By Orren Merton

The Cassandra Complex is one of those cutting-edge bands that has been around so long they've actually outlived most of the labels that have been applied to them. Never quite making a strong dent in the US market, but maintaining a cult following among those who follow underground music, this band has consistently offered their own unique blend of darkly energetic music, and Wetware is no exception.

One of my personal beefs with music that falls to firmly in "goth" or "EBM" or "Industrial" categories is that you tend to end up with entire albums where every song on the record sounds like every other, both musically and lyrically. Wetware mixes it up, putting electro touches on goth-style songs, rock touches into EBM music, flurishes of ambient, classical, etc. to make the whole much more interesting and memorable. And to my sheer joy, many of the choruses are actually catchy enough to inspire singing along! It's nice to know some moody bands aren't afraid to throw in a melodic hook.

With longtime CC member and current Project Pitchfork man Jeurgen Jansen co-writing about a third of the record, Wetware manages to maintain a lifeline to both older CC albums and to the current Euro-EBM sound. What is unique about Cassandra Complex however, is their use of guitars, non-traditional EBM melodies, and traditionally goth or industrial (yes, *real* industrial) textures. Also included (at least in the US version) is a fantastic techno remix by Apoptygma Berzerk of CC's ode to polygamy, "Twice As Good."

While the songs may vary in style, instrumentation, and focus, they are all held together by a cohesive sense of energy, rhythm, and Rodney Orpheus's voice, which while firmly in the Andrew Eldritch/Carl McCoy/Ian Curtis camp, has a rich tremelo--and on the more industrial "N.U.D. and "Bad Faith," even a growl--all it's own. The lyrics hold together poetically well, although a few lyrics are a little too self-aggrandizing for my taste.

For me, this album has enough guitars, songs with catchy choruses, and infectious melodies ("VALIS," "Theme from 'The Invisibles'," "Bad Faith," "It's Ok," etc) to rank far above the usual "genre fodder" that litters the underground scenes. Even if you think underground music isn't really your thing, Wetware might be enough to change your mind. The Cassandra Complex have not merely crafted an album of good electro-Industrial, they have crafted an album of good *music*. And in the end, that's what it's all about.