The album is intense beyond belief, both musically and conceptually. I've encountered more than a few that found the content disturbing; and well, it is. The concept driving the work is one of the least discussed, least mentioned among society, and its use in a musical format is only part of the wealth and power of the record. Each song is in complementarity, thematically, with the others. Dense orchestration adds to the overall effect. From the opening track "Golgotha," in which the story of Christ-as-martyr lends a harrowing humanity to the proceedings, to the closer "Stillbirth," one of the most cosmic and otherwordly manifestations you'll ever hear, there is an ever-rising sense of urgency. Just as the album begins *in medias res* if you will, it ends on a raw note of feedback: the movement both in and out seems to connotate a flow in both directions, perhaps mirroring the colons of the :W: logo.

The album, as with all Rudy's products, is more developed and mature than the previous ones. In _Embryodead_ the song lengths shrink, each track only requiring the time it already possesses to slay you and then get on with it: no dawdling or 11 minute atmospherics; Rudy did that before. The real meat is the material, after all, and emphasis is on content. The tunefulness and melody in some of the tracks paradoxically seem to make it an even nastier affair, bold and beautiful. While there is no mystical instrumental like _Bunker Gate 7_'s "Thorns" the solemnity of the meditation here is no less spooky and majestic.

_Embryodead_ has become a cornerstone of the :W: catalogue, and of all "electro" as well. Who would do an album like this? 10 songs that in 50 minutes illustrate everything deadly about existence, consecrate the ill luck of the unborn, yet still affirm the importance, once cursed with life, of love, in "Angel," which joins the two? One of the major themes in antiquity is that it is better to die than to be born, and best of all not to exist in the first place. This idea can be written off as a thoroughly misanthropic literary trope if you wish, but like that cheerful child consciousness speaking out of "Womb," *it exists* nonetheless. What is to be done once this is realized? The coming to terms of it in art, in music like _Embryodead_, is one possible answer.

It's an intelligent and meaningful album that ties together all it can to make its points. "Down Where We Belong" is a vicious twist on Darwinism, "Pest" a dissertation on the historicity and timelessness of despair, "Slave To Evil" a semi-Nietzschean reconstruction, "Is It You" a digression on the rarity of truth, or the illusion behind appearances, or both. "Golgotha" is the disc's emblem, as *in ovo* we see the problem put in terms of Christ's struggle. And "Womb" is absolutely haunting in its portrayal of the fundamentally egoistic strivation of life in general.

Perhaps the darkest, most notable, most expressive work in the ever growing pantheon of electronic and industrial. The fans of this album are in ways a vanguard for a future culture, and a listen to _Embryodead_ a prerequisite to understanding that which is most horrible to us as human beings.


A perfectly good resort for music   April 22, 2000
 5 out of 5 found this review helpful

For those of you being recomended for this CD or for those of your just getting into the music of Wumpscut, it's a winner. It seems to cover every base touchable through Dark Wave. It's complex diversity is a sure thing from the moment you pop the CD in, to the moment the last song ends. I would recomend this to any fan of Industrial. EmbryoDead is one of the two good cds to start off with. Many fans say it's the best album ever created, and I even agree in cases. If you find morbid interests in bad taste, then you can obviously tell from the title of this CD, the band is not for you altogether.


Better than a crowbar to the head!   December 14, 2000
 5 out of 6 found this review helpful

This has to be one of my favorite dark industrial albums ever.

Wumpscut seems to me to be above and beyond nearly any industrial act... at least in one category: Sheer aggressive, deviant, adrenaline music that will scare the living hell out of your normal, everyday pedestrian.

Musically, :W: has a rather generic synth base, with some interesting noises and sounds here and there, and some colorful samples... the usual of the genre. He seems to be one of the best, however, at taking these sounds and giving them a massive amount of raw energy and power... especially with the aid of super-distorted, twisted, disgustingly ear-shattering vocals. (even though the lyrics are sometimes a little out of whack.) His talent of force, so to speak, shows itself over and over again, but especially in the tracks Embryodead and War, which I highly recommend.

I have tended to find myself attracted the most to Rudy's most aggressive and forceful songs... since on most of his albums they are (IMO) the only ones that really give him an identity in the Industrial world (i.e. Soylent Green, Ich Will Dich, On the Run, etc...). Embryodead changes that a little, with tracks like "Angel" and "Is it You"... the first mellower, more melodic tracks he's made that I find genuinely interesting.

This CD marks an improvement in Wumpscut's art, and a solid addition to his brilliant discography. Only problem is the title track, which is so damn addictive I hardly listen to the rest of the CD anymore. It has to be one of the harshest, most brutal industrial tracks I've ever known.

Don't attempt to exist in this world full of hate...


Melodically angry incredible music.   January 23, 2000
 4 out of 5 found this review helpful

After getting back into the goth/indust/techno scene after a few years, I went out and bought a few choice CDs (from Amazon, no less). :Wumpscut: was one of them, and aside from a select few songs on -Embryodead-, this CD is mind-blowing. The title track never fails to send shivers down my spine... the growling, almost creature-like German lyrics followed by the fast English bridge is unbelievable. Rudy follows an entire theme in this CD that is at once thought-provoking and frightening. The first track, -Golgotha-, is about as goth-anthem as you can get, while -War- is an unbridled scream of anger. It ranges from the slightly sentimental vibes of -Is It You- to the insanely evil -Womb-... it's amazing. Almost all the songs are impossible to listen to without some kind of tapping, shifting movement on your part.. indeed, dancing to -Embryodead- is exhilirating. The few songs on this CD that I tend to skip over hardly detract from the overall value. If you want a :Wumpscut: album, you could do a lot worse than buying this musical creation.


Coup De Grace   June 16, 1998
 4 out of 4 found this review helpful

Of all the albums in my CD collection, Embryodead is the one I most cherish. From beginning to end, it is wonderful, excepting perhaps "Pest," which isn't too remarkable from any perspective. Of the ten tracks, three meditate directly on the theme/question of whether the stillbirth of a baby is a disaster or a blessing. Rudy Ratzinger, mastermind of :Wumpscut:, evokes empathy, sympathy, and fright, for unborn foetuses via this triumvirate of songs. "Embryodead" is primarily about the (terrible) world a foetus will be born into, and the horror the child will be exposed to if he fails to refuse to die pre-parturition. Thus we are to feel empathic, as we too know "how hard it is to live/in this world full of hate". What's interesting is that the prenatal individual Rudy speaks to and admonishes is presumably still alive; therefore, "Embryodead" refers not to what one might initially think, but rather the condemnation such an individual is about to face. "Stillbirth" is rather sparse and depressing, but instead of celebrating stillbirth, as one might expect Rudy to do after studying the lyrics to "Embryodead," he mourns, as it is sad that one must die terribly prematurely to avoid the otherwise inevitable suffering this world confers upon the living. "Stillbirth" concludes with a delicate music box melody, the type that seems designed to put a child to sleep, and the frightful sounds of vital signs fading away. Any one somewhat familiar with the genre should not expect such an emotional moment to exist on an industrial release. "Womb" is a disturbing creation, and one that seems to contradict the sentiments behind "Stillbirth" and "Embryodead"; Rudy manipulates his voice to sound at once young and evil. The lyric, "I do not care about anything else but me," as delivered by the "evil" unborn child is surely an ironic counterpart to the aforementioned pair of songs, because it suggests! , correctly, that WE are the reasons our world is so undesirable a home, and that we were once foetuses. Which is to say, though one commiserates for the foetus and his future, he will likely, once grown, contribute to the misery. When is the last time an industrial release has been so emotionally complex? The music that complements the themes is totally appropriate: "Embryodead" is mostly harsh, as it reveals the brutal truth; "Stillbirth"'s synths are superbly melancholy; and aural menace backs "Womb". The remaining efforts on the album, ostensibly, might seem impertinent, yet some way all ten pieces manage to interlock and form a richly thematic whole. "Golgotha" is a twist on Christ's suffering on the cross; through Rudy's eyes, Jesus was unknowingly condemned by his Father to die. "Slave to Evil" could possibly be interpreted as a complement to "Womb", the narrator of track being the womb as an adult. ...........Running out of time here. To finish, permit me to make a confident suggestion: If you're not too interested in Industrial music, but haven't given it a fair shot, this album might be your best choice; it's not all impenetrable noise; some of it decidedly accessible; there's even a love song here; buy it! :)