve an even higher critical stature but greater financial reward and status of master of the universe. [downfall]

a few items i've picked up lately that i've been enjoying immensely: converter - shock front. awesome. brutal noise loops, caustic soundscapes, culminating, driving, pounding, stomping rhythms. the title track is my favourite – incredible. [eleet]

deadwyre
picture a documentary filmed after a nuclear holocaust. picture images of total destruction and annihilation. picture a world dead and gone, with a dark sky, the sun blocked by dust. now imagine the soundtrack. if any music were to fit a documentary about the end of the world, it's the music of converter. heavy, gut wrenching beats laced with aggression and distortion blend with eerie and harsh noises. abrasive, to say the least! scott sturgis is a master when it comes to percussion, and this converter cd is no exception. extremely creative and complex beat structures make this cd stand out beyond any other power noise or electro act. there are no vocals (with the exception of a few dialog samples), so don't expect to sing along. a must have. get it now, or else. you have been warned. ross. rating: 5.

sqid
converter is another project of scott surgis of pain station. this time, the sound can only be described as noise-core. intense pounding beats is the basis of the music, which comes at you unrelentingly, mixed with statik synth work and a few samples. converter almost instantly won my affection. this is fucking great shit. dance floor oriented noise electro industrial is quickly becoming my new favourite form of music, and converter is definitely in the top of the genre. there is a fair amount of variety in this album, although at the same time, not straying too far from the noise-core root. conqueror (track 1), shock front (track 2) and denogginizer (track 9) are heavy dance floor power-noise. coma (track 5) adds a middle eastern feel in a way that just works so well. there are songs that have a ambient-power-noise feel, as oxymoronic as that may first seem, forming a chaotic world of anger that seperates you from what you have come to expect from a musical experience. there have been some who link the sound of converter to other noise-core bands like sonar, but i feel this is unwarrented. converter lacks the repetition of sonar to begin with. converter definitely has its own sound, and it's incredible.

seven
meet converter - the creation of scott sturgis from ohio, also famous for his project "pain station". "shock front" is a symphony. a symphony of the world of the machines. there is nothing human about this disk. it doesn't mean that "shock front" lacks emotions - this album catches you and won't let go till the end leaving you drained and overwhelmed with feelings. it creates images of incredible complexity and power that sweep you off your feet. this is a lot of what i have been searching for in the noise movement - the density of sound that matches the sound density of metal guitar-driven bands but surpases them in complexity and even aggressiveness. a lot of noise acts of today become annoying and repetitive when artists get carried away with pure technique. they become too experimental and their tracks become just studies of sound, not music. shock front never becomes annoying and you never know what to expect next. this is not beautiful chaos of autechre and not menacing ambience of gridlock; this is not abrasiveness of sonar or violence of imminnent starvation. converter is all that those bands lack. converter is definitely influenced by all of them, but not by what they have, rather by what they've missed. everything that you thought those bands left out of their compositions, scott added and created his own unique mix. every track on the album is unpredictable. there is no way to describe a single song as "aggressive" or "ambient" or "danceable". every single track will change from white noise to chaotic machine ambient, from almost danceable machine beat to ripping sound of crashing structures. there is everything here, but nothing you have heard before. there is nothing human on those tracks. every single moment is the life of the machine told by the machine. these are not human emotions that are being described. the music itself is completely unique. distorted percussion, cracking torn synths, harsh noisy beats that sound like overprocessed guitar, harsh white noise, pulsating dark beats, ripping breakbeats, torn drilling noises. the unique constantly changing mixture. from machine ambience filled with white noise to crushing exploding barbaric rhythms. the track might start with dark chilling emptiness and stay like that for 5-6 minutes before it explodes into 2-minute chaos. some beats are unexpectedly torn and broken, reversed and smashed against your face; some stay with you throughout the track, others appear once for a second and leave you wondering if you really heard them. every track is a journey in itself and you never know how and where it will end. "shock front" is one of the most futuristic releases in its vision of the future and the technoid culture. this is converter, and you have been warned.

orkus, april 1999
und wieder schickt sich ein neues projekt an, den industrial-techno-olymp zu erklimmen. scott sturgis aus cincinatti/usa und sein neuestes kind converter kann man guten gewissens als typischen, wenn auch mit einem gehörigem maß an eigenständigkeit gesegneten vertreter des genres bezeichnen. der sound des einmannprojekts klingt erstaunlich vielfältig und überraschend europäisch. mr. sturgis zeigt eine hervorragende begabung für abwechslungsreiche rhythmen und effektvolle, industrielle soundkreationen; und vermutlich auch durch seine erfahrungen im dark elektro-bereich bedingt, erweisen sich sämtliche stücke als außergewöhnlich komplex und atmosphärisch dicht. interessante tempo- und rhythmuswechsel und die abwechslung zwischen brachialen, tanzbaren und ambienten passagen machen das album "shock front" selbst zu einem echten tip für entspanntes hören im trauten heim (und das kann man wahrlich nicht von allen acts aus diesem bereich behaupten). allerdings kommt der dj mit einer ganzen reihe potentieller clubhits trotzdem voll auf seine kosten. fazit: olymp erreicht! converter ist für mich auf jeden fall einer der vielversprechendsten newcomer im technoid-industriellen komplex. die bereits etablierten kollegen aus der alten welt sollten sich schon mal warm anziehen, um dieser schockfront paroli bieten zu können.

orkus, april 1999
"converter ist für mich eine art von neuanfang, ein projekt, bei dem ich einfach nur viel spaß beim lärmmachen und herumexperimentieren haben kann", beschreibt der amerikaner scott sturgis sein jüngstes projekt converter, dessen jetzt erschienenes debutalbum "shock front" ein paradebeispiel für das noch relativ junge genre industrial techno ist. "ich liebe es, ambiente und gleichzeitig noisige klänge und texturen zu erschaffen, aber andererseits soll der sound auch sehr kinetisch sein. meine lieblingsbeschäftigung ist die arbeit mit rhythmen oder rhythmusstrukturen... ich mag es, wenn ich das gefühl habe, daß ich mich zu meiner musik bewegen muß." fernab jeder themenbezogenheit soll converter auf einer rein akustischen ebene den hörer in seinen bann schlagen und physisch wie emontional in bewegung setzen. auch der name des projekts leitet sich von scotts kinetischen vorstellungen ab. es geht um das herauslösen von herkömmlichen sounds und samples aus der altbekannten umgebung und der konvertierung in einen neuen, ungewohnten zusammenhang durch gezielte oder willkürliche manipulationen. converter ist die verwirklichung dessen, was scott mit seinem deutlich älteren projekt pain station nicht möglich ist, denn dessen wurzeln liegen trotz ein paar noise-einflüssen fest im dark electro amerikanischer bauart verankert.
mit dem erst ein jahr jungen projekt converter, aber auch mit dem wesentlich eingängigeren pain station-material hat scott keine beziehungsweise erst sehr wenig live-erfahrung sammeln können, denn seine heimat cincinnati/ohio ist im hinblick auf electro- und industrial-musik ein ödes niemandsland. er setzt seine hoffnungen lieber auf die dortige kunstszene, die experimentelleren klängen gegenüber durchaus aufgeschlossen zu sein scheint. immerhin erhielt er schon das angebot von einer galerie, eine gemäldeausstellung musikalisch zu begleiten. wenigstens hierzulande dürfte converter beim schwarzen szenepublikum, aber auch bei aufgeschlossenen techno-fans auf wenig akzeptanzprobleme stoßen. [alexander maciol]