Artist: FGFC820
Album: Homeland Insecurities
Review by: Outsider (aka Adrian Onsen)

I must admit that FGFC820 is new to me.The only thing I knew of FGFC820 was the performances I saw at Kinetik for the past 2 years (when I attended). My impression was that Rexx Arkana had a military and political message to convey (through the military beats, uniform that he wears on stage, and political commentary between the songs) but never really connected with it. Musically I enjoyed the stompy beats and harsh vocals, but that was the extent of it.

Until the other day when Rexx offered me a copy of his latest album Homeland Insecurity to do a review of. I accepted it but to be honest, I felt a little awkward as I didn’t know how I was going to write about the music I had only heard so little of. 

Having been through the entire album now on more then a few occasions from front to back, I hve to admit that it started to grow on me. There is a such a wide range of musical sub-genre styles on this album. Everything from nearly hard-style BPM tracks, to EBM, to aggro-tech to ambient-like sound scapes and a couple of  ballads. The entire album is very rich aurally with layers of sounds weaved into the fabric that’s ‘Homeland Insecurity‘. However the musical richness does not come at the expense of being overly complex. It’s easy to listen to and satisfies on may levels. You can bounce and move to the various tracks on a dance floor focusing just on the beats or you can really listen to the lyrics and get an added bonus as the message in each song is very well expressed.

Each song has a unique feel to it. Only a couple of tracks feel like they have similar sounding beats and synths. I believe one of the album’s strengths is the diversity and range of sound it delivers in each track. While harsh and beaty, the tracks also feature very complex and layered synth tracks that are organic and elaborate. A joy for me to listen to.
It is also evident that thought had been devoted to the arrangement of the tracks on the disk. Separating every two or three tracks is a short 3 minute interlude which breaks up the album into four chapters. Each chapters feels like it’s exploring a different industrial sub-genre. The opening chapter is the hard pounding beats, followed by the EBM tracks, then a couple of slower ballads and closing with another set of harder beats. Brilliant.
The one thread that is common through out the album is the vocals. Consistent regardless of the track tempo or mood, Rexx’s harsh an slightly distorted vocals delivers a powerful experience.

This is where my reviews would normally finish as most albums’ lyrics are not really note worthy. However I decided to dig deeper and find the lyrics to this album, and that is when the experience this album delivered was brought to an entirely different level. Actually understanding the lyrics made the most impact for me. The stories expressed with each song are short, concise and deliver a strong punch. The lyrics are thought provoking, intelligently written, and well versed pieces of poetry on their own right.  Words that paint a picture and touch feelings.
Having said that the only quarrel I have with the album is the harshness of the vocals on some tracks. It didn’t take away from the experience by not being able to easily understand the beautifully crafted lyrics. It just made it more difficult to get to the full message the tracks were trying to convey.
On this album there are the club tracks that are sure to get the crowds bouncing on the dance floor and there are the tracks that mellow one out. But each and every one has a profound and powerful message if you listen to the lyrics.

Producing music that moves someone and evokes as much emotion as this album did for me, is rare. This album has me blown out of the water. I can honestly say that this album will remain at the top of my short list for a long while.
Thank you Rexx and Dräcos for making this simply amazing album.

Buy FGFC820’s Homeland Insecurity on their label Black Rain as a Double CD or as the Limited Box Set.