Christopher beat me to the punch… but I wanted to do a year in review, of the most impressive/notable releases of 2008. This isn’t necessarily a list of my favorite albums of the year. As there’s been plenty of great releases this year in industrial/electronic music (etc.), which were fun to listen to but didn’t really stand out that much as compared to what came in prior years. This is essentially a year in review of the most impressive albums (because I find countdowns tediously, this is down in chronological order).

Talvekoidik – Silent Reflections (Brume Records).

This is a side-project of one of a member of S.K.E.T (website). This an epic album consisting mostly of orchestral sounds layered over breaks. It sounds a lot like S.K.E.T, but with a much softer and slowed down sound. To be honest, this album actually came out last December, but is exceptional enough to be mentioned for a very long time to come.

Totakeke (website) – Elekatota: The Other Side of the Tracks and Forgotten: On the Other Side of the Track (Tympanik Audio)

This was the first of the year’s many amazing releases off of Tympanik Audio. Totakeke is the side-project of seminal power noise act Synth_etik. Totakeke tends to keep much of the complexities of Synth_etik, but uses a much softer approach to the music. Elekatota came out at the beginning of the year, followed by an equally amazing albums of outtakes called Forgotten. The two albums merge into an oddly-textured continuity, and can be easily listened to all the way through without skipping tracks.

E.S.A. (website) – How Pure Would Your Utopia Be? (Hive Records)

This is Electronic Substance Abuse’s second release, and shows much promise for the EBM/rhythmic-noise act. This is the noisey album, that will appeal to all those that don’t like power noise. This album has a wide dynamic range of tracks, all working around themes of purity in dystopia. A few tracks even have those combichristesque saw-sweeps that the kids are into. He managed to release another album before then end of 2008, but I still haven’t heard it.

Memmaker (website) – How To Enlist In A Robot Uprising (Hive Records)

While this album doesn’t offer anything ground-shattering, it is the essential party album of the year. For his debut release, Guillermo, is joined by Yann Faussuriere of Iszoloscope. The music could be described as epically-intense hard dance music. There’s even a remake of the Nirvana classic “Love Buzz,” re-titled “Robot Buzz.” This album also makes the list, because it has a really cool name.

kETvECTOR – Metarecognition (Rustblade Records)

At first, when I heard a few tracks from this album, I thought Binar Code released another CD (you know, that song you’ve heard a million times in a club, that has a sample refrain that keeps saying “self-inflicted”). The album could be summed up as quiet, melodic psychedelically-minded industrial – think Skinny Puppy Brap-sessions. kETvECTOR is the product of Justin Bennett, live drummer of Skinny Puppy, and Stefano Rosello of Detune-X. This duo work on another, more aggressive sounding Skinny Puppyesque project called Bahntier.

Object (website – Ethane Asylum (Vendetta Music).

This is one in a series of vintage sounding electro-ebm releases to come out on Vendetta Music. This is the long awaited third release from Object, incorporating highly catchy synth melodies combined with minimally compressed beats. Will definitely appeal to fans of Mentallo and the Fixer and Gridlock.

Nordschlacht (website) – Silence, Beauty And Cruelty (Klangdynamik Records)

While I generally avoid albums with female vocals, as often times the vocalist’s voice is painfully out of key. I didn’t mind it so much on this release, where it’s combined nicely with a minimal melodic EBM sound, similar to that of Fektion Fekler. This is one of the early offerings from newly arising Klangdynamik Records, which focuses on melodically minded industrial, shying away from dance/stomp music motifs.

Tzolk’in – Haab (Ant Zen)

This album gets into strange new agey territory, being dedicated to the Mayan calendar. But has some of the most amazing rhythmic tribal ambient music I’ve heard in a long time. Brought to you by Gwenn Trémorin of Flint Glass and Nicolas Van Meirhaeghe of Empusae and This Morn Omina. Be warned: very long tracks with epic build ups.

Last Days of S.E.X – First S.E.X.ual Experience (Hands Productions)

This is Last Days of S.E.X debut on Hands Productions. What surprised me about this album is its utterly atrocious mixing – the distortion and compression will cause miner speaker damage. This is just a loud straight-forward power noise album; maybe written as sex music for angry people.

Subheim (website) – Approach (Tympanik Audio)

This is the IDM/downtempo album that seems to nail down the sound that most other bands, working in a similar genre, are working towards. Providing a beautiful combination of slow opening pads, minor key piano fills, and slow moving breaks. One of Tympanik’s golden discoveries.

Blackfilm (website) – Blackfilm (Sepctraliquid Records)

I discovered this gem through Tympanik Audio, whom co-operate with this newly formed Greek label. The album can be described as somewhere between a depressing film score, and trip hop without the annoying vocals.

V1rtual D3scent – Darkened Skies (DSBP Records)

This is the only futurepoppy album that has made this list. Aside, from its catchiness, I’m not really sure why I like this album so much. I do like the fact that it uses orchestral samples, is less tranced up then it could be, and makes an interesting choice in vocal processing.

Otto Von Schirach (website) – Oozing Bass Spasms (Cock Rock Disco)

If you don’t like breakcore and don’t like Otto Von Schirach, you might like this album. Otto is now famous for annoying audiences on the Skinny Puppy re-union tours world-round, by being the opening act. This album is ultimately a tribute to the Miami Bass Movement (if you’re not in the know, think bass and sexploitation).

Ginormous (website) – At Night, Under Atificial Light (Hymen Records)

This is one of the stranger and more capricious IDM/downtempo albums of the year. It contains a few downtemo tracks, which feature acoustic guitar. Then there are a few awkward mashed-up chamber pieces. Hell, there’s even a few club tracks on the album.

Endif (website) – Carbon (Typmaik Audio)

He’s been at it for a long time, and this is by far Endif’s best effort. The sound is perfected and unique to Endif, with a large range of interesting synth patches – rare to the rhythmic noise genre. This is also the closest Tympanik has come to putting out a club-friendly album.

genCAB (website) – Let If Be (Hive Records)

This is one of the first release of Hive Records new plan to release slightly-more innovative EBM albums. I have a lot of suspicions about genCAB – pretty looking kid, poring out his emotions over angry music… but on the other hand, the album is highly innovative, and has interesting vocal effects.

Manufactura (website) – Psychogenic Fugue + A Damaged Symphony For Depraved Dementia N.2 (Crunch Pod Media)

I have not been impressed with the past several Manufactura releases, but this is the one that nails down the sound perfectly. There’s an interesting combination anger-driven 4/4 rhythmic tracks, contrasted with soothing ambient tracks. The second CD contains all the Manufactura classics, updated to his current days sound.

DYM (website) – Invalid (COP Inernational)

This is the first innovative harsh-ebm album I’ve heard in a long time, which tastefully stays away from many of the trance clichés. If you’re sick of all the other terror banana albums, this is the one to buy.

Standeg (website) – Ultrahightechviolet (Ultrahightechviolet)

This is an album from Björn Jünemann and Sven Jünemann, two of the founding members Haujobb. It perfectly nails the vintage Haujobb sound, melding it with more updated synth sounds and production quality. This is the album for those that liked the late-90s metropolis records sound.