I don't think I'm going to buy a new CD today, so I'll dig through my collection and pull one out to talk about. Wait right here. Don't. Move.

Ah! Here we go. This is one of my favorites. I've always been a fan of industrial music, ever since I listened to Ministry's Psalm 69 and NIN's Pretty Hate Machine back in my sophomore year of high school. But it seemed like the genre sort of dried up after 1995, so I stopped following the artists. Wax Trax went under and industrial was replaced largely by nu metal, being resurrected in the mainstream only by quasi-industrial artists like Rob Zombie or Rammstein.

Two albums released in 2004 turned me back on to electronic/industrial music: Skinny Puppy's The Greater Wrong of the Right and Die Warzau's Convenience (these two also inspired me to start my own industrial project). Convenience, quite simply, is a phenomenal album. Yes, it's really that good. It's heavily political, and contains some great social commentary as well. If you want to sample Die Warzau's keen and witty insights on American life and politics, just visit Jim Marcus' blog on MySpace. His entries are long, but well worth the read. Some of the songs are really dark (even if, at first, they don't seem so), while others are more light-hearted, such as the heartfelt "Shine" (the sequel to the hit "All Good Girls")and the weird "Go Going Gone" (a song about quantum physics of all things!)

The album covers a huge swath of subgenres. I can't even describe them all. Some are heavy with crunchy or driving rock guitars while others are 160 bpm electro-industrial dance numbers. The song "Kleen," which should be listened to be all war "hawks," has a strong R&B feel (it was written by Macy Gray), and "Shine" features lots of pop-sensibilities sure to leave a tear in any father's eye. This album is all over the place, yet it always leaves you wanting more and comes together in a coherent fashion, thanks to the unity of musical and lyrical themes and classic Die Warzau underpinnings.

If you can find this album, do yourself a favor and pick it up. Even if you aren't into industrial, I think you'll find this album a joy to listen to. I'm amazed this album hasn't seen mainstream play, especially since Marcus significantly trained and honed his vocals for this release. Anyway, what are you waiting for? Buy it now!

Update: If you're curious about Die Warzau's older work, check out this video for "Strike to the Body" off their first LP, Disco Rigido.