Divine

In the credits this four-man goth industrial rock project thank Tim Burton and H.R. Giger. Some of their song titles include "Fetish," "Bondage," "Space City Sex Addict" and "From Flesh to Silicon." The album sleeve reveals photos of all four of them in cyber makeup and artful head-shot poses. Sounds enticing, but does the music live up to what you expect? Luckily they come through. A mix of hard-hitting guitar punches and electronic weirdness, they somehow manage to come up with a sound that is quite original. The vocal effects, so often clichéd in the industrial genre, are used in ways that we haven't heard a million times before, and not necessarily the same on every song. The CD moves along at a quick pace and unfolds like a story; it opens with some pulse quickening tracks, eases us through a slower number aptly titled "Seduction," then kicks into "Space City Sex Addict," a Ministry meets KMFDM work of dance floor genius. The CD is puzzlingly oxymoronic, in that although sounding very current it still has a bit of a retro feel. "I See it in Your Eyes" could easily be a goth number from the post-punk era of so long ago, and for those of us who often long for the good ol' days of "alternative" music, this is a treat-and-a-half. Serious musicianship and terrific programming to match, yet just twisted enough to slap the face of industrial music and give it a kiss, all at the same time. If the Divine play a venue near you, don't you dare miss them.