Maschinenkrieger KR52 - Stroke Unit (2020)

Maschinenkrieger KR52 . Stroke Unit . HANDS D292
This is the fifth MASCHINENKRIEGER KR52 album on HANDS, and the first without the alliance of Disraptor, who stopped his musically activities. So Maschinenkrieger KR52 goes solo and continues to provide the crowd with relentless rhythm’n’noise terror for the clubs, as in his live performances in recent years. Medical emergencies, deadly sins, optical delusions, viruses – such are the clues from which Rico Weber has drawn inspiration for his first solo endeavour. Of course there ‘s the purist approach we have come to expect, but the Maschinenkrieger KR52 sound also got a mindful update – the result being a strong contender, a contemporary blueprint for the genre.

Clocking in under an hour, “Stroke Unit” is – again – an album that goes full steam, and while unswervingly pursuing his path of rhythm’n’noise purity, the Maschinenkrieger KR 52 has added considerable elements of the present-day musical language: The impact of the kicks, the depth of the bass growl, the resonating sounds render these 12 tracks painfully concrete and physical. While tracks like “Gluttony” or “Ocean” will surely please the old school crowd, others like “Halo” or the sharp-edged title track sport a more distinguishable structure, reaching out to the curious. All in all, this is best savoured in its entirety, a glorious rush of mechanized brutality.

“Stroke Unit” offers a surprising diversity to the genre adherent, and while most of the material is primarily bound for the dance floor, it will enhance all kinds of everyday activities. Keep moving, stay healthy, it will save you from the stroke unit!