The feeling of this release is heavier than the last in some regards, making some of the songs more agressively coated, although the movement in the melodies are still shifting from side to side here and newer things are still attempted. For instance, in the industrial-themed sounds of "Zerospace," we hear an almost rapped version of some of the lyrics, mixing in range with rage and aggression with a tempo that holds something within its somewhat twisted roots. Within other songs are the blurring of tempos, the accents of vocals that sometimes delve into the oddities of range and motion, and the use of ideas that are, in many instances, dark and melodic as well as more harshly constructed. So, if you liked the first release you should like this one as well, because both approach their works in a variety of methods. If you've never heard them then you should at least try them out and see if you find this blend of industrial aggression, female vocals, and the idea that darkness is sometimes the most intesting pattern to decorate with.


Dark beauty, bright future   March 4, 2003
 10 out of 11 found this review helpful

It would be easy, and fall way short, to describe Kidneythieves as either a lighter Nine Inch Nails or a darker Garbage. Although the industrial sound recalls the best of NIN and the great female vocals bring to mind Garbage, Free Dominguez and Bruce Sommers have put together a more creative and palatable CD with Zerospace than either of those great bands ever managed.

The track from the movie Queen of the Damned, "Before I'm Dead," probably lured most people to buy Zerospace. The surprise probably came when the rest of the CD proved much better.

From the funk of "Glitter Girl" to the cover of the country classic "Crazy," Zerospace has a depth and dark beauty that Trent Reznor never managed. While NIN could get hopelessly repetitive at times, and Garbage can be stale, Domingeuz' vocals and the diversity of Sommers' material keep this CD from degenerating into uninteresting noise.

Kidneythieves now are, artistically, where Radiohead was with the release of The Bends. Hopefully, Free and Bruce won't make an OK Computer next and lose most of their audience with the arthouse follow-ups. While Nine Inch Nails, Garbage and Radiohead obviously inspired much of the material on Zerospace, these bands'shortcomings are nowhere to be found here.

This band will not be a backbencher much longer even with the recent explosion of great rock groups.


Zerospace   April 24, 2002
 8 out of 8 found this review helpful

After some label problems Kidneytheives return with their second effort, Zerospace. Who? Kidney-who? Yeah, their debut, Trickster, never really hit big in the mainstream. This isn't a huge shock, though, female fronted electronic metal bands arn't on TRL very often. But Trickster did earn the band somewhat of a following(mainly stray Orgy and NIN fans) and fans will still love this record. Kineythieves maintain their KMFDM meets Poe sound. Free's vocals follow the music closly and she seems more comfortable with exporing vocaly on this one. There are a few cliches that surround Kidneythieves but, you cannot deny the music is really good stuff, nothing groundbreaking, but a nice solid record. Basically if you liked them before, nothing changed, and if you are new, if you like NIN and stuff like that you'll like this. Oh, And the title track is riducuously catchy.


I didn't like it at first...   August 21, 2003
 8 out of 42 found this review helpful

After listening through this a couple times, and after hearing another album of the sort ("Sonic Jihad" by Snake River Conspiracy... do NOT buy that album if you value good music, even if someone threatens your life if you don't), my overall assessment of it changed. No, I didn't edit my review because of all the negative votes. I'll tell you exactly what I think, and I don't give a rat's behind what you think.

First of all, I still would've liked more instrumental and less programming. I'm interested in more than just vocals and electronic bass. I still concede that the vocals are not that good, as Free sounds like she's tearing her throat inside out just trying to hit certain notes, but considering that the album is directed at underachieving crack fiends that are all about anger and rebellion, it seems fitting. But she doesn't have a good voice, and it's clear she's never been trained to sing properly. As for Bruce, well, maybe he should play a little more guitar and do a little less programming, as the best parts of their songs are the heavy parts. The title track is the best song, and there are maybe three or four others that'll hold the listener's attention, but there seems to be a lot of filler.

I'm still curious as to why they chose "kidneythieves" as their band name...


The Music's Late, but the Singer's Great   December 16, 2002
 7 out of 11 found this review helpful

I was first turned on to Kidneythieves through their great contribution to the *Queen of the Damned* soundtrack, "Before I'm Dead," which also opens this album. There are two things about Kidneythieves that must be considered - the music of Bruce Somers and the vocals of Free Dominguez. One of those two things is incredible but the other needs help. In terms of the music, Kidneythieves deal in the heavy, crunching, brooding industrial sounds that Nine Inch Nails were doing ten years ago, or spacey dirges that the drums n' bass mobs were doing five years ago. Musically, "Zerospace" (the title track) and "Spank" sound like leftovers from NIN's 1992 album *Broken*, while the creepy dirge "Placebo" strongly resembles Massive Attack's 1998 album *Mezzanine*. Another outdated gimmick that is quite annoying is the eleven minutes of silence that you must sit through before "Take a Train (Awakening)." Tricks like that are so over. The music on this album does little to rise above the predictable and derivative, except for a few surprises like the funky "Glitter Girl" and the acoustic ballad "Serene Dream." However Kidneythieves deserve real creativity points for their bizarre cover of the old country standard "Crazy" - modern grrrl rockers are showing a nice appreciation for Patsy Cline.

What makes Kidneythieves fun to listen to are the outstanding vocals of Free Dominguez, who has a very sensual and sexy voice. (Techno fans may be reminded of a grittier version of original Sneaker Pimps singer Kelly Dayton). Free deserves to be a big star. She ranges from true angry grit in "Before I'm Dead" and "Black Bullet" to bedroom-talk soul searching in "Arsenal" and "Placebo." Free Dominguez saves this album in a consistently sensual way. Explore Kidneythieves just to dig her voice.