Klinik - End of the Line

Standing in the record store I hear a quiet voice in my head whisper, "hey. Hey, you. You like peanut butter sandwiches, right?" This is a bit odd, I think, but then must admit, that I do indeed like peanut butter sandwiches, which are also coincidentally very inexpensive to live on. "Then check me out," the voice whispers again. I turn to look. "Yeah, down here," he calls out and I look down at a nice big thick box sitting amongst the Cds. It is the Klinik box set and my bank account is rather low. "Check me out," he coos. I pick it up hessitantly and turn it over in my hands, Oh yeah, its nice, I can sense it already, and then I look over the track listing.

The first disc is a remix disc, featuring mixes by Ah Cama-Sotz, Suicide Commando, Numb, Covenant, P.A.L., Imminent and... oh no, Winterkalte. I feel my mouth salivating and at the same time the thought of two weeks of nothing but peanut butter sandwiches passes through my head, but I believe that by this point it is already too late.

Disc two comprises of the "Best of 1982-91". Holy fuck Klinik have been around for a long time. And Toronto isn’t the best place in the world to get hold of a lot of import stuff (although that is changing). Its interesting to hear this old stuff and see from whence Industrial music came. Klinik has obviously had a huge influence on the entire Industrial scene, and from this disc you can hear it. Sadly, however, some of it comes across as slightly cliche, due to other artists having taken the sound and doing it to death. We must remember, however, that when this came out, there weren’t 100 000 other industrial bands attempting to sound like this.

Disc three features a live recording from a concert done in 89. I guess this is something that you can get away with in a box set, for although it is kind of interesting sounding, the fact that its from a concert ten years ago does affect its sound, which comes across as dated. Perhaps not as dated as it is, however, but dated never the less. (Especially compared to the beautiful updatedness of disc one)

Disc four, is the "Best of 1991-99". Which continues their slight evolution into the present. If Klinik has one fault its that the sound hasn’t progressed as much as it could in twenty years. The new stuff seems more like an updated version of the old sound, rather than a continued growth of the band. Of course, that the music has always been great, and that Klinik hasn’t really been availible here, makes this somewhat less of a problem to me that it sounds. This box set will, however, fill my need for Klinik material for some time, and should do the same for anyone wanting to instantly imerse themselves in Klinik’s sound.

"Please take me home," the box pleads. "I’m so lonely here." The poor thing, I think. I can’t just walk out on it. Who knows who will buy it if I don’t. Perhaps someone who will mistreat it!

Ok. I’m insane. But sometimes when a box of Cds calls out to you in a CD store, you just can’t ignore it. Do I regret this decision? No. But you’ll have to excuse me, I have to go make a peanut butter sandwich now.

Squid @ August, 2001