This is music to listen to while sitting on the dentist’s chair and waiting for drilling - old style without anaesthesia. This is probably the music inside the head of a condemned man waiting for the final execution. This is the music for the man who wants do dance, but his feet got hacked off. This is no conventional form of music.

This is noise. Rhythm and noise. ‘Ubermensch’ begins with minimalist but bombastic chords hidden under a technical swoosh and distorted voice. ‘Wolfpack’ is EBM for hardcore fans, reduced to the monotonous drum programming together with – noise. Together with stroboscope lights and some hallucinogens this track drives you into madness. If the ‘New Babylon’ is a place it must be a kind of cyber factory with robots and machines, technical, harsh and cold. Voices of lost souls shout in the background. ‘Geo Engineering’ is another dance of the machines, not for bodies of flesh and blood, rather for convulsive brains in which formulas shake their intellectual desire till they break at the white wall of death.

Meanwhile, ‘LHC’ marks the time for rest, technical but atmospheric; the robots relax. With ‘Dirty Distorted Dancehall’, you imagine a distorted screaming voice...in a dirty dancehall – and there the rhythm knows only one tune to stamp you into a narcotic trance. Play it loud, your neighbour will hate you forever. ‘Wardance’ is even more apt with a comparable sound to kill the neighbour’s peacefulness. If your wife or girlfriend has an inclination to develop a migraine and happens to listen to this track, she will learn just how pain can really develop.

It’s very interesting because this album explores the consequence of quitting everything in music that depends on melodies, harmonies or the wish to entertain. It is very fascinating to reach this uncompromising level of bleak coldness. It is so far away from every mainstream or the wish to conquer human hearts with something nice or pretty that it’s possible to call it EPM, what means Electro Punk Masochism. The personal recommendation is the last track ’Bow For Xenu’ with unchanged monotonous drum programming and screeching, scratching noises and also because it’s the last track and then the torture is over. Or, if you like torture, start the record again and enjoy the ride on the frozen carpet of suicidal needles.

Spheremag, UK

Extreme steam would be the appropriate flavour of this one folks. The Peoples Republic Of Europe is a hostile lil taute te taute musical piece. This is an album made for that group of people you know will stomp you in the mosh pit. The songs range from simplistic to complex in a transcending order that will not allow the listener to just take a break.

Babylon uses the elements and media formats as well keyed and synced perfectly throughout with little to no stutters in rhythm. Be prepared to sweat to this one folks, it will have you up against the wall and have you by the throat listening to it. The synths are at a collaborative top notch value and the Khz are synced appropriately in all the right places.

This album makes for a cutting swathe that would have both the veteran and the new comer in the Industrial community feel right at home with the music and can even cross the thresh hold of being something picked up by someone not even in the community to enjoy. All in all this is a force to be reckoned with and it is making it’s mark. Now where’s the damn Bactine to clean the blood from the ear drums?

Brutal resonance

Wer diese holländische Band kennt, weiß, was auf einen zukommt. TPROE sind dafür bekannt, ultraharte Beats zu generieren, die allein darauf abzielen, in Verbindung mit Stroboskoplicht den menschlichen Körper in Bewegung und danach in einen rauschhaften Zustand zu versetzen. Das alles ist ein wenig vorhersehbar, und so wird auch „Babylon“ wieder allen Fans der Band gerecht, während der Rest der Welt sich fragt, ob dieser äußerst minimale Krach auch noch Wirkung besitzt. Nun, ganz negativ sollte man auch nicht sein, denn ihre Musik ist auch Ausdruck einer tiefen Unzufriedenheit mit den vorherrschenden Systemen auf der Erde. Und reines Gewummer, der nebenbei auch als guter Härtetest für die Subwoofer funktioniert, ist auf „Babylon“ ja auch nicht immer zu hören. „Ubermensch“ und „LHC“ zeigen beispielsweise auch, dass sie sich auch im Dark Ambient sehr zu Hause fühlen. Für Interesse sorgte rein vom Lesen der Track „Dirty Distorted Dancehall“, das wohl als Harsh Dancehall eine seeeehr eigenwillige Version von Ragga und Dancehall darstellen soll. Immerhin hat es die Aufmerksamkeit des Rezensenten auf sich. Ansonsten bleibt „Babylon“ ein sehr spezielles Werk, das höchstens für die Kenner und Hardcorefans der Industrial-Szene ein Leckerbissen ist.

Electrauma.de

I'm sure I'm the last person on earth that should be reviewing electro industrial music of the dance variety. The only think I listen to that is even close to this would be Terrorfakt so this is what I hear while reviewing this CD or maybe early Ministry mixed with a bit of NIN from pretty hate machine. I would say they have moments of what Skinny Puppy and Nitzer Ebb do as well but other then that . I would say its very Martial and Battle like in a electronic fashion . The Peoples Republic of Europe is very beat driven as well but I seem not to hate it so that is a very big plus as well. Check them out there is a very dark side to the band I will dig a bit deeper and see if a new genre of music really becomes something I fully enjoy...

Absolute zero media

The cacophony of distorted noise breaks upon us with ‘Ubermensch’ with just vague allusions to a somewhat melodic soul buried somewhere inside these cascades, inflicted with a voice talking to us from the great beyond. A disturbing sound work indeed, but not as devastating as the following ‘Wolfpack’ is, bringing the relentless frigidity and endlessly propelling force of rhythmic industrial to your attention with an ever present sense of danger, woven into the violent attacks. Through’ New Babylon’ blows a cold wind, ascending from the void of ancient times into today’s reality. A babel of different voices unfolds from its entrails, while the gloomy mumblings of a demon lurking in the shadows inject fear into your system. The ‘White Wall of Death’ is nothing short of a tsunami, whose annihilating powers somehow have been tamed and cast into sonic sculptures for us humans to hear them and tremble before their elemental force.

’LHC’ veers into angst-laden ambient, rather than exploring even extremer forms of rhythmic violence. The gates of the underworld itself open up before you. But be careful, once you’ve crossed the threshold there’s no turning back. Actually, the title ‘Dirty Distorted Dancehall’ already describes exactly what will cross everyone’s mind upon hearing this. Hits the nail on the head, so enjoy yourselves to the ritual sounds of its drums, driving you into an ecstatic trance! ‘Bow for Xenu’ one more time sends the frightened soul through abysms of ice-cold, jagged builds of static noises and beats before the journey finds its abrupt end with yourself waking from this nightmare. ‘Babylon’ is unsettling, at many times ruthless andt never easy listening stuff, and it pushes the envelope of the dusty rhythmic noise genre with fresh ideas.

Reflections of darkness (7.5/10)

The Peoples Republic Of Europe ist ein niederländisches Rhythm-’n’-Noise-Projekt, welches schon diverse Veröffentlichungen unters Volk geworfen hat und vom vielerseits produzierten Krach aber weit entfernt ist. Und hatte mir doch vor kurzem erst W.A.S.T.E. einen gründlichen Scheitel gezogen, so kommt hier auch gleich der Nachschlag. Denn auch The Peoples Republic Of Europe steht für ein enorm intensives Klanggewitter, welches mit dem starken "Wolfpack" erstmals so richtig in Fahrt kommt. Und schon nach kurzer Zeit wird klar, "Babylon" sollte man unbedingt schön laut konsumieren. Amtliche Stampfer wie "Geo Engineering" oder auch "Wardance" entfalten ihre Intensität dann nämlich umso besser. Aber es wird auch mal etwas ruhiger, wie uns "LHC" aufzeigt. Dennoch sind es aber gerade diese energischen Tracks, mit denen The Peoples Republic Of Europe am besten punkten kann. Zwar kann man mit der Wucht von W.A.S.T.E. nicht mithalten, fährt aber stilistisch in ähnlichen Gewässern. So bekommt der Hörer hier einen ansprechenden Mix aus Industrial, EBM und Techno serviert. Gerne hätten aber auch noch mehr atmosphärische Parts, wie sie in "To Prove A Point" vorhanden sind, eingebunden werden können. Diese stehen nämlich wirklich gut im Kontrast zu dem ansonst recht treibenden Grundgerüst, was man in "Nicolae Carpathia Died For Your Sins" hervorragend unter Beweis stellt. Ansonsten ist "Babylon" eine recht runde Sache mit einigen richtig guten Krachern geworden, wenngleich man auch noch ein paar kleine Ecken und Kanten glätten kann. Als Anspieltipps fungieren die genannten Titel und wer's mal etwas deftig mag, darf hier gerne reinschnuppern, denn interessant ist dieses Werk allemal.

Necroweb (8/10)

Ormai prossimo a festeggiare i dieci anni di carriera e di ritorno da un tour in territorio statunitense a supporto degli Hocico, l'attivissimo progetto dell'olandese Pieter Winkelaar torna sul mercato ad un anno dal precedente "Singularity" col sesto album ufficiale (cui si aggiungono ben cinque CDr e tre uscite in formato download), seconda uscita per l'americana Vendetta. Alla base del nuovo lavoro vi è il concetto di (nuova) 'Babilonia', intesa come la società in cui siamo costretti a vivere, poiché non disposti a tornare indietro e a rinunciare alle conquiste sociali (il cosiddetto 'benessere') ed al progresso (visto nell'ottica squisitamente medica, più che altro): come recitano le note ufficiali, "supportiamo il sistema, siamo il sistema, viviamo il sistema". Un concept interessante per un'opera che, musicalmente, non è da meno: il tipico suono power noise/rhythmic industrial dell'act olandese trova nuovi sbocchi senza perdere in potenza e/o risultarne snaturato, confermando TPROE nel gotha del settore. Il tema sonoro industriale di "Ubermensch" prelude a "Wolfpack", adrenalinica e pompata scheggia rhythmic industrial di buona efficacia come è nelle corde del Nostro; con "New Babylon" i ritmi si fanno più 'urbani' ma lo scenario resta teso ed inquieto, per quello che si rivela essere uno degli episodi più intriganti dell'intero lavoro. "Geoengineering" dimostra come si possa spingere sui bpm con stile, mostrando non solo i muscoli, laddove "Wardance" è invece più smaccatamente fisica nel suo impeto; tutto procede per il meglio anche quando i ritmi si fanno più pacati, come nell'arcigna "White Wall Of Death" o nella più solenne "Nicolae Carpathia Died For Your Sins", ma la fisicità torna a dominare con la concitata "Dirty Distorted Dancehall" (il cui titolo è già tutto un programma) e con l'up-tempo quasi funkeggiante "To Prove A Point". "LHC", pur nei suoi toni ambientali e grigi, svela un animo non minaccioso, mentre l'industrialoide "Bow For Xenu" chiude l'opera fra oscurità e ritmo. Molto funzionale la produzione, capace di esaltare tanto la possanza ritmica quanto il clangore industriale ben dosato da Pieter ed i significativi e quasi onnipresenti samples vocali, sempre ben contestualizzati. Un lavoro che conferma le qualità dell'act olandese (meritatamente approdato da tempo fra i nomi di punta della scena), fra aperture verso nuovi sbocchi creativi, varietà della proposta ed una qualità indiscutibile quando si tratta di picchiare duro.

Darkroom magazine (7.5/10)

t's probably unfair to open a review by complaining how tired and dull a certain musical scene has become of late, but luckily, the Netherlands' current darlings of technoid industrial music, The People's Republic Of Europe, have plenty going for them on "Babylon". The production quality is high, there is an almost overly wide range of styles on display and plenty of interesting sounds and textures are thrown into the mix. Some of the more comedy ideas tend to grate however, and the way they've so desperately thrown themselves at the "scene" does mean that numerous clichés slip through the net, both in terms of sound and imagery. But placing myself out of the judgemental confines of my at home head and imagining myself hard at it in an industrial club then I certainly have to concede that I would probably continue dancing if any one of these tracks came on after the likes of Sonar or Imminent.
"Ubermensch" is a strong intro, revealing T.P.R.O.E.'s roots in dark ambient and setting up a good feeling of impending doom and fear. The big dance floor hit "Wolfpack" is then placed second as the rules dictate, probably the most generic and monotonous track on the surface, but with some good screeching and rumbling noises in the background. "New Babylon" then opens the more urban influences, with syncopated beats and vocal samples of angry West Indian chaps, a theme which is explored further on "Dirty Distorted Dancehall" where an MC woman berates an audience member before heavy bottom waving beats bump and grind all over the shop. "Geoengineering" is another four to the floor stompathon, with engaging layers of percussion and a dense atmosphere, followed by "White Wall Of Death", which combines well breakbeats with slow industrial crashes.
The album is well split in the centre with the moody ambient electronica of "LHC", before the afore-mentioned dancehall track and then the tribal "Wardance" get the party people leaping once more, the latter seemingly with tribesmen leading a workout drill. "To Prove A Point" might seem to prove something about focus, venturing quite far from other tracks into some decent glitchy IDM, before "Nicolae Carpathia Died For You" continues this almost side-project sound further, almost paying homage to the current dubstep trend. Finally, "Bow For Xenu" brings us back to the technoid industrial sounds and is my clear favourite on the album, with the right balance of interesting bass drum rhythms and harsh, oppressive noises and sinister atmospheres.

Connexion bizarre (6.5/10)

Het beste album van The Peoples Republic Of Europe. Zo, het hoge woord is eruit. Dit Nederlandse eenmansproject heeft al een oeuvre waar veel andere (internationale) industrial, noise acts een punt aan kunnen zuigen. Met “Babylon” weet Pieter Winkelaar zijn meest complete album uit te brengen. Eigenlijk zijn de altijd aanwezige kwalitatief hoogstaande beukers als ‘Wolfpack’ en het afsluitende ‘Bow For Xenu’ een keer het mindere materiaal van deze CD. Dat zegt veel over de kwaliteit die The Peoples Republic Of Europe anno nu te bieden heeft, want TPROE excelleerde juist op vorige releases in krachtige dansvloer nummers. Beide genoemde nummers zijn niet slechter dan hun soortgenoten op eerdere albums, maar de andere nummers op dit album zijn net even beter. Beter wat betreft verrassing en opbouw. Zo doen ‘Geoengineering’ en ‘Dirty Distorted Dancehall’ een gooi naar het betere werk van Needle Sharing. Heftige beats en een vleugje drum ‘n bass worden aangevuld met gepaste noise geluiden. ‘Wardance’ gaat dan net een stapje verder in dreiging en gekte. Met dank aan de samples. Opvallend is dat TPROE aan kracht wint naarmate het aan snelheid inboet. De meest opvallende nummers zijn de mid-tempo tracks. Hierin heeft Pieter alle ruimte om met vreemde geluiden, intrigerende samples en gepaste breaks een heerlijk luisterspel voor te schotelen. Voorbeelden te over, maar luister eens naar het dreigende, hypnotiserende ‘White Wall Of Death’ (je hoofd gaat vanzelf meebewegen), het onder de huid kruipende ‘New Babylon’ of het duistere ‘LHC’.

Rockportal

Truth be told though (even being a DJ for 20+ years) I’ve only just been introduced to them recently, but I have been blown from the start. Bands like TPRoE are the reason I’ve been listening to and spinning industrial, noise & underground electronic music since the 80’s. Babylon has the feel of bands like Clock DVA, Cabaret Voltaire & Zoviet France had for me back in the day.

From the opener “Ubermensch” to the closer “Bow for Xenu” Babylon is a master piece of electronic goodness. This album, I’m sure will find its place alongside greats like Haujobb’s “Homes & Gardens” & Wumpscut’s “Music for a Slaughtering Tribe” as must own discs for my fellow electrophiles.

Disconnect magazine

This new album, the second on Vendetta Music, is trying to capture Babylon in all its industrial strengths. We start the journey with ‘Ubermensch’, which is an effective harsh industrial soundscape. With ‘Wolfpack’ the beats kick immediately in. Hard-pounding 4/4 beats with saturated rhythms make for an energetic song. ‘New Babylon’ starts with what seem like some hip-hop vocal samples. The song is less heavy and more spherical. It’s still very rhythmic with noise elements. ‘Geo-Engineering’ starts with simple and basic 4/4 beats, but as the song progresses more sounds are added to make for an excellent club-smasher. ‘White Wall Of Death’ has a very gritty and groovy industrial sound to it. ‘LHC’ gets things a little bit quieter, as this is a dark, yet beautiful, soundscape with some IDM elements. The club-hit ‘Dirty Distorted Dancehall’ was already to be heard on the ‘Extreme Störfrequenz 3’ sampler. It very successfully mixes female hip-hop samples with hard electronics. This will for sure smack the underground clubs to bits! The ironically titled ‘Wardance’ is indeed a nice dance track, less heavy than the former song and with some tribal elements. ‘To Prove A Point’ makes for quite a different sound for TPROE, as it is somewhat glitchy and contains a lot of breaks in the beginning and then transforms into a heavy industrial break-beat song. Very good and full of raw energy! The song ‘Nicolae Carpathia Died For Your Sins’ seems based on the fictional character Nicolae Jetty Carpathia from the Left Behind book-series, and later also the movies. Those stories where about the very Christian visions of the Apocalypse. The song is very good, a slow and gritty industrial track with good rhythms. We end our voyage with ‘Bow To Xenu’, for a last time all stops out powernoise attack on the senses.

Again TPROE does not disappoint in the very least. Everything you love about them is again represented with a few surprises. The album will not really shock your world if you’ve followed them throughout the years, but everything is done with passion and a lot of energy. Highly recommended!

Gothtronic (8)

Devastating audiences in the rhythmic noise/power noise/technoise scene is this duo from Holland, who have been active since 2000, and starting with their debut album Juche released in 2004, they’ve been steadily pumping output after output of mind-bending electro, continuously evolving and transforming their foundational rhythmic noise sound into a fully balanced, creative, atmospheric, multi-faceted mixture of dark and aggressive dance music, reaching out to all audiences beyond their sphere while never losing their own unique integrity and sound.

I was a little bit cautious when approaching this band at first, as the technoise genre, as of late, has been an over-exploited, repetitive mainstay of the club scene, and definitely lost it’s edge to repetition after band after band try to be the next Combichrist or Feindflug.

Very thankfully, this band is absolutely NOT just some steady mindless “thump thump thump” group. Over the years, they’ve been expanding and perfecting their sound to include influences from across the board of electronic music genres, incorporating drum n’ bass, breakcore, electro-industrial, EBM, IDM, minimal techno, hip hop, and even some dark ambient/industrial into their seamless assault of dark grooves and textured beats.

The themes behind Babylon are apparently the sort of ideals one would automatically associate with electronic music in the first place: man vs. the system, technology, the modern age, and the likes. I obviously didn’t expect an ode to Dungeons & Dragons. This CD isn’t really bound by themes or continuity, however, each track being so different as to stand on their own.

The semi-melodic wall of abrasive sound gets us off to a triumphant start as a fittingly calm intro for the fields of energy that lie ahead. As the second track and that familiar pounding kicked in, my eyes began to do that twitching motion that sometimes happens when I listen to a power noise record, but luckily that didn’t last long, as the steady thumping is joined by minimal layers of sounds that weave in and out of the main beat, building and building to create a coherent piece of music, that one can definitely enjoy listening to without the dancefloor or chemical stimulus.

In fact, this is probably the most “power noise” track on the whole CD, as the next song delves right into mid-paced breakcore territory. This track gets off to an enjoyable start, but never really picks up, staying steadily around that main beat that just…… exists. The fourth track kicks in and NOW we’re talking!!

I can actually dance to this! Taking some elements of IDM and old-school EBM and fusing them into an infectious atmospheric slab of dance music including dynamics and building tempos. Moving past the forgettable track 5, the next song, “Lhc” is a nice pleasant surprise, being a purely dark ambient track right in the middle of an IDM record. It only goes to prove how set-apart this band are from the pack, and though their sound is still developing/evolving, they want to keep their audience on their toes, expecting the unexpected.

Next song is back into dirty beats and voice samples, and track 8, “Wardance”, is probably the catchiest and most dance-invoking number on this record. For some strange reason, the main beat reminds me slightly of “Transtime” by Frontline Assembly, although a thousand times more upbeat, with some rather happy-sounding analog synths sounding in the background. We move on to another industrial track “To Prove a Point”, it’s infectious drum n’ bass beats colliding with it’s ominous layers of dark atmospherics.

The last two tracks continue on towards the harsher fields of industrial, with a much darker mood than the rest of the album, as it winds down to it’s conclusion.

Although there’s not much flow to this CD, the mixture of styles and atmospheres are similar enough that they keep the listener transfixed from beginning to end, and while each song in itself is hypnotic and repetitive as dance music goes, it has enough breaks in mood and tempo to keep it from becoming nothing more than background noise.

An interesting output from a band still evolving, and if you enjoy QUALITY electronic dance music that still manages to stay challenging and diverse, I’d definitely recommend this.

Heathen harvest

The latest album from The Peoples Republic of Europe sees the Dutch project taking its rhythmic noise into more eclectic directions while retaining its futuristic atmospheres and arch, anti-religious humor. Perhaps the most surprising song is "New Babylon," which incorporates reggae flavor, of all things, by pairing a ragga-style toasting sample with clanking breakbeats, but there's also "White Wall of Death," a funky number that combines modern rhythmic noise with classic industrial flavor, and the decidedly ominous "To Prove a Point," which alternates stomping factory rhythms with chilling synthesized ambient. For more straightforward club fare, there's the aggressive, highly focused "Wolfpack" and the high-BPM minimalism of "Wardance." In addition to the transhumanist science fiction attitude that suffuses all of his work, project founder [KRAT] also seems quite fond of anti-religious comedy, as embodied on this album's two final tracks. "Nicolae Carpathia Died for Your Sins," a reference to the antichrist character in the "Left Behind" series of fundamentalist Christian novels, is a slow but thickly distorted construction of clanking loops, while "Bow for Xenu," an ironic reference to Scientology's secret teachings, is even deeper and darker, all ominous crunchy beats to close the album out on an exceptionally sinister note, less evocative of the religion's Hollywood cranks than of the psychological and physical abuse allegedly visited upon its less famous adherents. Altogether, a solid album that ably mixes infectious power noise club beats with serious and ironic themes alike, this release highlights The Peoples Republic of Europe as rising stars of the rhythmic noise scene.

Grave concerns E-zine